The Observer, October 12, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 7
Alpha Chi Omega kicks off Domestic Violence Awareness month programs
One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Each year, about 324,000 pregnant women in the United States are battered by the men in their lives. Every 21 days, a woman is killed by domestic violence.
Ask someone if they know about these statistics and you probably will get a negative response. Ask that same person if they care about these statistics and the hope is that a much different answer will emerge. Alpha Chi Omega is working to make the answer to both of these questions "yes" during October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
"We're really focused on letting people know what a huge epidemic this [domestic violence] is, how all-encompassing it is, affecting all parts of life," says junior Laura Dickerson, who is a co-chair, along with fellow junior Elisse Cortez, for Alpha Chi Omega's Domestic Violence Awareness (DVA) week. Running Oct. 24-26, DVA week includes the traditional kickball tournament, a popular event that pulls teams from various organizations around campus.
Both Cortez and Dickerson decided this year to expand the program, now offering six different programs to participate in. These programs included a film on domestic violence shown yesterday with the Flora Mather Center for Women, and setting up luminaries with dopmestic violence facts around campus this past Monday.
Upcoming events are a candlelight vigil Oct. 24, a self-defense class with Case Tae Kwon Do on Oct. 25, and the DVA Kickball Tournament on Friday, with the winning team getting a free dinner catered by Alpha Chi Omega.
"We really are hoping for a great turnout. Our national sorority took it [domestic violence] in as our philanthropy several years ago, which prompted our chapter to start our kickball tournament. But Laura and I both decided to make it a bit bigger, not only for the campus, but for Cleveland as well," says Cortez. Along with expanding the events on campus, Alpha Chi Omega has been in contact with both the Plain Dealer and the Domestic Violence Center of Cleveland to promote their efforts.
The candlelight vigil, which is the centerpiece of the week-long remembrance, is certainly an intense experience, with life-sized cutouts of people who have been murdered because of domestic violence.
"We are trying to focus on getting entire campuses aware, broadening the target audience, just reaching out to as many people as possible. People stay away from this topic which really affects so many aspects of life, economically, housing-wise, childhood development, etc. Our hope is to bring more attention to a big problem," said Dickerson.
These problems include things like shelters only allowing women to stay for 90 days, often forcing them to go back to their abusive households.
For groups interested in participating in the kickball tournament, the entry fee per team is $50, with eight to 15 members per team. A raffle will also be set up in Nord during the week, with local businesses around Cleveland donating gift certificates to be won.
