By Jolie Winemiller ’18, assistant editor
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Lebanon Valley College supports the awareness of domestic violence by turning the stacks on top of the Neidig-Garber Science Center to the color purple.
LVC and the Domestic Violence Intervention of Lebanon County have teamed up to spread awareness to the LVC and local community of domestic violence. The DVI of Lebanon County is involved on campus with the newly designed program LVC Crew, formerly known as Green Dot. The agency averages 1,100 to 1,200 local individuals every year.
“If we account rape, physical violence and stalking by an intimate partner, it affects 1 of every 3 women,” Mike Ritter, public education coordinator of Domestic Violence Intervention of Lebanon County, said. “For men who are affected, it is 1 out of 4.”
According to DVI of Lebanon County, an average of 28% of high school and college students will experience dating violence in their lifetime and that number includes the students at LVC. Lighting the stacks purple is just one local example to spread awareness of domestic violence, but on a national scale, cities across the United States turn their structures purple to spread awareness too.
“I know other larger communities like New York City will turn the town purple or light the night,” Ritter said. “The White House, Capital Building, and skyscrapers will light up purple in October. This is just a brief opportunity to let the members in the community know and show support for domestic violence awareness month.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-safe (7233). For more information, go to dviolc.org.