DAILY LOBO new mexico
Me and my Civic
monday
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April 16, 2012
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Groups hold event to combat violence by Svetlana Ozden sozden@unm.edu
One quarter of female college students in the United States are victims of attempted or completed sexual assault according to the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Faculty and students alike will spread awareness of the ongoing battle with harassment and violence today at the second Annual Gray-Torres Conference on Interpersonal Violence. Co-organizer and Interim Director of the Women’s Resource Center Summer Little said the theme of this year’s conference is “It Begins with Me.” She said she wants to focus on giving bystanders the tools to intervene in a violent situation. “The conference was originally about domestic violence and stalking, but we realized that we need to include verbal and sexual assault as well, because there are always points where an intervention could be made,” she said. “But it’s on a continuum; the problem only gets worse once it starts.” Co-organizer and chair of the English department Gail Houston said the conference formed in response to the murder of UNM professor Hector Torres and student Stefania Gray. Torres, 54, and Gray, 43, were found dead in Torres’ home on March 8, 2010. The victims were shot to death by Ralph Montoya, Gray’s ex-boyfriend. Montoya confessed to murdering the couple the next day and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in October 2011. Little said keynote speaker, Mike Dilbeck, will present the details of
his Every|Day Hero Campaign. She said Dilbeck is the founder of the campaign and teaches people to recognize and intervene in interpersonal violence situations. “The Every|Day Hero Campaign further emphasizes the exact message we’re trying to convey,” she said. “Anyone can be a hero, anyone can intervene and stop a violent situation before it’s too late.” Little emphasized the importance of male involvement and awareness. She said Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity members sponsored Dilbeck’s coming to speak at UNM, and that the fraternity’s sponsorship is a startingpoint for that effort. “Not all men commit violence, but all men can be involved in the efforts to end it,” she said. “It’s so important for men to step forward as allies, and the men of PIKE have helped us tremendously.” Pi Kappa Alpha member and ASUNM Attorney General Greg Montoya-Mora said the fraternity members do their philanthropy through the Women’s Resource Center by promoting, organizing and volunteering in various events hosted by the Women’s Resource Center. He said the fraternity believes it is important for everyone to spread awareness and help put an end to harassment and violence. “Fraternities often have a bad reputation for our moral values,” Montoya-Mora said. “This is an effort to show that our values truly lie in being gentlemen.” Houston said student involvement played a major role in the organization of the conference this year. “Students have helped us broaden our focus and offer a new
LOBO PALOOZA
Jessikha Williams / Daily Lobo Mechanical Engineering students Ivar Arnarsson (left) and James Clarke joust at Lobo Palooza Friday on the east side of the SUB. Lobo Palooza was hosted by ASUNM Community Experience and ASUNM Lobo Spirit to show student appreciation. The event included a dunk tank, jousting, face painting, cotton candy and a photo booth.
perspective,” she said. “Instead of focusing on domestic violence and stalking, the conference now includes every type of violence, from verbal harassment to sexual assault and teaches people how to intervene in every situation.” Student volunteer Elizabeth Thayer said she became involved because she wants to help spread awareness. She said she wants every student to have a better understanding of how to deal with and prevent violence. “Every student needs to be aware of their surroundings because there’s violence all around us,” she said. “We all need to know what we can do to help and make sure we
never lose another UNM member.” Little said involvement includes more than the student body. She said the conference is co-sponsored by the UNM Police Department, 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Verizon Wireless, Theta Nu Xi sorority, the Rape Crisis Center, Domestic Violence Resource Center and the Agora Crisis Center. She said donations have been received from UNM President David Schmidly, the Athletics Department, the Alfonso Ortiz Center, the Women’s Resource Center and the English department. “The conference involves everyone on campus and in our community,” she said. “It cost about $8,000, but the money has
all been donated.” Little said the conference will include a number of guest speakers, a panel discussion and poetry readings and will cover all types of violence and how to intervene in every kind of violent situation. She said the conference will also include a film screening of “Telling Amy’s Story,” a film about a former Verizon employee who was murdered by her husband. “The film is a deconstruction of Amy’s case and points out places in her life where interventions could have happened,” she said. “It encompasses the exact message we are trying to send out.”
by Avicra Luckey
going on in our own back yard.” Julie Jaynes, member of SJP, said the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israeli lobby organization that aims to strengthen the U.S.Israel relationship, has a lot of influence on Congress and media. She said AIPAC influences the average American’s understanding of the conflict in favor of Israel. “They (AIPAC) have created this sort of censorship against knowing what’s actually going on on the ground in Palestine, so it’s kind of our job as a student voice and an alternative media voice to bring that perspective to our campus,” she said. Mustafa said the group decided to include other organizations in the weeklong project in order to call attention to both social and physical barriers. She said one way the group decided to do this was to break the week up by issue area. Each day will
Pro-Palestine group erects ‘Israeli Apartheid Wall’ avicraluckey@gmail.com
Rebecca Hampton / Daily Lobo Graduate student Carlos De Anda helps with the construction of the mock wall Sunday morning in Smith Plaza. De Anda represents the Association of Architecture Design and Urbanism. AADU meets in the architecture building on the first Tuesday of every month.
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 116
issue 138
Coaching the kids
Beaten by Boise
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See page 20
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) gathered Saturday to build a plywood mock “Israeli Apartheid Wall” that will be erected on Smith Plaza all this week as part of the group’s Mock Wall Campaign. The wall symbolizes barriers to equality all over the world, according to the group’s press release. Danya Mustafa, co-chair of SJP, said the group hopes to call attention to not only the Israel-Palestine conflict, but issues concerning immigration and other social inequalities around the globe. “We’re going to do the Israeli Apartheid Wall, which surrounds the West Bank and (is) inside the West Bank in Gaza,” she said. “We’re also going to do parallels with the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s especially important because New Mexico is a border state and a lot of people don’t know what’s
see Wall PAGE 3
TODAY
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