Beyond Textbooks

Sophomore Carina Veteri and Senior Cate Stoutt are on a mission to educate EC students about healthy relationships

By Cate Stoutt ’21

Senior Class President

In 2010, University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love was killed by her former boyfriend in her senior year of college. In response to this tragic event, and to honor her memory, her family started the One Love Foundation.

The One Love Foundation celebrates

that love is the most important aspect in our lives, yet we are taught little about it. One Love is on a mission to educate young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships so they can identify and avoid abusive relationships. One Love teaches In fact, one in three women, one in four men, and one in two trans-non-binary people experience sexual abuse in their lifetime. Some relationships can begin emotionally abusive and people do not realize what it can turn into as the relationship progresses. ONE young people to love better. Yeardley’s death was preventable, and One Love’s mission is to make sure that it doesn’t happen to others. One Love educates students on these diffi cult conversations by offering powerful fi lms viewed in a safe setting followed by group discussions. The One Love workshops aim to teach students the 10 LOVE Through the One Love program, students learn the unhealthy emotional signs at the beginning of a relationship and have a safety plan to remove themselves from a relationship before it becomes violent. I believe our student body deserves this education. I am on a mission to educate students about love and get as many involved in One Love as signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships. In possible. I am partnering with sophomore Carina high school and as we transition to college, these Veteri and our club advisor Ms. McNesby to begin signs are especially important to learn because as our club and educate our classmates. you meet new people, you want to surround yourself with those who In the spring and over the summer, Carina and I became One will support you. One Love not only gives you the knowledge of what Love facilitators and attended several One Love trainings to educate you should expect in a romantic relationship, but also what a healthy ourselves and become the best possible club leaders for our school. friendship and parent relationship should look like. Due to COVID-19 and remote learning, we are creating a plan to host

I fi rst found a passion for One Love last spring right before the virtual workshops with small groups of students on the ten signs of a start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EC girls lacrosse team had the healthy or unhealthy relationship. opportunity to attend the Escalation Workshop by One Love. The There are many fi lms by One Love that educate and teach different Escalation fi lm that is viewed during the workshop shows a couple lessons on what love is and is not. The Escalation workshop is the beginning a fast-moving, happy relationship that escalates into a toxic, heaviest and One Love asks that it not be viewed virtually because abusive and unhealthy relationship. it can be hard to be alone during the fi lm. Therefore, we are waiting

During this workshop, I began to realize how many times I until we can have small groups in person to make sure students are had witnessed some of these unhealthy behaviors among high provided with the support they need. There are other One Love schoolers. I left the workshop feeling inspired to bring One Love to workshops we are hoping to hold virtually, including Couplets, Behind our student body because I felt that it could bring a culture change the Post, Love Labyrinth and Amor del Bueno. in our community. Carina and I are excited to bring this to our community! If you

Although it can be diffi cult to talk about toxic, abusive, unhealthy would like more information on the One Love Foundation, please visit relationships, they are real and become more common as we get older. their website joinonelove.org.