current event
As an active member and the secretary of my school's gender studies club, the members and I have been organizing a silent parade to take place on campus this afternoon. The parade is to raise awareness of domestic abuse and violence. October was officially Domestic Violence Awareness month, but we didn't get around to doing that.
Anyway, we got the idea to do the parade from a real one - the NYC Annual Brides' March Against Domestic Violence. Each year thousands of women dress in bridal gowns and men in formal attire march through New York City to raise awareness of domestic violence. This small club on campus does not have bridal gowns at our disposal, however we did make little veils out of bands of elastic and some tule.
I have been wearing white for the occasion and this veil all day. So far I have been given two congratulations, presumably for getting married. --__-- Yeah. Not getting married. Never even had a boyfriend. So where would this start? *sigh*
Anyway, I hope the parade will be a success. Afterward the club is putting on a small prayer service in memory of the victims of domestic abuse as well. I have two nice prayers so far, but nothing spectacular. Good thing we advertised it as a small prayer vigil. XD
Anyway, here's some random additional information about the Brides' March and an important domestic violence court case.
Gladys Ricart was born 1960 in the Dominican Republic. On September 26, 1999, friends and family gathered at her home in Ridgefield, New Jersey to get ready for her wedding later that day. The morning preparations were videotaped as the bridesmaids gathered around Gladys for pictures. Then her ex-boyfriend, Agustin Garcia, burst in and shot her in the chest three times. She died within minutes.
For months news crews surrounded the families of Ricart and Garcia. Prominent businessman and community activist Agustin Garcia committed murder and tried to get away with it. At the trial, his defense was that the murder was a crime of passion because he did not know Gladys was marrying someone else. He claimed she led a double life with him. According to her family, Gladys broke up with Garcia eight months prior and had been stalked by him for three months.
The local Latino community was outraged at the senseless and depraved act. The crime was captured on video and combined with the testimony of witnesses, Garcia was convicted of first degree murder on February 2nd, 2002 and sentenced to life in prison.
NYC holds an Annual Brides’ March, where women wear wedding dresses and men dress in formal apparel to march through the streets of Manhattan and the South Bronx. This is done to raise awareness about the devastating effects of domestic violence on our families and communities, and to remember Gladys Ricart and the many other battered women, children and others who have lost their lives to acts of domestic violence.
There was also a documentary made of the incident called DEATH OF A BRIDE, produced by A&E.
And extra info about the brides march can be found at www.bridesmarch.com
Anyway, we got the idea to do the parade from a real one - the NYC Annual Brides' March Against Domestic Violence. Each year thousands of women dress in bridal gowns and men in formal attire march through New York City to raise awareness of domestic violence. This small club on campus does not have bridal gowns at our disposal, however we did make little veils out of bands of elastic and some tule.
I have been wearing white for the occasion and this veil all day. So far I have been given two congratulations, presumably for getting married. --__-- Yeah. Not getting married. Never even had a boyfriend. So where would this start? *sigh*
Anyway, I hope the parade will be a success. Afterward the club is putting on a small prayer service in memory of the victims of domestic abuse as well. I have two nice prayers so far, but nothing spectacular. Good thing we advertised it as a small prayer vigil. XD
Anyway, here's some random additional information about the Brides' March and an important domestic violence court case.
Gladys Ricart was born 1960 in the Dominican Republic. On September 26, 1999, friends and family gathered at her home in Ridgefield, New Jersey to get ready for her wedding later that day. The morning preparations were videotaped as the bridesmaids gathered around Gladys for pictures. Then her ex-boyfriend, Agustin Garcia, burst in and shot her in the chest three times. She died within minutes.
For months news crews surrounded the families of Ricart and Garcia. Prominent businessman and community activist Agustin Garcia committed murder and tried to get away with it. At the trial, his defense was that the murder was a crime of passion because he did not know Gladys was marrying someone else. He claimed she led a double life with him. According to her family, Gladys broke up with Garcia eight months prior and had been stalked by him for three months.
The local Latino community was outraged at the senseless and depraved act. The crime was captured on video and combined with the testimony of witnesses, Garcia was convicted of first degree murder on February 2nd, 2002 and sentenced to life in prison.
NYC holds an Annual Brides’ March, where women wear wedding dresses and men dress in formal apparel to march through the streets of Manhattan and the South Bronx. This is done to raise awareness about the devastating effects of domestic violence on our families and communities, and to remember Gladys Ricart and the many other battered women, children and others who have lost their lives to acts of domestic violence.
There was also a documentary made of the incident called DEATH OF A BRIDE, produced by A&E.
And extra info about the brides march can be found at www.bridesmarch.com