Chelsea Zhao
Staff Writer
Wellness Center and other local organizations raised awareness of sexual assault and commemorated victims and survivors of domestic violence on April 21 in the Quad.
Members of the DU community gathered on the Quad for Take Back the Night Memorial and Silent Walk last week to learn about the resources of domestic violence for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
On the Cloister Walk, Representatives from groups including Campus Safety, Department of Social Work, Administration and Student Government provided information and spoke on the historical relevance and need for community cooperation.
Barrington Price, vice president of Student Success and Engagement, introduced the event along with opening prayer from Tara Segal, assistant director of University Ministry.
Tamara Bland, director of the nursing program, spoke of the Girl Scouts chant: “Make New Friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold,” in reflecting policies for women and demanding justice for victims of sexual violence.
Shalonda Lane, assistant coordinator of Continuing Studies, and Sheila Yousuf-Abramson and Leticia Villarreal-Sosa from the School of Social Work offered emotional words of reflection about Andris B. Wofford, the master’s student who lost her life to a domestic dispute just months before finishing her degree.
In the memorial, professors recognized the late Wofford as the “social worker without a degree” with tenacity in pursuing the education she planned to dedicate to her two daughters. A legacy scholarship is set up as a tribute to Wofford as well as a trauma-informed approach to domestic violence for social work graduate students.
Sasha Santiago from Campus Safety and Ben Ransom, DU liaison to the River Forest Police Department, spoke on their support on behalf of the community.
Santiago stated that the bulk of the work is “relationship building and connection with people.” Ransom related his involvement in Internet Crime Against Children and notes “we want to create an environment for people to feel safer to come forward.”
Gabriella Corral, president of Student Government Association, mentioned Explain the Asterisk, an organization that aims to end campus sexual violence through policy reform and education at local, state and federal levels.
Fashion Lecturer McKinley Johnson introduced the three fashion students Eimee Diaz Rueda, Francheliz Sanchez, and Maya Marie Villareal, who shared their designs that seek to highlight spiritual renewal, rebirth from trauma and confidence in self to victims of sexual abuse.
After a solemn walk of commemoration around the Quad, participants returned to the cloister walk, where tables designated for Sarah’s inn, Rise Up, Pillars Community Health, Wellness Center and Mujeres Latinas En Accion laid out flyers about programs available for the community.
