![annie clark the hunting ground annie clark the hunting ground](https://www.sothetheorygoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hunting-Ground-576x1024.png)
It’s always a powerful experience to participate in collective activism, and I wanted to share this moment with other survivors who have been using their voices and actions to advocate for change every day for years. My activism with #RealtalkDartmouth and #EdActNow was featured in The Hunting Ground, as well as a visit visit Annie Clark during Nastassja’s and my organization Spring Up’s workshop tour.
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This song gives people who feel alone at least one person who gets it. Being assaulted is just a phrase until you have to deal with the indescribable pain and loneliness. When I heard “Til It Happens To You”, I finally felt that someone understood. We stood there for the millions of people who have been assaulted and we proclaimed in silence that there needs to be a change on college campuses. Standing on stage was more than just a moment, standing on stage meant so much more. That’s why, when I got an email last week about standing on stage in solidarity with other survivors, I could not pass up the opportunity. I came out with my story to help others not feel alone, to give people a voice that did not have the means to speak about their experience themselves. This song has the power to bring every single emotion out of you from pain to bravery and it did just that for me.Īfter seeing the movie, I was inspired to share more details about my story as I had a very similar experience as many of the girls in the film, especially to Erica Kinsman and her fight with Florida State. I was just so truly grateful that Diane Warren and Lady Gaga wrote this piece because the impact it is having on the movement is exactly what we need. This song resonates with me, as much as it does with many survivors of sexual violence, and it allows me to push through. When I first heard the song in the film I broke down crying because I felt as if the song was written for me and about me. I helped coordinate the viewing at my University in April and also had Annie and Andrea for a Q&A, which is where we connected. What is your connection to The Hunting Ground? The final image embraces a fiery shape to give us power and strength everywhere we go. It combines inspiration from Lady Gaga’s favorite flower, the white rose, to breathe life into an organic and growing symbol. It is a unity symbol inspired by the loops of our DNA structure and our universal infinity sign. If you have further questions or ideas, please let me know. The tattoo was made for and dedicated to survivors. The design is to be used for tattoo purposes only and no other commercial purposes. As the designer, I created this original work of art to serve as the design for our tattoo. During our first rehearsal for the Oscars performance, the 50 survivors and Lady Gaga made a pact to get a tattoo. Her howl was heartbreaking and I was sobbing alongside every other survivor. What was your reaction to the performance at the Oscars?
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She is a beacon for those of us who cannot speak onstage. I never want another survivor to feel the isolation I felt in continuing to fight against my university. We are getting silenced more and more every minute by institutions with a power they are quick to wield-the legal power to gag survivors and destroy lives. But even more, I need the kindhearted part of the world to recognize that sexual violence is not a solved problem. I need the world to start believing survivors. What inspired you to stand up and take the stage? Below, a few tell us in their own words why they stood up and what the song means to them (special thanks to Robbie Woodsum, a survivor, for these amazing photos).
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She shared the stage with 50 courageous survivors, many of them from the film, who received a standing ovation and who made it one of the most significant and memorable moments in Oscar history. Lady Gaga’s performance at the 88th Academy Awards of her Oscar-nominated theme song from The Hunting Ground, titled “Til It Happens To You,” brought the house down.