DC Trip: Day 1 – Vice President Biden’s House

Excitement and a bit of nerves washed over me as my boss Kelly, co-worker/roommate David, and I got in a cab to Number One Observatory Drive – Vice President and Dr. Biden’s house. We approached a huge security detail, had our ID’s checked at least four times, and headed up a hill. As we drew closer, I saw the Biden’s beautiful, if quaint (relative to the White House), home. After going through a metal detector (and throwing away the disposable razor I forgot to take out of my purse- idiot), we joined a gathering of less than one hundred people by the pool in the backyard. It was sweltering hot, especially in business attire, but the people that filled the patio and the event that was to come made everything better.

As we waited for the vice president and his wife, Dr. Biden, we were served delicious appetizers and sparkling water. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the key players in the sexual assault and relationship violence prevention arena, including cabinet members, law enforcement officers, and representatives from some of the most notable organizations in the country.

It was an honor to be invited to Vice President Biden’s house to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), to say the least. The MSU Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence Prevention Program (SARV) was asked to attend, which speaks volumes of the caliber of our program.

Vice President Biden’s speech was inspiring, but realistic. He spoke about the battles we’ve lost, particularly the women who have died due to relationship violence and sexual assault, but he also spoke of the progress we’ve made. He acknowledged that while we’ve been working hard, day in and day out, there is still much work to be done.

SARV is a peer education program that hosts mandatory workshops for freshmen in the area of sexual assault and relationship violence awareness, prevention, and bystander intervention, as well as provides resources for freshmen to utilize in the MSU community. We are one of the only college programs in the nation that is peer-led, which has proven to be a tremendous factor in it’s success. Further statistics will be gathered across the next few years, but over one thousand freshmen have taken the workshops and have demonstrated a substantial learning curve and retention rate.

Vice President Biden penned the VAWA in 1994. It has proven to me to be one of the largest steps in the fight for equality for all people. It is a human right to live free of violence or the threat thereof. We must work together if we are going to eliminate sexual and relationship violence within out communities.

Perhaps the most inspiring part of this reception to me was the passion behind the vice president’s support for organizations like SARV, as well as other programs across our nation and in our universities.

“I was raised to believe that the cardinal sin any human could commit was to abuse power: economic, physical, or any other kind,” Biden said at the reception. “Violence against women is the very worst abuse.”

Federal legislation shows the priority of our administration to continue the fight against these issues.

Bringing this home, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men will be sexually assaulted by the time they receive their college diplomas. Everyday, people like me and those gathered around the Biden’s pool that night are fighting a battle that probably (unfortunately) will never stop. But we have hope. We have hope that programs like SARV will begin to make a difference in the lives of college students, who will instill a sense of intolerance to sexual violence in their children and grandchildren.

It’s time to stand up for those too scared or unable to stand for themselves. If we are to eliminate this violence, we need to be one community fighting for the same goal. Some ways you can help in our community ranges from having honest conversations about the real issues our society faces, to donating to local support organizations (maybe the MSU Sexual Assault Program or MSU Safe Place), or even volunteering! We have a volunteer informational meeting that welcomes all Spartans (students, faculty, staff, and alumni) to learn more about being active in our program. The meeting is Wednesday, September 29th at 6pm in Room 6 of the Student Services Building.

I was honored to represent MSU at the vice president’s house, and I hope that my experience might inspire every Spartan student, faculty, staff, and alumni to do whatever they can to help us with our fight.

Thank you to Tom Randall and Nathan Bashaw for helping me with the draft of this post!

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