By Kiara Catanzaro
News Editor
Several organizations at St. Bonaventure University are facilitating the “Enough is Enough” campaign, an national collegiate event devoted to ending societal violence.
The campaign began Monday and will end on Thursday, April 10. St. Bonaventure’s Student Affairs division, the Franciscan Center for Social Concern, the Women’s Studies program and several student organizations hosted several events this past week to help the campaign.
On Monday, March 31, VOICES, an organization dedicated to women’s issues, installed a T-shirt wall stretching from Plassmann Hall to the Reilly Center. Students painted T-shirts with nonviolent messages to display on the wall.
Emily Jo Manchester, a sophomore Spanish major, said it was rewarding to see students on campus create designs on T-shirts for a positive cause.
“The wall was a great demonstration of the campaign because painting T-shirts is a beautiful and easy way to show support for victims of violence,” Manchester said.
On Tuesday, the groups held a moment of silence for those who have been victimized by social harassment or violence and have kept their experiences to themselves. The event, sponsored by Spectrum, St. Bonaventure’s gay-straight alliance, supported and promoted awareness of LGBTQA students on campus.
Sabine Wakim, a sophomore international studies and philosophy major, gave a speech about those who suffered from discrimination and asked students in the dining hall to participate in a moment of silence.
“Individuals who are a part of your Bona family are suffering massive amounts of discrimination, and today we commemorate those people,” Wakim said in her speech. “Regardless your political or religious views, you belong to a campus which identifies itself as not only a safe place for the marginalized but a champion of them.”
Spectrum also sponsored the “No H8” photo shoot, which took place in the Hickey Dining Hall. The photos were taken and edited by Sean Conklin, assistant curator at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
Manchester said this event shows support to the LGBTQA community on campus.
“I participated in the photo shoot because it is an easy way to publicly show support for the oppression faced by the LGBTQA community,” Manchester said.
The “Enough is Enough” campaign will continue at St. Bonaventure through next week.
Saturday, students will work registration and water stations during a 5k race to support the Olean Genesis House, a non-profit organization that provides temporary shelter and meals to families and individuals.
There will also be a Holocaust Remembrance Service at 7 p.m. in the University Chapel Saturday.
On Tuesday, April 8, VOICES will host the “Take Back the Night” program at 6 p.m. in The Loft of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The program is focused to raise awareness about sexual assault.
Student slam poets, Makeda Loney, a senior journalism and mass communication major, and Denelle Davis, a sophomore psychology major will perform at the event. There will also be a presentation given by a woman from the local community who is a sexual assault survivor.
Sarah Hicks, vice president for VOICES, said all students can learn how to make St. Bonaventure a safer environment from this event.
“The night has a focus on active bystanding and community efforts to reduce sexual assault and make campus a safer, happier place,” Hicks said. “We’re planning on an informative and engaging conversation about some very real issues. I think everyone can gain something by attending the event.”
On Thursday, April 10, Olena Savchuk will give a lectured titled, “Violence Against Women in the Family in Ukraine,” at 4:30 p.m. in the William F. Walsh Science Center Auditorium. Savchuk will specifically address the issue of violence women suffer in their homes throughout the Ukraine.
For questions about the listed events, contact Sister Suzanne Kush, director of the Franciscan center for social concern, at skush@sbu.edu, Vito Czyz, director of safety and security at vczyz@sbu.edu, or Yvonne Makl, coordinator for the Damietta Center at ymakl@sbu.edu.
