Exhibit at ECC tackles reality of abuse in area

The Clothesline Project, an exhibit of T-shirts created by area victims of abuse and by others to memorialize those victims, will appear Tuesday and Wednesday at Elgin Community College.

The exhibit will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days in the Instruction Center lounge at the ECC main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The exhibit, which is part of ECC's celebration of Women's History Month, is free and open to the public.

Facilitated by the Community Crisis Center of Elgin, The Clothesline Project is an exhibit that makes a powerful statement about domestic abuse of women and children living in the greater Elgin area. Participants also will have an opportunity to make T-shirts for domestic abuse victims.

The Clothesline Project is inspired by an exhibit a Massachusetts artist created in 1990 as a way to address the issue of violence against women. That exhibit, also called The Clothesline Project, allowed women affected by abuse to decorate shirts and hang them on a clothesline for all to see.

The shirts not only were a way for women affected by violence to express their emotions, but the shirts also can be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women while allowing those who suffer in silence to realize that they are not alone, according to exhibit organizers.

Other events during Women's History Month, all free and open to the public, include the following.

• Monday: ECC Career Services Director Peggy Gundrum will suggest some "Hot Careers for Women" to consider and how to prepare for them. The event will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Resource Center Alumni Room.

• March 18: An "Inspiring Women Reception" will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in the SRC Community and Heritage rooms. The program is at 2 p.m. Make reservations by contacting Katie Michel at (847) 214-7896.

• March 19: An awareness event and registration drive for Go Red for Women, a national movement to combat heart disease in women, will be held from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the SRC Jobe Lounge. Information from the American Heart Association will be available and the Faces of Heart Disease exhibit will be in the library.Also, a Women's History Luncheon will be held at noon in the Fox Valley University and Business Center dining room featuring a guest speaker. Call Sandra Anthony at (847) 214-7267 for details.

• March 20: A healthy breakfast and heart screenings are featured at the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. in the SRC Alumni Room. Sherman Hospital and two student healthcare clubs, the Associated Nursing Students and Health Occupational Students of America, will administer the screenings. At 8:30 a.m., a physician from Sherman Health, the event sponsor, will give a keynote address. Participants and others are encouraged to wear red as a show of support for heart disease prevention.

• March 31: Several ECC mid-career achievers will share the joys and concerns of going back to school as seasoned professionals during "Learning is a Lifelong Journey." The presentation will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the SRC Alumni Room.

Women's History Month is sponsored by the Women's History Month Committee and African-American Subcommittee, the Student Life Office and American Association of University Women.

For more information about Women's History Month, call the Student Life Office at (847) 214-7370.