The Trouble With T-shirts

An annual demonstration at the University of Maryland that seeks to empower victims of sexual abuse took an unusual turn last week. The Diamondback reports today that after the university told organizers they could not wear T-shirts with the names of alleged attackers, several students decided to protest the university's ban with an unsanctioned protest of their own. They hung seven T-shirts bearing the names of alleged attackers from trees on campus near the university-sponsored sexual assault awareness event. The university said it feared the shirts would lead to lawsuits. But as one student told the paper, "We believe that every survivor deserves a voice and should be able to express themselves however they want." The university administrators responded that those students "would be personally responsible for any liability."