Dan Deutsch, of West Hartford, leads 'The Denim Project' at Clark University

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Clark University senior Dan Deutsch organized The Denim Project to raise awareness of sexual violence.

WORCESTER, MA (05/06/2013)(readMedia)--  Clark University senior Dan D. Deutsch, of West Hartford, Conn., organized The Denim Project, a series of events held over the course of several days designed to raise awareness of sexual violence. Deutsch led a group of undergraduate students who organized art exhibits, community conversations, and a living art fashion show to engage the students in creative ways to approach the issue.

Jessica Johnson, founder of Jeans 4 Justice, in Solana Beach, Calif., helped facilitate a community conversation on campus.

"When I started working on The Denim Project, I had no idea that it would be this big," said Deutsch. "When the scope became stressful or seemed overwhelming, one of the most important things I learned was to take a step back and realize that this work is extremely important, especially on a college campus. I have had such a dedicated and passionate group of students work with me along the way, and my hope is that students and administration view the series as a new beginning of the conversation about sexual violence at Clark."

Deutsch interned at Jeans 4 Justice for eight weeks last summer, conducting research, marketing immersion, and community outreach. His two main projects were to maintain the organization's blog and to create a social media operations manual. His internship was supported by the Larry Franks '73, Ellen Berelson and the Theodore H. Barth Foundation.

The Jeans 4 Justice organization states they "believe in a community-driven model of social change that first brings awareness of an issue, educates on how to be an active bystander, and finally empowers participants as leaders in the movement to end sexual violence." The organization's name stems from a grassroots campaign inspired by a 1999 case in Italian High Court in which a rape conviction was overturned because the victim was wearing jeans.

Along with non-profit partner Jeans 4 Justice, The Denim Project was also supported by Pathways for Change (formerly the Rape Crisis Center of Central Massachusetts), Clark's Communication & Culture Program, Higgins School of Humanities, the CAVE (Clark Anti-Violence Education) Program, Office of Student Leadership & Programming, Speaker's Forum, the student organization TOPICS (Training, Outreach, Prevention, Intervention, Counseling) and STIR Magazine (Clark's arts and lifestyle publication).

"The Denim Project has proven to be the single biggest challenge that I have come across in my entire collegiate experience, " wrote Deutsch, "it is an experience I can keep with me forever to look back on as something significant that I did for a cause in my community."

Deutsch is a member of the Class of 2013 at Clark. He majors in communication and culture and theater arts. He is a member of Clark's popular co-ed a cappella group, The Clark Bars, and also serves as a section editor for STIR Magazine. He is a member of Lambda Pi Eta (a communications honor society) and is a Dean's list student.

Deutsch is a 2009 graduate of the William H. Hall High School in West Hartford, Conn. He is the son of Laura and Bob Deutsch.