By Erin O'Hare '15
Members of the Siena College community filled the Maloney Great Room with energy, joy and passion as they danced together in solidarity to support the push to end violence against women and girls. The gathering, called One Billion Rising, is a global movement led by women’s rights activists around the world.
“One Billion Rising is a chance to partner with the majority of student groups on campus to publicly address the social issue of violence against women,” said Olivia Emigh ’15, a member of the Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Women’s Peace and Nonviolence Committee and Anti-Violence Task Force. “Our hope is that this event will bring more Siena community members into the ongoing conversation about eliminating sexual and relationship violence on campus and elsewhere.”
Dacey Bonney, a lecturer in social work who teaches a course on relationship violence, said that this event is designed to raise awareness against abuse and to get people talking. “It’s to normalize the conversation on campus, because it’s a problem here just like everywhere else in the world,” Bonney said.
One Billion Rising has had a profound impact since it launched on Valentine’s Day 2012. Born out of the V-Day movement, One Billion Rising is a response to the alarming statistic that 1 in 3 women will be beaten or raped at some point during their life. Given the global population, one billion women and girls will fall victim to violence.
“Raising awareness about violence against women is key to preventing future violence,” said event organizer and economics major Pamela Harrison ’18. “One Billion Rising provides a safe space to acknowledge survivors of violence, which is very unique.”
The event featured performances from the College’s talented dance teams: S.O.L.I.D., Latin Fever and Bhangra. The student dancers also led the crowd in a dance to the One Billion Rising anthem, “Break the Chain” in support of this year’s theme “Rise for Revolution.”
“Dancing is contagious and it’s fun. There’s different dancing for different people, but it’s all to share the same message today,” said Janairis Torres ’15, a psychology major and member of Latin Fever.
Time Warner Cable News Anchor Kate Welshofer served as the event’s master of ceremonies. Welshofer set the tone of empowerment by providing audience members with a simple, poignant message, “You are stronger than you think.”
This year’s One Billion Rising was sponsored by Siena’s Office of Residential Life and Residence Hall Association, Unity House and Southwest Airlines.
