One Love started a new chapter at American University, spreading awareness about domestic violence and promoting healthy relationships.
One Love was founded after the untimely death of senior lacrosse player at the University of Virginia, Yeardley Love. In her honor, the foundation advocates for healthy relationship education as a preventive tool for relationship abuse. At the core of the One Love Foundation are ten signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, such as a comfortable pace and trust versus possessiveness and belittling.
One Love aims to promote healthy relationships between people of all ages, from elementary and middle school friendships to budding high school relationships and serious relationships throughout adulthood. One Love offers workshops for people of all ages to learn about healthy relationships, and representatives have visited college campuses as well as middle and high schools over the years after the organization’s founding.
President Alyse Wright-Webb and Vice President Camilla Karns brought One Love to AU this year. “One Love education has been proven to be effective as a preventative learning to stop relationship abuse before it begins,” Wright-Webb said on the importance of bringing One Love to college campuses.
Wright-Webb got involved in One Love in high school and is excited to bring the club to AU. “Relationship education has become a huge part of my life and something that I hope to continue to work on throughout my career,” Wright-Webb said.
Karns first got involved with One Love in her junior year of high school. She is looking forward to sharing fun activities she and her team have planned, including workshops, fundraisers, tabling and hopefully the dedication of a sporting event to their cause.
“One Love is important to me because it has taught me how to love better and to teach others how to as well,” Karns said. “It is such an amazing program that has impacted and changed my life and those around me more times than I can count.”
One Love is a space for any student wanting to learn more about healthy relationships and advocate for the community.
“As a woman and Justice, Law & Criminology major, I learn about similar experiences all the time and it is very upsetting,” said Morgan Nerich, the One Love business manager at AU. “I want to do my part in limiting the amount of relationship abuse.” One Love’s goal is to, as Webb-Wright said, “stop relationship abuse before it begins.” The opportunity for all members of the AU community to get involved in spreading awareness and proactive strategies is so important, and now One Love gives the AU community the chance to be a part of change. The club will be hosting many workshops and general body meetings.