The White Ribbon Campaign will span the entire month of March this year, a departure from the past when the campaign against sexual and relationship violence would last 10 days.

Organized by Vera House, the White Ribbon Campaign is led by men and encourages all members of the Syracuse University community to join them in their efforts. This male leadership helps to acknowledge the important contributions men have made to this effort and invites others to take a role, according to the Vera House website.

During the campaign, members of the community wear a white ribbon or wristband to signify that they will not commit, condone or remain silent about domestic or sexual violence, according to the website.

Chris Benton, director of communications and special events at Vera House, said the organization hopes to reach its goal of distributing ribbons and wristbands to a total of 40,000 people.

“We aim for a world free of domestic and sexual violence, and we would love to be a force of change in that direction,” Benton said.

Benton said the campaign has two main focuses. The primary focus, she said, is creating awareness in the community and enabling the community to come together to end domestic and sexual violence.

The second focus of the campaign is to raise money for various Vera House programs and services.

“The core of the program is that we ask participants to pledge to never commit violence, to never remain silent in the presence of violence and to never support violence,” Benton said.

Eric McGriff, a Class of 2015 SU alumnus and former president of A Men’s Issue, said the campaign is an opportunity to address issues of sexual and relationship violence and how pervasive violence really is.

“I loved being a part of this campaign every year because it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

McGriff added that it is important for men and women to pay attention to the campaign because no one is immune to the effects of violence. It is always better to be proactive and to educate yourself about interpersonal violence rather than wait until you’re put into a situation where you have to be reactive, he said.

“It’s important to pay attention to this campaign because no one should ever be afraid to walk home alone at night,” McGriff said.

The campaign will start with the kickoff walk on Friday, when community members will tie white ribbons to trees and lamp posts to signify the celebration and the beginning of the new campaign.

McGriff said SU also worked closely with Vera House to table around campus and at sporting events to sell wristbands and pins for the campaign.

He added that the White Ribbon campaign “fits comfortably” during the earlier part of the semester because it comes around the same time as the Vagina Monologues, SU Rising, Take Back The Night and other events and initiatives that raise awareness about gender violence and healthy relationships at SU.

Published on March 2, 2016 at 9:36 pm

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