With more than 20,000 students attending Ball State University, the possibility of at least one student facing relationship violence is high.
"Someone on this campus is dealing with this issue," Derick Virgil, director of the Multicultural Center, said. "We can be assured of that."
That's why Ball State's Multicultural Center will have a Brown Bag discussion today to focus on the issue. The event will take place at noon.
"We felt like it was an important issue to talk about and an important issue for students to talk about so that we possibly can help someone that could be involved in that sort of a relationship," Virgil said.
Michele Cole, victim advocate in Ball State's Office of Victim Services, will serve as a primary presenter for the discussion. In addition to speaking about relationship violence, Cole said she will inform students about the office and its services.
Unfortunately, relationship violence remains an under-reported crime, Cole said.
"A lot of times, students aren't aware they are in an unhealthy relationship," Cole said. "It's important to get the word out about the dynamics of an unhealthy relationship and respecting your partner."
Today's discussion will also focus on violence among family members, the process of getting out of relationship violence, how to recognize and help someone who is facing the situation and when to go to the authorities about the issue, Virgil said.
Though past Brown Bag discussions have focused on interracial dating and other relationship-oriented topics, this is the first time a Brown Bag discussion has been centered around relationship violence, Virgil said.
He said he hoped students would become more aware about the prevalence of the problem and be willing to address it.
"Awareness is the first step to action," Virgil said. "They have to know something is going on to know to do something about it."
And because violence knows no color barrier, all students will benefit from attending the event, Virgil said.
"Violence is not a respecter of persons and, just like everyone has human rights, every human can have their rights infringed upon," Virgil said. "Every human has a right to be respected."
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