Auburn University will mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month with vigil, balloon release

Auburn University will mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a candlelight vigil and balloon release, starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, on the Cater Hall lawn.

Balloons – one for each person who died in Alabama in the past year as a result of domestic violence – will be released at the event. Some green balloons will be released as well, drawing attention to the new Green Dot Bystander Intervention program starting at Auburn.

The national program aims to reduce the occurrence of acts of sexual violence, such as sexual assault, stalking and domestic/dating violence, by mobilizing bystanders to prevent or interrupt incidents of violence with proactive or reactive behaviors.

Survivors of domestic violence will share their stories during the candlelight vigil.

Also on Tuesday, the Alpha Chi Omega sorority at Auburn is hosting Tim Tyler Tuesday at Skybar Café, 136 W. Magnolia Ave., as a fundraiser for the Domestic Violence Intervention Center in Opelika. Domestic violence awareness and prevention is the sorority’s national philanthropy.

Tickets for the concert are $5 if purchased in advance from a sorority member or at their table on the Haley Concourse. Admission is $7 at the door without a ticket. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tyler will begin playing at 9 p.m. The sorority is also selling t-shirts for $15 until Tuesday. All proceeds from the event go to support the Domestic Violence Intervention Center.

Alpha Chi Omega hosted its first charity golf tournament earlier this month at Indian Pines Golf Course in Auburn, as an additional fundraiser for the local domestic violence organization.

The Domestic Violence Intervention Center in Opelika provides confidential emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, support groups and referrals to additional agencies and organizations for individuals who have been victimized by domestic or dating violence.

Posters have been hanging in the restrooms at Jordan-Hare Stadium through the month of October as part of the campus campaign to raise awareness about domestic violence.