Smooth jazz welcomed guests as the crowd filled into the North Zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium for the Shatter the Silence event. Flat screen televisions throughout the space scrolled through domestic violence facts, places to find help and other information.
Miss University of Alabama Danielle Dubose began the proceedings, welcoming UA President Judy Bonner, Alabama First Lady Dianne Bentley and many others. Bonner welcomed the crowd and showed her gratitude, saying how proud she is of Dubose’s work.
Dianne Bentley told the crowd how dating had changed since her time at Alabama. When she was dating Governor Bentley, they had to talk on the one phone on the wall in her sorority house, and when he picked her up, it was announced over a speaker that sounded throughout the house. She offered the crowd words of encouragement, telling them “a bad date will be a bad mate” and “love does not hurt.”
The keynote speaker Sharon Love, spoke next. Six weeks before her daughter Yeardley Love would have graduated college, Yeardley’s ex-boyfriend broke in to her room while she was sleeping and beat her to death. Love said her own life and the lives of Yeardley’s sister and friends were changed forever.
Love said she never thought about domestic violence when her daughter went to school, and she certainly did not know the signs. In a video that was shown to the audience, Yeardley’s friends said they were completely uneducated on the issue and never thought it could happen to their friend.
“That was definitely an opening story,” Sydnee Nelson, a junior majoring in telecommunications and film, said. “It is a huge deal to know the signs.”
After her daughter’s death, Love founded One Love, named after Yeardley’s jersey number and last name, to educate everyone on the dangers of abuse. One Love has released a film called “Escalation” that they hope will become required viewing in classrooms.
“I think it’s really important to tell somebody no matter who it is, whether it’s a friend or a mentor,” Alyssa Haney, a junior majoring in early childhood education, said.
