Alpha Chi Omega held rememberance for Meg Durand
By Eric Wallace, Staff Writer//
On April 10, High Point University students marched in solidarity to recognize and remember those who have faced domestic violence or lost their lives from it.
HPU’s chapter of Alpha Chi Omega sorority in partnership with the JED Foundation, an organization that seeks to “promote emotional health and prevent suicide among college students,” according to its website, organized their inaugural walk to remember those who have battled or lost their lives from domestic abuse.
The walk was also designed as a memorial for High Point student Meg Durand, a sophomore who passed away earlier this semester. A candle was lit in her honor to start the walk and some of her friends shared their experiences and memories. Her family was also present at the event supporting the walk.
“I think this walk also served as an amazing memorial for Meg Durand and let her closest friends be directly involved with speaking on her behalf and lighting her candle,” Alpha Chi Omega’s VP of Philanthropy, Erin Creedon said.
The walk was also aimed at raising awareness among High Point students on the warning signs of relationship violence. These signs may include your partner monitoring your phone, threatening you, or pulling you away from your friends and family.
At the walk, a member of the chapter shared her personal experience with domestic abuse when she was in high school. She sought to remind those in attendance that if they ever find themselves in this circumstance, to seek help.
“The goal for the event was to start a conversation about domestic violence and abuse. This is a topic that many do not like to talk about,” Creedon said, “however, I want people to recognize the signs of manipulation and abuse before they escalate.”
Creedon also noted that domestic abuse happens to 1 out of every 4 women worldwide and every 9 seconds, a woman is beaten or raped. Conversely, 1 out of 6 men are also faced with this statistic.
“I learned a lot,” said Julia Wolfe, a HPU freshman who attended the event, “the fact that this happens to 1 out of 4 women really surprised me.”
Alpha Chi Omega plans to make this an annual event and plan to possibly expand it to the public, making it a community-wide event. They hope to remind people that domestic violence does not just happen on college campuses, but all over the world.
“I would say the event was very successful. We had no idea what to expect for our first time putting this on, but we were overwhelmed by the amount of support,” Creedon said, “I also think we opened people’s eyes a little bit more to the signs and effects of domestic violence.”
The chapter encouraged anyone who may be experiencing relationship violence to reach out to the National Domestic Violence 24/7 Hotline at (800-799-SAFE), or HPU Counseling Services at (336-888-6352).
“I want everyone, but especially young girls to understand their self- worth and know how they should be treated in a relationship,” Creedon said.