Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) unanimously voted to dedicate the month of October as domestic violence awareness month, in a board meeting Oct. 30.
The proposal came from Safer, an on-campus confidential advocacy, education and support program for addressing sexual assault, sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking.
Cal Poly did not recognize any specific issue during October prior to the vote, according to ASI Board of Directors representative for the College of Engineering Joe Sandoval.
“This is a huge acknowledgement from our student leaders that this is an important topic,” Assistant Director of Wellbeing Kara Samaniego said.
Dating and domestic violence is a problem that severely impacts Cal Poly’s students ability to thrive on campus, according to prevention specialist for gender-based violence initiatives Jennifer MacMartin
This October, Safer held 12 events around San Luis Obispo advocating for domestic violence awareness.
Volunteers worked more than 250 hours to create, staff and organize the 12 events and engaged with more than 800 people, according to Department of Justice Grant Project Coordinator Megan Stuart.
The events focused on instigating a community response and shifting social norms behind domestic violence and altering how people respond, according to Samaniego.