Men's Lacrosse Stands Up Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

NEWTON, Mass. (3/25/16) - The Lasell College men's lacrosse team has joined the fight against sexual assault and domestic violence by raising awareness across campus through the White Ribbon Campaign and the REACH Beyond Domestic Violence Program.

The White Ribbon Campaign was created by a handful of Canadian men in 1991 on the second anniversary of one man's massacre of 14 women in Montreal. They began the White Ribbon Campaign to urge men to speak out against violence against women. It is the largest effort in the world of men working to end men's violence against women.

"We work hard every day to become better lacrosse players, but we also work even harder every day to become better men, and with that comes the responsibility of raising awareness in regards to issues like these," said senior captain Mike Pino. "When men take a stance on these issues, it is very powerful."

The Lasers sat down with Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, Karin Raye, and the REACH Beyond Domestic Violence Program to learn more about the issues and prevention of domestic assault. REACH is comprehensive domestic violence service agency serving 6,000 people a year through a combination of intervention and prevention services. The Prevention and Education programs engage the community, generate conversations, and create locally-based solutions to end domestic violence.

"In the past few weeks, the Lasell College men's lacrosse team demonstrated incredible leadership and laser pride as they stood up to raise awareness around sexual and domestic violence," commented Raye. "This was not a program mandated by the college, but rather, one they chose to embrace and take on by themselves.   Led by their captains and supported by their coaches, the men asked for and received training by their professor, their peers and REACH beyond Domestic Violence about sexual and domestic violence on college campuses. They joined with a Sexual Violence Advocacy class to launch and execute a week long White Ribbon Campaign which culminated in the whole team, the opposing team, parents and their fans taking a pledge to be part of the solution in combating sexual and domestic violence before their game."

Prior to this past Wednesday's game against Wentworth, the Lasers made a public announcement on their journey and their fight to end sexual assault and domestic violence. The squad asked for each member of the audience to stand up and pledge to "never to commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women." The Lasers later defeated the Leopards 8-7 in a thrilling and meaningful outing.

"Incidents of domestic and sexual violence are occurring at an alarming rate on college campuses. We took this pledge because we want people to understand that we will not accept these tragic events affecting the men and women in our Lasell community," said head coach Bill Mason. 

Raye concluded, "Young men stepping up to condemn sexual and domestic violence sends a strong message to our community that it will not be tolerated at Lasell.  We cannot end sexual and domestic violence without all genders at the table - and these young men showed up in a big way."

To learn more about domestic violence and sexual assault, and what you can do to help visit http://www.whiteribbon.ca/ and http://reachma.org/.