Disclaimer: October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and this article is in honor of that. Specifically, it is about One Love at SUNY Geneseo. Geneseo's One Love Club is an organization that is currently in the process of applying for College registration through the Department of Student Life. It is in support of the One Love Foundation, where all statistics in this article are from.

1 in 3 women. 1 in 4 men.

I'd like you all to think of a relationship. A past relationship, a current relationship, or hey even a future one. It can be one you are involved in. Or it can be a close friend, a family member, or just someone you know. Now bear with me here. Think- what is your ideal relationship? What characteristics make for healthy dating? Well, support for one. You should definitely want to be with someone who encourages you to do your best and supports your decisions. What about caring? It would be nice if your significant other wants to know what is happening in your life, wants you to be happy, and wants to help whenever possible. The list could go on for quite awhile. They give you the attention you deserve. They respect you. They make you feel safe. You enjoy being around them. They make you feel like the best possible version of yourself.

But what happens when the lines get blurred? Your significant other gives you attention- maybe too much attention. They always want to be around you. They care about you- to a point where they won't let you go anywhere without their knowledge. They say they love you, but their words don't sound supportive. Maybe phrases like the following come out:

"I want to see all your texts because I love you."

"Why didn't you call me? I expect to know where you are at all times. It's because I love you."

"Why are you always with this person? Do you like them better than me? Are you cheating on me with them?"

"Here you want to see these nude pics of my boyfriend/girlfriend/partner?"

"I would die if you ever left me."

Dating violence manifests itself in numerous ways, and while awareness for it has been increasing, it is still extremely present and not always easy to recognize. Today's statistic is 1 in 3 women, 1 in 4 men will experience relationship violence at some point in their lifetime. However, forget about the numbers. Even one person feeling manipulated, depressed, unsafe, abused, battered by their partner is too many. One place where relationship violence is highly prominent is college campuses. 57 percent of college students report that it is difficult to identify dating violence.

At SUNY Geneseo however, one organization is gaining ground and works hard in its mission to stop relationship violence. It's called One Love Club and it's in support of the One Love Foundation. I had the fortunate opportunity to interview Geneseo's One Love President, Kylie Mathis. Want to know more? Read the interview below.

What is One Love?

One Love is a foundation formed in honor of Yeardley Love a lacrosse player at the University of Virginia who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. It was founded by Yeardley's mother and it aims to prevent what happened to Yeardley Love from happening to anyone else.

How did One Love get started at Geneseo?

I myself was involved in an abusive relationship in high school and I can still remember how trapped I felt and how alone I felt and to me One Love is a way to reach out to people who may be in that really, awful dark place and say, “hey you can get out.” Which is why when I saw this organization, I knew it was something I would want to be involved in for the rest of my life. I read an article on Yeardley Love and at the bottom, it talked about their foundation and Escalation workshops. I wanted to bring it to campus, so I talked to my sorority’s service chair and asked if this was something we could do. She said yes absolutely let's do it. We received training in facilitating Escalation workshops and it took off from there.

What has been One Love’s involvement on campus so far?

Our first Escalation workshop was last October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Since then we have done four workshops as well as promote their #that’snotlove campaign. Very shortly One Love will be an official organization here on campus!

What are Escalation workshops?

Escalation workshops entail a 45 min short film that illustrates how abusive relationships often escalate. The film is followed by a discussion. The film [while fictional] is based on a lot of research. It is incredibly powerful and also very empowering at the same time. These workshops serve as a great resource on educating what domestic violence is but also what you can do to stop it.

What goals do you have for One Love at Geneseo?

We hope that we can all, if not most, of the campus to experience an Escalation workshop. Not only that but also have them want to participate and want to help because dating violence is so prevalent between the ages of 18-24. So it’s really important that college students know what to do if they or someone they know is being abused- or if they know someone who is the abuser. The only way we are going to stop dating violence is if people are educated and empowered.

How can students help raise awareness against domestic violence through One Love or otherwise?

Attend the workshops! Learn the information and learn about our resources. And then talk about it. The reason dating abuse is so prevalent is because we don’t know what to do about it. The best thing to do is say something and reach out. There are so many other organizations on campus that can help. The biggest thing is just being aware and never being afraid to ask for that help.

What events should we be watching for with One Love this semester?

October 25th we will be running our first Escalation Workshop in Newton 206. This November we will have three weeks of GOLD workshops so you can attend an Escalation workshop and get GOLD credit. Check out our official Facebook page as well to stay updated on other events!

How can people at other campuses get involved?

A lot of other schools have already brought One Love to their campuses. You can go on their website and join onelove.org and they have a tab that says get involved where they list all their resources. Their campus coordinators are incredibly helpful and will jump on the opportunity to help you bring One Love to your campus. They’ll send resources and any other information you need to get it started.

Want to learn more? Stop by our table in the College Union on Oct. 19-24!

Abuse is not necessarily obvious. It could be physical but it also may very well be emotional, and the scars might not be external. The numbers say 1 in 3 women, 1 in 4 men, but just one is too many. Control is not support, abuse is not love. Dating violence ruins what a relationship should be. It can make people feel worthless, trapped, alone. It is horrific, undeserved, and unfortunately widespread. However, one thing it is not is unpreventable.