On Thursday, April 18^th, SUNY Oneonta hosted its 3rd annual event for Yards for Yeardley, a commemorative and educational event created by the One Love Foundation. This year's Yards for Yeardley event also featured the "It's On Us" Movement and was held on our soccer field next to the Alumni Field House.
 
The One Love Foundation was created after the passing of Yeardley Love, a senior attending the University of Virginia and a player on its Women's Lacrosse Team. Yeardley Love was a victim of sexual assault being beaten to death by an ex-boyfriend in May 2010. One of the goals of the One Love Foundation is to honor Yeardley by bringing an end to relationship violence by educating, empowering and call upon campus communities to join the Movement for Change and end this type of senseless brutality. According to its website, The One Love Foundation is a national leader in educating young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and in galvanizing young people across the country to be Leaders of Change.
 
The inaugural event was held in 2017 as a SUNYAC conference initiative to walk "10 million Yards for Yeardley".  The event was so successful with the 10 schools surpassing the mark by a wide margin that SUNY itself took notice.
 
In 2018, SUNY added to the event by making it a system-wide initiative calling it "Around the World for Yeardley".  Once again, the event was a success with the entire system surpassing its goal.
 
So what does it entail? Students, faculty, staff and members of the community who wish to participate walk and participate in any sort of physical activity where you can measure your distance in yards.
 
The more yards walked, the closer we come to reaching our awareness goal and concomitantly preventing another tragedy. There was no request for funds or attempt to raise any money. All our College asked of its students was that they donate their time and effort to walk One Million Yards. This figure supports the larger SUNYAC goal of Ten Million Yards. Last year, the event was a resounding success. SUNY Oneonta students clocked 2.7 million yards. This year, we eclipsed that mark reaching three million yards.
 
During the Yards for Yeardley event, SUNY Oneonta integrated some fun activities, set up tables, hosted speakers, and provided its students with the opportunity to take the "It's On Us" Pledge. Our Student-Athletes have taken the Pledge to prevent sexual violence and sexual assault. They have promised not to be a bystander to the problem but rather, to be part of the solution. Many SUNY Oneonta students this year likewise took the Pledge.
 
In 2015, then SUNY Oneonta students, Brynn Sussman and Todd Ferguson, created a short video to support the "It's On Us" movement. Their video won the National SAAC March Diversity Spotlight Award and the "Video of the Year" award presented by NCAA's National SAAC. James Bethel, the chairperson of this year's Yards for Yeardley event, appeared in the award winning video and continues to promote its message.
 
The "It's On Us" Movement encourages students:

• To recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault
• To identify situations in which sexual assault may occur
• To intervene in situations in which sexual assault may occur
• To create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported

 
Our campus community has and will continue to come together each year to make sure Yeardley Love will always be remembered and her story never forgotten. Next time you see people walking around our fields, come on by, take the Pledge and walk a while. As Bethel stated, "I can't exactly fill myself in their shoes, but I can help make the walk a little lighter for them." Together, we CAN stop domestic violence. It's On Us to try.  To take the pledge, please visit itsonus.org