Anti-Rape Banner 4 Michigan Stadium
Donation protected
Hi! I'm Claire, a mother, a teacher, a wife and a writer.
Yesterday, November 5, I was on a walk with my two-year-old daughter in our neighborhood near Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan. It was football Saturday and we love walking around before games and greeting all the “victors,” as my daughter calls Michigan fans rocking maize and blue.
My daughter already loves the University of Michigan athletics. She has the school fight song memorized. Every Friday we walk across Main Street to go watch the marching band practice. My husband and I went to Ohio State, but she won't say, "Go bucks" or "O-H-I-O," saying "No, I love the victors!"
My daughter also loves planes, and wants to be, she says, a pilot. So she REALLY loves the small planes circling Ann Arbor before home games, pulling advertisements for local businesses. She points up, shouting, and asks me, “What does the flag say?” and then, “What does that mean?”
This is what she did yesterday, when we saw an ad for Déjà Vu, a strip club in nearby Ypsilanti. The banner was a version of my profile picture, above. My daughter asked me to read it to her. Then she asked me why I wouldn’t.
At nap time, I did a little ranting and then I did a little research. I found out it’s cheaper than I thought to hire one of those planes. The Ann Arbor Observer quoted Jim Miller of Air America Aerial Ads saying that the going rate is $425 for a banner, which includes eight laps or about 20-25 minutes of air time.
The Observer also said: “Asked what the standards are for accepting advertisements, he [Miller] said: ‘As long as it's not foul language, it's freedom of speech up there, and they can advertise whatever they want.’”
So, to exercise of my freedom of speech and to join in the conversation about issues affecting women at the University of Michigan and in Ann Arbor (and everywhere), I’m raising $425 dollars to fly a banner of my design over Michigan Stadium. It will read:
STOP RAPE
The banner will fly over Ann Arbor at the last Michigan home game, when Michigan plays Indiana on Nov. 19.
Any funds in excess of $425 will be donated to SafeHouse Center in Ann Arbor, who provide life-saving services and shelter to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
“SafeHouse Center provides support for those impacted by domestic violence or sexual assault. SafeHouse provides free and confidential services for any person victimized that lives or works in Washtenaw County. Our services include emergency shelter for those in danger of being hurt or killed, counseling, legal advocacy, support groups, and especially, hope.”
Thank you for anything you can spare, especially your voice.
Yesterday, November 5, I was on a walk with my two-year-old daughter in our neighborhood near Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan. It was football Saturday and we love walking around before games and greeting all the “victors,” as my daughter calls Michigan fans rocking maize and blue.
My daughter already loves the University of Michigan athletics. She has the school fight song memorized. Every Friday we walk across Main Street to go watch the marching band practice. My husband and I went to Ohio State, but she won't say, "Go bucks" or "O-H-I-O," saying "No, I love the victors!"
My daughter also loves planes, and wants to be, she says, a pilot. So she REALLY loves the small planes circling Ann Arbor before home games, pulling advertisements for local businesses. She points up, shouting, and asks me, “What does the flag say?” and then, “What does that mean?”
This is what she did yesterday, when we saw an ad for Déjà Vu, a strip club in nearby Ypsilanti. The banner was a version of my profile picture, above. My daughter asked me to read it to her. Then she asked me why I wouldn’t.
At nap time, I did a little ranting and then I did a little research. I found out it’s cheaper than I thought to hire one of those planes. The Ann Arbor Observer quoted Jim Miller of Air America Aerial Ads saying that the going rate is $425 for a banner, which includes eight laps or about 20-25 minutes of air time.
The Observer also said: “Asked what the standards are for accepting advertisements, he [Miller] said: ‘As long as it's not foul language, it's freedom of speech up there, and they can advertise whatever they want.’”
So, to exercise of my freedom of speech and to join in the conversation about issues affecting women at the University of Michigan and in Ann Arbor (and everywhere), I’m raising $425 dollars to fly a banner of my design over Michigan Stadium. It will read:
STOP RAPE
The banner will fly over Ann Arbor at the last Michigan home game, when Michigan plays Indiana on Nov. 19.
Any funds in excess of $425 will be donated to SafeHouse Center in Ann Arbor, who provide life-saving services and shelter to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
“SafeHouse Center provides support for those impacted by domestic violence or sexual assault. SafeHouse provides free and confidential services for any person victimized that lives or works in Washtenaw County. Our services include emergency shelter for those in danger of being hurt or killed, counseling, legal advocacy, support groups, and especially, hope.”
Thank you for anything you can spare, especially your voice.
Organizer
Claire Vaye Watkins
Organizer
Ann Arbor, MI
