Summer 2015-FUN?

I am not quite sure where to start my posts for this summer because I have so much to say, so for now, I am going to start at the beginning.  As I revealed on my blog in April, I am working at the University of Virginia for the summer on a project called Take Back the Archive, which is a digital archive of the history of sexual violence at the university.  However, we have also decided to include incidents of other forms of violence, such as racial violence, in the archive.  When I announced my decision to work on this project along with others at the University, I received mixed reactions.  Some people were excited for the project, wanting to know the history, happy that something was being created to showcase the issue of sexual violence at the University of Virginia.  Others worried, telling me it sounded like a sad job, one that wouldn’t be fun.  Here’s the thing: This project is not supposed to be “fun.”  This project is meant to document a history that spans over almost two centuries.  This project is meant to illuminate what some individuals do not believe happens in their community, what people continue to ignore.  This project is enlightening and causes me to ask a lot of questions, some of which I hope to explore in later posts.  This project proves to me the importance of knowing the history of the communities in which I participate.  This project continually pushes me to think and explore.  This project is so much more than “fun.”