The New School’s Clothesline Project 2012

We are proud to announce The New School’s Clothesline Project 2012. You may have noticed the t-shirts hanging in the Stuyvesant Park Residence Hall Lobby, if not, take a look! The Clothesline, beginning in 1990 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, has become a national awareness campaign about sexual assault and domestic violence. The New School has participated for several years, but this is the first year it is located in our residence halls.

2012 Clothesline Project Display at Stuyvesant Park Residence

By creating The Clothesline Project at The New School we encourage residents to tell their story in their own unique way, using words and/or artwork to decorate the shirt. Once finished, it then hangs on the clothesline. This very action serves many purposes. It acts as an educational tool for those who come to view the Clothesline; it becomes a healing tool for anyone who made a shirt - by hanging the shirt on the line, survivors, friends and family can literally turn their back on some of that pain of their experience and walk away; finally it allows those who are still suffering in silence to understand that they are not alone.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault and/or domestic violence, you are not alone, and help is available. Reaching out for help can be difficult, but it is the most important step in taking care of yourself and beginning the healing process.

As a New School student you may contact any of the following offices:

• Student Health Services, Counseling Services 
- Telephone: 212.229.1671, option 1
• Student Support and Crisis Management - Telephone: 212.229.5900 x3189 or x3710
• Housing - Your RAs, HRs, GHC’s and RHD’s are all prepared to advocate for any resident who has survived violence, and can help you contact other resources on campus.

The city also has resources for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors;

• Safe Horizon: Rape and Sexual Assault Hotline - 212.227.3000

• Safe Horizon: New York City Domestic Violence Hotline - 800.621.4673

• NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project - 212.714.1141

If you would like to make a shirt to add to the project please contact student health services at wellness@newschool.edu.

Please take a moment to notice the t-shirts around campus, educate yourselves on the issues surrounding intimate partner violence, and then help us to continue to be a university that will not tolerate sexual assault or domestic violence.

Nutritionist at The New School

Did you know that for a limited time we have a nutritionist available to all New School Students (who have paid the SHS fee)?


This is free of charge and open to all students who have paid the SHS fee. If you are new to SHS, you will need to fill out paperwork to open a medical record if you haven't already done so.

Acupressure Brought to You by the Office of Wellness and Health Promotion

Did you know you could get free ear acupressure on a weekly basis? Over the summer months of 2010, Rachel Knopf and I, co-leaders of Wellness & Health Promotion (formerly known as Health Education), as well as Tracy Robin, Assistant Vice President for Student Health & Support Services, were trained at the Lincoln Recovery Center in the Bronx in auricular acupuncture and acupressure. Based on Chinese medicine, these healing practices are based on the belief that the body has pressure points that when stimulated promote health and wellbeing. Specifically, we were trained in the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) protocol which stimulates five points in the ear (liver, kidneys, lungs, Shen Men and the sympathetic nervous system). Our aim via this training is to bring the practice of auricular acupuncture and acupressure to The New School as a way to complement and enhance health services offered to the student community.

Free auricular acupressure is offered every Thursday, 5-6 PM, at Lang Café for the entire 2010-2011 academic year. I am the primary provider and work closely with both Rachel and Tracy so that services are also offered through classes, by appointment, and during special events, such as the Day of Wellness, and whenever we table. One of the most amazing things about acupressure is that with appropriate training anyone can do it. We have trained Peer Health Advocates in acupressure and they, in turn, provide it when they table.

The point we stimulate when we provide acupressure is Shen Men (“Spirit Gate”). The tradition holds that when this point is stimulated by pressure (whether finger or seeds), it alleviates anxiety, controls nervousness, has a general relaxing effect, and helps bring the “Spirit Heart” (Heart Energetic) into balance for a conscious self. The images below show the approximate location of Shen Men as seen from the front part of the ear.In ancient times, actual plant seeds were used as the material for acupressure and the term remains with us today – ‘seeds’ (magnetic pellets) are placed on the Shen Men points on the back side of the outer ear, and can be left there for up to 3 days. We encourage participants to stimulate the point by lightly pressing on the seeds or when the seed is not in, massaging the ears. A bit of self love goes a long way!

For more information on acupressure or on any of the programs and services offered via Wellness and Health Promotion, email wellness@newschool.edu.

Written by: Tamara Oyola-Santiago, Health Educator