May 1, 2008

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - A dedicated group of Marist student athletes helped bring the first annual White Ribbon Campaign to Marist College on April 23rd. Led by Dan Smith (Reston, Va.) and Adalberto Ruiz (Harrison, N.J.) of the Marist football team, more than 100 Red Fox athletes participated in the program that fights to end domestic abuse against women.

The White Ribbon Campaign is the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women and was founded after the massacre of 14 female college students in Montreal in 1989.

The program at Marist began at Champagnat Breezeway with opening remarks by Bill Spearance, from the Men Against Domestic Violence subcommittee of the Dutchess County Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. There was then a march to the McCann Center where the participants watched a film by Jackson Katz named "Tough Guise."

Athletes from women's soccer, women's basketball, and football came out and supported the initiative in large numbers.

"This was something we wanted to bring to Marist because we always hear about it in today's society," said Smith, who was one of 2007 football captains. "The support we received for the other athletes and people like Sergeant Gale from the Poughkeepsie Police Department was fantastic."

Smith and Ruiz, who got the idea from the University of Maine, were responsible for promoting the event and hope that others will follow in their footsteps.

"We hope the other athletes and especially the younger football players continue this initiative and make it a tradition in the coming years," said Smith.