On Wednesday, Oct. 16, the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) hosted “Survivor and Ally Self Care Day,” in which students were invited to make self-care kits and learn how to handle and report domestic violence.
Upon arrival, students were greeted with a plethora of items and activities. Essential oils, spa headbands, face masks, tea, mini journals and pamphlets on domestic violence and self-care lined the table. There were also colored pencils and fun yet important coloring pages, some with words like “Look out for your boos” with ghosts and candy, or “We are magic and deserve to live in a world without violence” with a photo of a witch.
There were also a lot of snacks, including Oreos and chips, and students were able to use the Keurig to make coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
“We wanted to have an event so people could come make self-care kits to take care of themselves because there are a lot of heavy topics going around right now,” senior student outreach coordinator Reagan Griemsman said. Griemsman created the event alongside fellow student outreach coordinator Lidiya Kelyman, a junior here at Ramapo.
“Events like this are important because you don’t know everyone’s story and you don’t want to assume anyone’s story,” said Griemsman. “It’s important to just have a space for people to take care of themselves and support people who have gone through something.”
“It seemed very interesting,” senior Lacie Dipietro said of why she chose to attend the event. “I’ve never been over here before so I thought it would be perfect.”
This event was one of many that the OVP has hosted during the month of October, given that it is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. These smaller events are leading up to “Take Back the Night,” an event in which students can listen to survivor stories, eat dinner, walk around campus in solidarity and participate in a vigil. It will take place from 6 – 9 p.m. on Oct. 24, and will begin in the Alumni Lounges.
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the OVP will also be hosting “All Treats, No Tricks” from 3 – 5 pm in their office, C-216.
“It’s important to have a place where people can just take a break and know their resources and know that there’s help, [that] there’s people they can talk to,” Griemsman said.
For more information, contact ovp@ramapo.edu or check out their Instagram page, @rcnj_ovp.
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Amanda Jones
