Outside the Student Union, the sun was shining and the weather was perfect, but Thursday at lunchtime, as students went from class to class, what was seen and heard was anything but calm.

“Yes means f*** me! No means f*** you!” and “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Rape has got to go!” along with shouted monologues and other mantras.

The event, Carry the Weight, was organized by an individual group of students to increase rape awareness. Dozens of students dressed in white sheets covered in red took a stand to end sexual violence.

“This (protest) is needed. When things like rape happen on campus there needs to be justice on campus,” Precious Davis, an observer of the demonstration and senior in nursing major, said.

Anna Rose, senior acting major, helped to organize the event in hopes to call everyone to fight against sexual assault.

There were mixed responses from the students who stopped and watched.

Griffin Stanley, sophomore math major, said it is a good thing to see people speak out.

“Girls shouldn’t be scared anywhere on campus,” Stanley said.

Survivors shared their stories in order to raise awareness by exposing so much of themselves.

“He preaches his side of the story so much. I don’t talk about it. It’s not something I’m proud of. I’m scared,” Sienna Brown, junior psychology and sociology major, screamed to the crowd and passersby. “I’m standing here today because he has already f***ed me up enough. Trust me, I would never wish rape on anyone.”

The rally was a peaceful and powerful protest.

“These girls are standing up for human rights and all the administration ignores: rape, suicide, depression,” Davis said.

Rose stood in the square with makeup bruises all over her face and imitation blood running down her sheet as a symbol of what must be fought. The opportunity to create understanding and compassion for rape victims. This demonstration for many was part of their healing process.

The survivors in the group told the crowd how their attackers went with little or no reprimand. The crowd responded with supporting yells and clapping.

“This is a problem, one in four women on college campuses have been sexually assaulted,” Brooke Talley, who came out to support the victims of sexual assault, said. “Women aren’t objects.”

The protesters consisted of men and women standing up denouncing the acts of their perpetrators and the perpetrators of their loved ones.

Rose said that Carry the Weight stands to condemn a culture that objectifies women, and support the women who have been made to feel like objects regain themselves.

“This affects me too. It affects everybody,” Morgan Bell, participant and senior university studies major, said while trying to hold back tears.

Carry that Weight is a program against sexual assault used on campuses throughout the country. Rose has a friend at Ball state who helped her with organizing Thursday’s demonstration.   

“We want all people comfortable to come forward,” Gabby Molony, coordinator of Norse Violence Prevention Center, said.

The Norse Violence Prevention Center is a place for anyone to go who feels they are in crisis.

Molony said there is advocacy and respect for the sufferer. The center provides support through peer counseling and help with navigating through the courts and university discipline system.

Putting down her tissue and picking up her sign Bell said, “To humans who have been raped, we are here for you.”

Correction: This article originally stated that the Carry the Weight protest was organized by the Norse Violence Prevention Center. The event was organized by an individual students.