Breaking the chains of domestic abuse
“Veils, Halos, and Shackles” is a collection of works by various authors on the issue of domestic violence in today’s society. A reading and roundtable discussion was held on Oct. 5, and it was organized by Janine Harrison, visiting instructor, to help spread awareness about domestic abuse.
“This issue is close to my heart, as I am a victim of domestic abuse,” Harrison said. “The statistics aren’t changing, and more people need to be aware of how common it really is.”
The reading started with an introduction by Ryan Parsons-Rozycki, staff therapist and coordinator for outreach and development at the Counseling Center, who gave a brief summary of the book and how domestic abuse can happen to anyone.
Harrison and three others chose specific parts of “Veils, Halos, and Shackles” to read. Generally, each reader chose the piece they had created and another piece that spoke to them personally. The readings were about their past experiences with domestic abuse and how they overcame it.
Laura Madeline Wiseman, an instructor of women’s studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was one of the speakers. In her reading, she described how she went back to her childhood home, where she has memories of abuse. When she arrived, she realized how her life has moved on since then and how strong she is now because of it.
After the readings, there was an open mic where attendees could read their own poems or voice their thoughts on the issue. One such person was Kayla Greenwell, English graduate student, who wrote an original work for the event. It was about what she went through during her abuse, and her struggle to overcome it.
“As a survivor of sexual assault, events like these are crucially important to me,” Greenwell said. “We have to challenge the society we live in, because society needs to change.”
Once everyone was done, there was a roundtable discussion about the book and the readings. The event concluded with a book signing by the featured poets. The book is being donated to major universities all over the country, including PNW.
Harrison said she wanted people to become more informed about the different types of abuse.
“It isn’t just physical abuse, and it is important to discuss where we can go from here to eliminate the issue,” Harrison said.
