PEACE OUTside Campus attended The Fearless Conference hosted by The Do Write Campaign and Joyful Heart Foundation on Friday, September 18, 2015 in NYC.  The event brought together high school and college students, parents, administrators, law makers, likeminded organizations, and movie producers to discuss Sexual Assault Prevention. Presenters included:

• “The Backlog Crisis” - Ilse Knecht, senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor, Joyful Heart Foundation
• “The Call to Men” – Ted Bunch, Co-Founder and Director of A Call to Men
• “The Call to Students” – Josy Jablons and Meghan Racklin, NYU “The Call to Parents” – Charlotte Poth, The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education
• “The Call to Conversation” – Katie Cappiello and Meg McInerney, SLUT: The Play
• “The Call to Action” – Ileana Jimenez, Student Active For Ending Rape (SAFER), Representative Sarah Merrimen, Jessica Buchanan, The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education, and Jean Bucaria, NOW-NYC

In addition to the guest speakers and discussion based workshops, there was a screening of The Hunting Ground.   The Oscar-nominated film is an exposé of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering.  Also shown was an introduction to the film India’s Daughter.   Directed by Leslee Udwin, the film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman who was a physiotherapy student.  There was a brief Q&A with Producer Peggy Cafferty and Director Leslee Udwin following the film. 

Information to check out: 

1. Callisto is designed to provide a more empowering, transparent, and confidential reporting experience for college sexual assault survivors.  Students can fill out an account of an incident online, save the report, and decide if they want to report now or later.  Website:  https://www.projectcallisto.org/
2. Amnesty Policies at colleges/universities – (similar to the Good Samaritan Policy) students cannot be punished for use of illegal drugs/underage drinking/etc while reporting sexual assault.  Check to see if your campus has an Amnesty Policy!
3. Better Sex Talk - http://www.bstcampaign.org/
4. End the Backlog - http://endthebacklog.org/ Information and alerts regarding rape kit backlogs. 

Now that college acceptance letters have been sent and the school year is rapidly coming to a close, the next thing on both parents and high school senior’s minds is one thing – COLLEGE! Being that this will be one of the biggest transitions in life, we want everyone (parents included!) to be as prepared as possible for the next amazing step ahead!

The Woman’s Club of White Plains Foundation is pleased to host an important program on college safety for parents and students led by PEACE OUTside Campus, The Lindsey M. Bonistall Foundation, on Wednesday, April 22 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club of White Plains.  This free event will feature Kathleen Cooney Bonistall and staff from PEACE OUTside Campus as they lead a discussion about on and off-campus living, personal safety, social life, hazing, drugs and alcohol, date rape drugs, sexual assault, and dating violence. This presentation is a perfect conversation starter for incoming college students and their parents, as they prepare for the transition into college.   

For further information about this or any other presentation please contact Elise Murphy via email at elise@peaceoutsidecampus.org or at (914)428-4411.

Training is officially completed! After eight weeks of hard studying and practice, I am proud to announce that all the interns (including myself of course) have passed with flying colors! Last Saturday, March 7, each intern went in front of the executive board members and impressed them with their oral presentations. The topics that were covered included; on and off campus living, personal safety, social life, hazing, influence of drugs and alcohol, date rape drugs, sexual assault, and dating violence. A huge aspect of each presentation is the personal stories provided by each of the interns. It is this crucial personal connection with the audience that shows the passion each intern has for the Teens ‘N Transition program, and the final element the executive board searches for to make the final decision that we are ready to present to the public.

On behalf of my entire team, I am proud to say that the eleven of us have gone from complete strangers from six different colleges around New York to a new group of friends after sharing our thoughts and stories on all the topics covered for the past eight weeks. Thanks to the numerous guest speakers, training on the material and in the art of public speaking itself, we were all able to put our best presentations on for show. Thanks to this program, we all have a strong support system in whatever college or life may now throw at us. This is living proof that no one student is alone, and that is one of the most important messages we are trying to get across to our audiences. Going through this training program made me realize that college truly is the best four years of my life, and POC is here to make sure that you can get the most out of your experiences by coming into school prepared on all fronts. 

Intern, Taylor K. 

PEACE OUTside Campus has been busy prepping for its 2015 presentation season!

On January 26, 2015 training began for 12 interns slated to deliver the Teens ‘N Transition program this spring. These interns represent Iona College, Manhattanville College, Pace University, Purchase College, Sarah Lawrence College, and Westchester Community College.

Elise Murphy, Program Coordinator, said, “This is going to be a great presentation season because of the passion that each of these interns brings. They are all individuals with different interests and backgrounds, but yet their passion comes together to unite us all towards a singular message of safety. Each one is passionate and serious about the role they can play in reducing the risk of victimization for others.” 

Interns must go through an intensive 8-week training program. Training begins by learning about Lindsey Marie Bonistall, our Foundation’s namesake. Interns also get to hear from Board Vice-Chair, Kathleen Bonistall, about Lindsey’s legacy and the Foundation. Followed by the background of PEACE OUTside Campus, interns are taught about leading campus safety legislation like the Cleary Act and Title IX.

Much of the training is specifically spent learning about our presentation topics, which include: on and off campus living, personal safety, social life, hazing, influence of drugs and alcohol, date rape drugs, sexual assault, and dating violence. Interns are also instructed in the art of public speaking.

This year, we are thrilled to have four guest speakers enhance our training program. Michele Nelson, Director of Off-Campus Housing at Iona College, came to talk to our interns about the transition of moving off campus and presented resources to stay safe while living off campus. Richard Julius, from Student Assistance Services, will share about the influence of drugs and alcohol on adolescents. Clarissa Espinoza, from Victims Assistance Services, will explain the traumatic impact of sexual victimization. Interns will also learn about different types of abusive relationships, how to seek help, and legislation surrounding dating violence from Natalie Sobchak at Pace Women’s Justice Center.

By March, interns will be well versed in the content and will go through several rounds of mock presentations before presenting in front of the Board of Directors at PEACE OUTside Campus. With the Board’s approval, each intern will be ready to present to area schools.

If you are interested in scheduling a program for your high school or want more information about Teens ‘N Transition, please call 914-428-4411 or email elise@peaceoutsidecampus.org. 

PEACE OUTside Campus was selected by PROOF, to be honored as part of their 16 Days of Activism project. 

PROOF is a media for social justice organization, which uses visual storytelling to promote peacebuilding and genocide prevention. PROOF creates artwork, publications, and exhibitions to document moral courage, injustice, and human rights abuses. 

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that originated in 1991 by the Woman's Global Leadership Institute. The campaign focuses on raising awareness for gender-based violence, strengthening local work around violence against women, establishing links between local and international work, providing public forums, demonstrating worldwide solidarity, and creating ways to pressure governments to implement needed change. 

We thank PROOF, for highlighting the work of PEACE OUTside Campus, in our mission to promote safety on and off college campuses. 

Check it out the article here, POC is featured on Day 10. 

For more information about PROOF, click here. 
For more information about the 16 Days of Activism, click here. 

PEACE OUTside Campus will be presenting at the Week of the Peacemaker event at Iona College on November 4, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. 

Mark and Kathleen Bonistall were invited to attend the VTV Family Outreach Foundation's Annual Meeting held October 10-12, 2014. The VTV Family Outreach Foundation was established by families and survivors of the tragedy at Virginia Tech University on April 16, 2007. The foundation, who also advocates for campus safety, focuses on mental health, bullying, privacy laws, information sharing, and supporting programs to create positive change in behavior. 

While at the meeting, Kathleen and Mark presented about the mission of PEACE OUTside Campus and engaged in breakout sessions centered around our shared message of campus safety. They heard from keynote speaker, Kiki Leyba, a teacher during the Columbine Tragedy, and his work to help students, schools and communities deal with the aftermath of campus violence. Other breakout sessions included Pat Cheeks from Natural Transition: An Integrative and Intuitive Approach to Healing, and Peter Lake who is professor and Director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law.

To read more about the VTV Family Foundation, click here for their website. 

Kathleen Cooney Bonistall, Founder and Vice- Chair of the Board, and Elise Murphy, TNT Coordinator, will be presenting "Identify The Risk" at the Yorktown Rotary Club on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 12:00 pm.  

Come join us to celebrate as we are honored by The Woman's Club of White Plains at their 3rd Annual Cork & Forks, An Evening of Fabulous Food and Spirits benefit to be held on Friday, October 17, 2014 at the Woman's Club, 305 Ridgeway, White Plains. Our organization will receive some of the proceeds from this wonderful event!Please contact us to purchase a ticket or click here 
Tickets  $100 per person  & VIP TICKETS   $ 135 per person