Marquette trained the Alpha Chi Omega sorority in domestic violence prevention last week as part of Domestic Violence Awareness month.
The One Love Foundation was founded in 2010 in honor of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia senior who was beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend three weeks before graduating. The group works with schools around the country to reduce relationship violence and raise awareness.
“Everyone was very receptive,” said Alina Atayan, a junior in the College of Nursing. “It’s obviously a tough subject to talk about, especially for a lot of girls.”
Atayan recently brought One Love to campus after she started interning with the foundation last summer. She is trying to expand the organization and educate various student groups with One Love’s Escalation Workshop. Alpha Chi Omega was the first group to receive the training.
After launching Escalation one year ago, One Love has a presence at about 300 colleges and has held workshops at around 150 high schools.
“We know that ages 16 to 24 is the maximum risk age group (for domestic violence),” said Krista Giuntoli, One Love program coordinator. “It’s this idea that we are meeting the most at-risk group where they are at, but also, giving them the tools and helping them feel empowered. The easiest way to do that is by talking about early warning signs.”
The foundation’s research-based, 90-minute workshop educates students about the issue using a film and discussion that is run by One Love-trained student facilitators.
“Our goal is to show people a spectrum of warning signs,” Atayan said. “There are a lot of subtle signs, that generally have to do with control, that you can see and stop before it gets to that point of someone physically being harmed.”
The film features Paige, a fictional college student whose abusive relationship with her boyfriend Chase ends in death. The following discussion covers topics addressed in the film and gives participants a chance to share input about the issue.
Alpha Chi Omega participated in the workshop as part of its Domestic Violence Awareness Week, a week dedicated to raising awareness about its philanthropic cause and fundraising to support it.
Eighty-eight members of the sorority attended this workshop, one of the 683 Escalation workshops that One Love has held at schools around the country.
“It shocked me and at the same time scared me to think that someone I love could be in a relationship like this, and I might not ever notice,” said Erin Church, a junior in the College of Nursing and a member of Alpha Chi Omega.
Marquette’s One Love is working with the Athletic Department to schedule an Escalation workshop in the near future.
One Love launched the #ThatsNotLove Campaign this week to promote healthy relationships and to spread the word about their mission.
“It is part of this effort to see how much we can put out there,” Giuntoli said. “How much can we raise awareness?”
The campaign’s video has received almost 750,000 hits on YouTube since One Love’s campaign launch Oct. 6.
