Leadership Exchange - Summer 2010

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RANDALL GEE

Left, Anti-violence artwork created by Cleveland
Elementary students.
Below, University of the Pacific students review the
Enough is Enough art display.

In response to Hikes’ call to action, NASPA Past President Diana Doyle initiated the Enough is Enough campaign ( www.EnoughisEnoughcampaign.org). This national initiative provides model strategies for broad-based interventions addressing youth violence on the nation’s secondary and postsecondary campuses through innovative partnerships among students, parents, and administrators at both levels, as well as community partners.

The Enough is Enough campaign is a critical collaboration designed to create a new paradigm for peace and safety at the nation’s schools and campuses by addressing the most pressing shared education issue today: rising societal violence that has carried into the very places our students expect the greatest peace and security as they achieve success in their academic pursuits. While schools and campuses are generally safe environments, any act of violence in these settings is unacceptable.

If SSAOs wait until students enter colleges and universities to educate them about student violence, they are already too late. It is imperative that any effort to stem societal violence before it reaches our nation’s schools involves parents, students, and community members, in addition to administrators, counselors, and teachers.

Above: Cleveland Elementary students and members of the administration celebrate their participation in the anti-violence program.

Raising National Awareness

The Enough is Enough campaign includes three main areas: prevention and intervention, policy, and resources. NASPA has been engaged in a number of efforts to develop nationwide prevention and intervention programs.

Tying into initiatives at the secondary school level, NASPA has designated the first full week of April as Enough is Enough Week. The “tipping point” tragedies at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech both occurred in April, and, on the other end of the spectrum, April is “National Give Life Month.” Activities for Enough is Enough Week incorporate elements along this entire spectrum, from remembrance ceremonies to proactive engagement in life-affirming and community-building activities.

This year, 200 college and university campuses in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and three countries outside the United States expressed interest in participating in weeklong activities. Outreach continues to higher education campuses through regional coordinators and is in its nascent stages with the K– 12 and community sectors. Highlights from this year’s activities on campuses and in surrounding communities include:

Binghamton University: The weeklong series of events included the Clothes Line Project, an Empty Place at the Table, a dating violence awareness event, and a poetry slam. Throughout the week, visitors signed a ‘greeting paper’ to the University of Alabama at Huntsville to provide support and encouragement in the wake of shootings on that campus.

California State University, Chico: This campus sponsored an information fair on efforts to reduce violence in the community; a workshop on hip-hop and violence; a Sole Survivors display; a conversation titled, “Let’s Play Violence” about the association of violence with video games, television, and other entertainment; a viewing of “Higher Learning,” a film about violence and school; and a panel of speakers, who discussed violence from a law enforcement perspective.