Domestic Violence Awareness Month Events At WCSU

DANBURY — Western Connecticut State University will hold “Operation Jungle Red” (OJR) events throughout the month of October in promotion of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The program will consist of four lectures on different topics and an ending OJR send-off event that will feature artist performances and a gathering of community resources.

Events will take place at the Student Center on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White Street, and the Westside Campus Center, 43 Lake Avenue Extension.

The following discussions will be from 11 am to 2 pm. The concluding send-off event will be from 7 to 9 pm:

*October 2: Gender Stereotypes – Midtown Student Center courtyard

*October 11: Sexual Violence – Westside Campus Center

*October 17: Violence and the Law – Midtown Student Center courtyard

*October 22: Intimate Partner Violence – Midtown Student Center courtyard

*October 24: OJR send off – Westside Campus Center ballroom

Students who attend the discussions will receive a pledge card and have their pinky nail painted red, a cornerstone of the event. Students willing to share what they have learned throughout the discussions will receive prize giveaways.

Litchfield Hall Resident Director Rafael Cordwell is leader of the antiviolence movement at WestConn.

“Violence, oppression, and prejudice are learned behaviors. That which is learned can be unlearned,” said Mr Cordwell, who organized what was a successful first OJR campaign at WestConn last October. Mr Cordwell, who chairs the OJR committee, is currently working toward a master of arts in women’s studies.

“The discussion groups are pivotal to the program and unique to WestConn,” Mr Cordwell said. “By recruiting professionals, we hoped to ensure the longevity of the program.”

Psychologists, police officers, professors, and educators, including Kelly Mullins, community educator for the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, and Rebecca Cohen, community educator for Women’s Support Services of Sharon, will lead discussions. Sharon Guck, coordinator of WestConn’s alcohol and substance abuse prevention program, also will take part, along with a number of other faculty members.

OJR was first enacted in 2008 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, to commemorate the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech and end senseless violence on college campuses.

The Women’s Center of Greater Danbury has a partnership with the university where it provides domestic violence and sexual assault outreach services to the WestConn community with an office located on WestConn’s Midtown campus. The Men’s Initiative is a movement organized through the center that confronts male violence against women by using male role models to conduct gender education and present a healthy definition of masculinity.

Members become agents of change by confronting gender stereotypes and behavior that devalues women.

Mr Cordwell is co-chair of the Women’s Center’s Men’s Initiative, where he was recently chosen as one of 100-Plus Men Who Make a Difference by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. He has implemented programs through the center such as the new “Slice of Life,” an eight-week, antiviolence program run through the residence halls.

“Transforming the atmosphere and culture at the university was the driving force behind my desire to replicate this program,” he added.

For more information, call 203-837-9060.