DSU Counseling Center Holds a Domestic Violence Conference

DSU students received guidance in some of the pitfalls of social life and intimacy during a Nov.7 “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” Domestic Violence Conference in the MLK Student Center on campus.

The four-hour conference – which was sponsored by the DSU Counseling Center – included spoken word and dramatic skit performances, a student’s personal domestic violence story, a panel discussion and information about the SARA (Sexual Abuse Response Advocate) Program.

The students also heard from keynote speaker  Paulette Sullivan Moore, a Wilmington attorney and the vice president of public policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Ms. Moore leads that organization’s work with Congress and the Obama Administration to support, implement and fund laws, policies and programs that promote safety for victims of domestic violence, as well as provide guidance for the systems designed to assist the and appropriate societal responses for perpetrators of such crimes.

“Yesterday’s event was an awareness and prevention program to help our campus community understand the issues around violence in general and intimate partner violence in particular,” said Ralph Robinson, DSU director of Counseling. “Education is power and we want our students to know the facts so that they can make informed decisions about their behavior when it comes to relationships.”

Mr. Robinson commended Pauline Meek, DSU counselor, her assistant Silver Debrick, and Candice Moore, director of the DSU International Students Office, for putting together the conference, as well as all others who participated.