November 15, 2019 | Vol. 65, Issue 3
INSIDE The Joker p. 2 Pavilion Ribbon-cutting p. 4 Homecoming p. 5 Folklife p. 7 Ferrum vs. App State p. 8 Halloween p. 9
Letter From The Editor: Folklife Festival, Halloween Festivities, and Homecoming, oh my! October was a jam-packed month for Ferrum College, and The Iron Blade made sure to cover all of the excitement. Between the beautiful fall colors around campus and timeless traditions that make our campus unique, this is a special and highly anticipated time for Ferrum College. In this issue, we covered major annual traditions as well as new events and ceremonies. From stepping back in time in order to appreciate a simpler lifestyle at Folklife, to participating in the annual Halloween celebrations like trunk-or-treat, the Ferrum community has been its busiest this Fall. We hope you enjoy our special edition of The Iron Blade and continue to enjoy everything Ferrum has to offer this beautiful fall season!
Janine Latus: If I am Missing or Dead By AnnGarner Eubank, Destinee Nelson On Monday, Oct. 29, New York Times bestselling author, Janine Latus, shared her experience of violence and abuse with students and faculty in the Panther’s Den. The best selling and award-winning memoir, If I am Missing or Dead: A Sister’s Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation has served as an educating tool along with being a vehicle for awareness, inspiration, and motivation for victims of domestic abuse to find safety and strength to break free from their abusers. “There are victims and perpetrators in this room and on this campus and I want to position you to not only be able to recognize it but to be able to reach in and help,” Latus said. Latus began her talk by sharing facts and statistics about domestic violence, abuse, and how more people are victims and abusers than one would imagine. She began the night by explaining the power and control wheel,
a tool used to explain the different ways a partner can use power and control to manipulate a relationship. The wheel describes more than just physical abuse but goes into further detail with economic abuse, coercion and threats, isolation, and intimidation. From a young age, Latus had been exposed to sexual abuse and violence. She recalled her first instance of abuse occurring when she was just twelve years old when she was assaulted by a family friend whom she had babysat for. One night after babysitting for her father’s friends, the children’s father had come home drunk and came up behind her and attacked her in front of his own kids while his wife was upstairs. When Latus returned home after having to ride in a car with her abuser who told her “to keep this between us,” she instantly ran upstairs to tell her parents what had happened, to which her father responded to her by saying, “Never
tell anyone or people will think you are a slut.” Latus said that comment from her father might have hurt even worse than the trauma she had just experienced, and the relationship with her parents continued to head south from there. While in high school, Latus had moved into an apartment with a friend and was working two jobs. One night, Latus and her roommate went out on the town and were enjoying a night out. While out, the girls were drinking, dancing, and mingling with people. At one point in the night, Latus told her roommate goodbye and said they would see each other later when they would arrive home. That night, Latus’ roommate came home to find her curled up on the floor shaking and cut up. Latus had been followed home from the bar and had been brutally raped on her coffee table inside her own apartment. Her roommate helped clean her up and tried to comfort and be with her. The two prom-
ised to never tell anyone because they feared others would think it was her fault for drinking and being out late. “We swore we would never tell. We were drinking, flirting, and dancing. Everyone would have thought I was a slut,” Latus said. In college, while working at a hospital, Latus began dating a “good looking trust-fund boy” who had also worked in the hospital. In this relationship, Latus experienced physical abuse like she hadn’t experienced before. She had seen abuse and verbal degradation between the boy’s parents and tried to justify his actions with his upbringing. “I wanted to be able to change him. I was gonna love him until he was happy and full,”
Latus said. However, during a ski trip in Colorado, the two had been day drinking and returned to their room when Latus fell victim to a painful attack. He had hit her, knocked her down, and kicked her in the ribs, breaking several bones. After she had been kicked on the ground, the boyfriend cried and held her on the floor.
Latus remembered being taken aside by a female security officer at the airport just several days later who had asked her if she was okay and what she could do to help. Instead of seeking help, Latus said she insisted to the security officer that she had hit a tree while skiing in order to protect her abuse because she didn’t want to Continued on page 10