Mirror - Vol. 19, No. 03 - October 06, 1994

              The
FairfieldMRR©R Volume 19, No. 3 Thursday, October 6, 1994 The Image of Fairfield
Stacey Kabat speaks on the protection of battered women
Caitlin Whelan
News Editor
"Domestic violence is
the leading cause of injury to
women ages 15 to 44 in the United
States — more than rapes,
muggings, and car accidents
combined." These words were
among many horrifying facts
spoken by Stacey Kabat, a
spokesperson for human rights
and founder of Battered Women
Fighting Back, Inc., a center in
Boston for the prevention of
domestic violence and the
protection of human rights for
victims of abuse. Kabat was also
the recipient ofthe Reebok Human
Rights Award in 1992..
Ms. Kabat's September
29th lecture, entitled "Defending
Our Lives," wasjointly sponsored
by FUSA Arts and Lectures and
Campus Ministry.
"I am the daughter and
granddaughter of battered
women," Kabat began. "During
those years it was the family
secret, the family shame.
Something you just didn't tell."
Ms. Kabat's road toward
human rights protection began to
take shape during her years at
Stacey Kabat, founder of a battered women's center in Photo:
Boston, lectures on human rights and domestic violence. L.Hosang
Bates College, where she met two
human rights activists. She
became familiar with Amnesty
International, an organization
dedicated to upholding human
rights for everyone. Also during
this time, Kabat began to look at
the parallels between International
Violence and Domestic Violence,
particularly concerning the United
States interaction with the
Apartheid Government, an
analogy she brought up
throughout her lecture.
While at Bates, Kabat
established a campus network
centered around domestic
violence prevention. From Bates,
she went to work in London. "I
was surrounded by people who
cared about human rights. It was
incredible to me. I wanted to be
a part of that."
Upon returning to the
United States, Kabat became an
intern at a battered women's
shelter in Boston. "I was meeting
people who have lived through
what you're not supposed to tell.
It was exciting, confusing, and
mind boggling. Women and kids
were living like domestic refugees,
forced to leave home during the
night and hide."
Kabat presented a film
depicting "the war against women
and children." The academy-award
winning documentary,
created by Kabat, told the stories
of "women who were imprisoned
for defending their lives."
The women in the film,
some of whom remain in prison,
were tried and convicted for killing
the husbands and boyfriends who
had physically and mentally
abused them and their children for
years. They told of graphic
incidents where thefwomen had
been repeatedly threatened,
beaten, raped, stabbed, and shot,
often in front of their young
children.
When Kabat asked the
silent audience their reaction at
the conclusion of the film, the
responses included "scared,"
"horrified," and "angry, " along
with a general feeling that no one
knew it was that bad. Kabat
agreed that most people are
unaware of the severity of the
extent to which women are
abused.
"People didn't get that
it was that bad. When people get
that it is.they do something about
it." Many battered women do
not fully realize that they are not
alone until they hear the stories
ofother women, Kabat continued.
"When they realize the stories
are similar, they realize it is that
bad."
"There are four major
reasons why people don't get it,"
Kabat said of why domestic
violence may not have been
addressed enough to prevent it.
"Number one, people think it's
not that bad. They think, T made
it, I survived." A major reason
cases are not reported enough is
that victims do not consider it
worth addressing simply because
they lived through it.
The second reason is
that some consider domestic
violence "to be a 'family
problem.' Domestic violence is
(Continued on page 3)
Parking dilemma continues
Lynn Nugent
Staff Writer
The on-campus parking
situation continues to be
problematic this year for off-campus
borders, commuters, and
townhouse residents, despite
changes implemented to help off-set
the problem. A lack of
convenient spaces in close
proximity to academic buildings
and the campus center is what
appears to be the major complaint
of students.
A number of students
have voiced their frustration at
the lack of available spots,
especially in light of the $50.00
fee which they are recquired to
pay to the University in order to
register their vehicles. According
to security, there are
approximately 2,200 parking
spots on campus; however, there
are about 7,000 vehicles
registered with the Security
department. There are simply not
enough parking facilities to
handle such a large volume of
cars.
Some redistribution of
parking spaces amongst both off-
Parking problems persist for university
)ff-campus and residential students.
campus and on-campus residents
has occurred this semester in an
attempt to alleviate the problem.
More spaces have been allocated
for use by off-campus students
only. On-campus students living
in either the residence halls or town-houses
have also been granted
greater parking flexibility. Students
living on campus can now part in
any one of the lots designated for
their use, most of which are located
next to or near the townhouse
Photo: L. Hosang
section of campus. Last year,
students could only park in the lot
reserved for their particular
residence hall or they would run
the risk of being ticketed.
Many students do not feel
that these changes are adequate.
Says Jennifer Rafetto, '95, a second
year beach resident,"It's gotten a
little better since last year, but not
by much. Itjust gets very frustrating
circling the lot forever in the hopes
that someone will leave a space
open." Matthew Hogan, '96, a
townhouse resident, describes the
parking situation as "Annoying. I
ride my bike to class a lot to avoid
driving around looking for spots
which don't exist."
What many students are
not aware of is that in the spring of
1994, members of the Commuter
Club, FUSA, IRHG and UNITE
presented a proposal to the
administration which would have
expanded the lot behind Gonzaga
and Canisius by sixty parking
spaces. This move was blocked
by opposition from the Student
Environmental Association. The
group petitioned that the proposal
be abandoned because members
feared the negative environmental
implications of an expanded lot at
that location. Persuaded that the
addition of the sixty parking
spaces would be environmentally
irresponsible, administration
rejected the proposal.
Administration has no plans at
present for either the expansion
of current parking lots or the
construction of a new one in the
immediate future.
FUSA President
Christopher Pilkerton and his
administration are aware of the
parking crises and have taken steps
to better the situation. He states
that, "We realize there is a
problem. We've reallocated
spaces and refurbished the shuttle
system to allow better access to all
parts of campus to the entire
student body." Pilkerton hopes that
a more efficient shuttle system
will provide town-house residents
with a. reliable, convenient
alternative to driving their cars to
classes. This will ease the
congestion in lots and open up
spots for commuters and off-campus
borders who have no
choice but to drive to campus
activities.
Although some changes
have been made while others are
in the works, no end is in sight to
the student body's on-going
parking problems. Not enough
spaces exist to handle the
enormous number of vehicles
competing for choice spots. Until
more parking spaces are made
available, students will have to
simply cross their fingers and hope
for the best each time they decide
to travel to class in the comfort of
their cars.
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