ASU Students carried the bright red, life sized wooden figures that represented Arizonans who died of domestic violence last year. Each figure told a story through a gold plaque on its chest. The plaque contained each woman's age, date of death, and a brief description of how they died.

Colin Stapczynski, and undeclared freshman and Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) pledge, carried a silent witness that represented Mariella Alvarado. The 42-year-old mother of three was beaten to death by her boyfriend in her front yard. "I think the figures caught a lot of people's attention and really made a statement," said Stapczynski. "People asked me all day who the figure was and what I was carrying it for."

The silent witness display was part of the Take Back the Night rally at Palo Verde Beach the night of Oct. 27. The rally included speakers from ASU's Students Educating about Rape and Violence Everywhere and Tempe High School's SERVE. There were also speakers from the Arizona Sexual Assault Network and a performance by Moonshadow, a local artist.

After the rally, the crowd marched from Palo Verde Beach to the post office on Mill Avenue and back. The rally ended with a candlelight vigil. "I was very happy with the turnout of 150 people at the rally and even more so with the 80 people that stayed for both the rally and the march," said Sandy Naatz, program coordinator of the Relationship and Sexual Violence Program, and organizer of the Silent Witness Project.

Getting Involved
FIJI decided to get involved with the Silent Witness Project after Naatz gave a presentation on sexual assault to the chapter members. "To my pleasant surprise, the program was very well received and the guys seemed engaged in the information I had to share," Naatz said. "After I mentioned the Silent Witness Project to them, they said they wanted to help."

FIJI president Kurt Solarte said he thought it was important for the fraternity to get involved to show its support for victims of domestic violence. Solarte added that their involvement will help break the stereotype that fraternities foster an image of sexism.

"Domestic violence is not a woman's issue," Naatz said. "Yet, the fact remains that more women are beaten, battered, and killed than men. It isn't up to women alone to stop the violence. Men and women need to work together. We still have a long way to go."

click here to view the article as it appeared in the "Greek Review"

by Briana Bonar

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