The project began as a symbol of the traditional ways that women exchanged information, across the back fence or clothesline, and as a way of "airing society's dirty laundry," said Tessa Sicble, public education coordinator at the North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services.

Strung on clothesline after clothesline in the sunny room in Clairmont Hall on the University of Mary campus, T-shirts pinned there scream and whimper, in ink and paint, words of pain and rage, shouts of triumph and some whispered stories of hope.

The Clothesline Project, sponsored by the North Dakota Council on Abused Women's Services Coalition Against Sexual Assault, exhibits T-shirts from around the state that were created by victims and survivors, friends and family of women and children who have suffered from sexual or physical abuse, rape, murder.

The national Clothesline campaign started in 1990, and North Dakota's in 1995, Sicble said. Sicble said shirts are often submitted privately after an exhibit, in honor of someone, by survivors and support groups.

In the guest book are the names and hometowns of visitors to the exhibit. Next to the names, a place for comments on what they've seen.

"Powerful."

"Sad."

And beside a few names in the guest book, simply, "survivor."

To hammer home the stark stories, a recording clangs and booms in the background. A gong sounds every 10 to 12 seconds, when a woman is battered in the nation. Every minute or so, a whistle shrieks - somewhere someone has been raped. When a bell jangles, three or four times a day, someone has died of abuse.

Time slows as visitors read what has been written by victims - from a huge, unanswerable "why?" to graphically detailed stories of childhood and adult sexual molestation and rape.

Students and faculty silently walk up and down the lines, reading the stories, lifting a T-shirt sleeve to see some hidden words, pondering.

"These (stories) could bring tears to your eyes," said Mary Behm, 18, a freshman at U-Mary. She knows it still happens, she said, and girls still mostly keep these experiences to themselves.

"Shocking" was the reaction of Nolan Atchinson, 19, a freshman. He said he thinks students may believe these experiences are mostly things of the past, "but obviously not," he said.

Faculty member Susanne Cuperus said she hopes that sharing these stories will lead to healing for those victims.

The Clothesline Project is on display at U-Mary from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, students will be offered T-shirts and materials to create shirts to add to the display.

"We really invite the public to come out and take a look," said Trina Black, student counselor at U-Mary, who coordinated the exhibit on campus.

"We want to raise awareness and challenge people's thinking," she said, "really challenging (students) to remember that this happens. And what role do they want to take in making a difference?"