In acknowledgement of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, VSU has planned several events to help better inform students of the effects of domestic violence and ways to eliminate the pattern in the future.

The National Coalition against Domestic Violence reported that approximately “1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.”

Dr. Tracy Woodard Meyers, sociology professor and director for the Women’s and Gender Studies program, expressed her concern for victims of domestic violence, saying that people tend to not think about it and that there are many unreported incidences.

In her eyes, “One case is one too many.”

In their commitment to increase awareness on the issue, the Women’s and Gender Studies program opened the month with a Purple Ribbon Campaign the week of Oct. 4.

As a part of this campaign, the WGST students handed out purple ribbons to students around campus. They also provided information concerning domestic violence.

WGST is hosting a second event Oct. 17 through Oct. 21, known as the Clothesline Project. The program will provide t-shirts for students to decorate in regards to a personal experience with domestic violence or the experience of a loved one. Afterwards, the shirts will hang on a clothesline on the Pedestrian Mall of main campus.

Another event hosted by WGST, the Handprint Project, provides a way for mean to get involved.

Set for Oct. 26 through Oct. 28, this event calls for men to vow to never commit domestic violence or stand by and watch it happen without doing anything. Participants will cut out a handprint and post it on a board supplied by WGST.

VSU is not the only place dedicated to highlighting awareness.

Albany has a Handprint Project of its own at the Albany Mall on Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Atlanta is hosting “The Call to True Beauty” Rally and Memorial Balloon Lift 11 a.m-2 p.m. on Oct. 17 at the Atlanta City Hall Plaza.

For a full list of many more events happening in Georgia throughout the month of Oct., visit www.gacadv.org.