By Reina Factor

Cameron Sheedy ’08 raised $532 from a bake sale in support of Denim Day in L.A. Wednesday, April 23. The proceeds go to Peace Over Violence, a non-profit organization that started the event.

Denim Day in L.A. is “a campaign to raise awareness and educate the public about rape and sexual assault,” according to the project’s website.

“It is about a supreme court case about rape that was overturned in Italy because they said that the girl was wearing tight jeans and was asking for it,” Sheedy said.

Sheedy was inspired to have a bake-sale after learning about Denim Day from her mother, the Head of Domestic Violence for the City of Los Angeles.

Schools around Los Angeles held different events to commemorate the day including decorating jeans and rapping about sexual assault, but Sheedy decided to do a fundraiser mainly to spread awareness.

“It [rape and sexual assault] is a bigger deal in other places where it is more commonly seen,” she said. “In public schools it is prevalent and it exists here too, but people just don’t talk about it.”

In addition to buying treats from the bake sale which included lemon bars, cupcakes, and matzah covered in chocolate for students observing Passover, students were also asked to wear jeans to show their support.

“I have seen a lot of people wearing jeans, but the great thing is that people may not even know they are supporting a cause, but it makes me happy regardless if they are wearing jeans for that reason,” Sheedy said. “I say thank you so much for everyone who wore jeans and contributed to the success.”