Campus recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Binghamton University will host and participate in a variety of events throughout the month of October to raise support for domestic violence awareness. Events include the Clothesline Project, workshops and talks about awareness, bulletin-board and poster competitions, a candlelight vigil, and Paint the Town Purple, when the University’s Library Tower will be lit with purple lights.

For the Clothesline Project, to be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Peace Quad, members of a “human clothesline” will hold shirts containing messages of support to victims of interpersonal violence. The shirts will be one of six colors, each representing a different type of violence. For more information, visit the web.

For Paint the Town Purple, Binghamton University is partnering with the Crime Victims Assistance Center (CVAC) to spread domestic violence awareness through the color purple. In support, Binghamton’s Library Tower will be lit up purple Friday, Oct. 5. CVAC’s official event will be held at Peacemaker’s Stage on Court Street at 7 p.m. the same night.

The month’s domestic violence awareness events will be coordinated by Binghamton’s Health Promotion and Prevention Services (HPPS) and the 20:1 Sexual Assault Prevention and Bystander Intervention programs.

Dara Raboy-Picciano, coordinator of both 20:1 programs and senior counselor at Binghamton, said the University’s participation in domestic violence awareness is very important.

“A strong, clear message from the University and University administration shows support for victims and that perpetrators will be held accountable,” she said.

There will also be a One Love workshop for University faculty and staff, which is designed to increase their ability to recognize the warning signs of domestic abuse and violence. The One Love Foundation, created in honor of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia student who was murdered by her boyfriend, is one of the nation’s leaders in educating young people and recruiting them as leaders of change. For this reason, 20:1 interns will also receive One Love training and become facilitators of the program.

Yitzhak Maurer, a senior anthropology major and student assistant for the 20:1 programs, said the goal is to normalize discussions about domestic violence.

“One of the scariest feelings is feeling like you’re alone in a situation,” Maurer said.

He said one of the most important skills the interns are learning is to ask deeper questions about their friends’ relationships, to go beneath the surface of social media posts containing pictures of a seemingly happy couple.

“People in an abusive relationship will try to hide it,” Maurer said. “They’ll try to make it seem like everything is normal, everything is fine.”

Other HPPS events include a bulletin-board competition for resident assistants and a door-decorating competition for faculty and staff centered around increasing interpersonal violence awareness, posters and tabling throughout campus, and a candlelight vigil for sexual assault. 20:1 will also host talks on domestic violence. To sign up for the bulletin-board/door competition, go online.

Raboy-Picciano hopes the results of the many events will benefit the campus community, and encourage students and staff alike to get involved.

“Bystander intervention is a big part of stopping the escalation of violence and can help to create a safer campus,” she said.

For more information about any of the events or how to get involved, contact Dara Raboy-Picciano at piccian@binghamton.edu.