A panel of local instructors and officers aimed to educate students on domestic violence, and the pitfalls of a serious and difficult topic.

As the second installment in a three-part series aimed at informing Colorado Mesa University (CMU) students about domestic violence, Speech instructors Dee Chambers and Holly Buglewicz hosted a domestic violence workshop featuring a campus resource panel on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The goal of the workshop was to “start the conversation about domestic violence, to raise awareness about domestic violence and to provide students with information on campus and community resources,” according to Buglewicz. 

“If we can raise awareness of what domestic violence is, who can be affected by it and provide campus and community resources to our students, then we have done what we set out to do.  We hope that through these events, students are able to recognize unhealthy behaviors within relationships and if they see something [they] say something,” Buglewicz said. 

Professor Chambers and Professor Buglewicz opened up the workshop with various discussion points for attendees to talk about amongst themselves. They also shared some statistics and other information about domestic violence, as well as debunking various myths about what domestic violence is and who is affected by it. 

“Domestic violence is often something that is behind the scenes and silent. If we don’t talk about it, then it continues behind the scenes and silent,” Chambers said. 

The hour-long workshop also featured a panel comprised of police officer Lonnie Chavez, Community Hospital worker Autumn Gundt and CMU Wellness Center employee Anna Lee Walker. They discussed various paths of action CMU students can take if they find themselves or someone they know facing the threats of domestic violence. 

“I hope attendees will take this knowledge and information to help themselves and those around them – to be good to themselves and be good to each other,” Buglewicz said. “I hope students leave the events knowing and remembering [that] everyone has the right and deserves to be loved, happy, and feel safe in their relationships. I truly hope our students know that they are not alone and there is always someone who is there to help.” 

The third and final installment in the series will be a conflict management workshop taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 30.