End to domestic violence can start with students, Astley says
By Nicole Chadwick
The wave of a hand, or what Lauren Dunne Astley called a “sparkle,” is all it took for Malcolm Astley to tear up Tuesday in his talk “Bearing Witness: A Conversation about Loss & Hope.”
Malcolm Astley and his wife Mary Dunne are visiting Elon this week to honor their daughter.
“I love being here even amidst the pain,” Astley said.
Lauren Astley, 18, was found dead last summer in Masachussetts, two months before she would have come to Elon as a first-year student. Lauren’s ex-boyfriend was charged with her murder.
“If someone had gone with her that night, Lauren would be here,” said Lauren’s mother, Mary Dunne.
But he and his wife are trying to move on from the pain. They are taking an initiative to stop dating violence. At Tuesday’s talk, Astley gave ways students can be aware of dating violence and urged them to act.
“Don’t be a bystander,” he said. “We know the indicators of violence intuitively, but we need to get out in the open and talk about them.”
He and his wife encouraged students to be resources for their friends, to be someone to come to in a time of fear or worry.
“We’ve taken on slavery, civil rights, bullying,” he said, “we can take another step against dating violence.”
According to the ACADV, 20 percent of dating couples report some type of violence in their relationship.
He and his wife believe there is hope to end this violence, and that starts with students.
For more information about how to prevent dating violence on campus, contact Elizabeth Nelson at enelson12@elon.edu
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