Our profile this week is senior Sport and Entertainment Management major Mattis Collier. She loves frozen grapes and frozen hot chocolate and her favorite TV show is The League. When she’s not eating frozen grapes or watching The League, she’s busy running the organization, One Love, here at USC. If you are new to USC, or haven’t heard of One Love yet, here’s why it started. Basically, One Love is a support and educational organization for domestic awareness.
This is a topic this is specifically relevant to the South Carolina region because, for the past few years, the state of South Carolina is ranked number 1 for deadly violence against women. In addition, the homicide rate for women killed by men is twice the national average. 1 in 3 women will experience relationship violence during her lifetime, and 1 in 4 men will experience the same. As college students, we are three times as likely to experience relationship violence than the rest of the population.
If you’re looking for a club to get involved in, or just want to know more about One Love, here’s what Mattis shared with us!
HCSC: Why did you start One Love at USC?
MC: As someone that has experienced relationship violence, it was incredibly important for me to bring this organization to my campus to show others that anyone has the ability to make a difference, no matter what their past says. One Love gave me back the confidence, strength, and the voice that was taken from me for so long, so being able to use all of those to show my community that relationship violence DOES impact everyone whether they realize it or not is such an empowering feeling. I brought One Love to my college campus because it was important for me to show my Gamecock family that love should never be hurtful, unhealthy, manipulative, dangerous, threatening, or controlling. Raising awareness and getting educated on this issue is so important, especially for college students since we are three times more likely to experience relationship violence, and it proves the point that we can all get involved with changing the statistics surrounding relationship abuse in some way.
HCSC: Tell us more about One Love.
MC: The One Love foundation was created in 2010 to honor the memory of Yeardley Love, a lacrosse player at the University of Virginia who was three weeks shy of graduating when her ex boyfriend beat her to death. It wasn’t until the trial as her friends and teammates were on the stand when everyone realized that they all knew something was wrong with their relationship, but they just didn’t know what exactly it was and how it all added together. Yeardley’s death was 100% preventable, so the foundation works to prevent that happening to other individuals. One Love works with predominantly young individuals across the country to raise awareness about the warning signs of abuse and activate communities to work to change the stigma and statistics around relationship abuse.
HCSC: What’s special about One Love at USC?
MC: What’s awesome about One Love here at South Carolina is that we have such a variety of individuals involved already, and it’s only been a year since it was established on our campus. We have members from our athletic teams, Greek life, student government, and other clubs/organizations on campus.
HCSC: What is a “typical” workshop like? Is there such a thing as a typical workshop?
MC: Each Escalation workshop lasts around an hour and a half. It consists of a 45-minute film, and a 30-45 minute discussion afterwards. Workshops can be done by team, sorority, fraternity, club/other campus organization, or simply just a group of friends who want to learn more or try to help with this issue.
HCSC: What is your favorite thing about One Love?
MC: My favorite thing about One Love is how empowering this organization is. Relationship violence is a difficult topic to discuss and seems like it would be very depressing to work in, but the way One Love works makes every volunteer or member feel like we have the power to make a difference, which creates such an incredibly empowering, positive, and determined mindset and overall environment. I love that this foundation focuses on what everyday people can do to help make a change to end relationship violence.
HCSC: What resources does One Love provide to people who are struggling with relationship abuse?
MC: Although One Love is primarily a prevention and awareness/education-based organization, One Love provides many resources to individuals struggling with relationship abuse. Before each workshop, a list of local and national resources are provided to everyone. In addition, these resources are listed on the One Love at South Carolina website, as well as on the national homepage.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic voilence, there are resources to help. In South Carolina, you can visit the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence online or go to Hands on Health, which is specific to Columbia, SC. At the University of South Carolina, you can get assistance and help from the Sexual Assaust and Violence & Prevention Center, which is an aspect of Student Health Centers. Lastly, there are additional resources listen on One Love South Carolina’s website.