from staff
As coordinator of Florida Coastal School of Law’s Law Students Against Violence committee, it’s Elissa Saavedra’s job to find a cause. Twice a year, she helps coordinate a fundraising effort aimed at helping the Jacksonville community battle violent crime.
Last spring, her committee put on a showing of the Eve Ensler play “The Vagina Monologues” and helped raise $3,000.
Next week, Saavedra and her 54-member committee are running FCSL’s “Stop the Violence Campaign.” The week-long campaign will consist of lectures and activities designed to raise awareness about violence in Jacksonville and all over the world. Saavedra said she got the idea for the week-long event after searching the Internet.
“I found MAD DADS and that helped inspire us to want to help deal with violence in the community,” said Saavedra, who is from Tampa and graduated from Florida State before enrolling at FCSL.
She didn’t need the Internet for inspiration, though. Over the summer, while she was tossing around ides for this fall’s campaign, Saavedra said all she had to do was look at the headlines or watch the local news.
“The murder rate was skyrocketing and I had seen a JCCI (Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.) report that said it was a community-wide problem and needed a community-wide response,” said the second-year law student. “The underlying problem was violent crime.”
Each day next week is dedicated to a specific type of crime prevention for which there will be activities and panel discussions.
• Monday marks the kick-off and starts with a student-faculty basketball tournament. The games start at 7 p.m. and end at 9. They’ll be played at Jacksonville Indoor Sports at the corner of I-95 and Emerson.
• Tuesday is dedicated to rape and sexual violence. A panel discussion will be held at FCSL at noon in room 250. The scope of these discussions will include how to prevent these types of crimes, what causes these crimes and what to do if you or someone you know has fallen victim to these crimes. The panelists include JCCI representatives, sheriff’s office employees, and attorneys from the State Attorney’s Office.
• Wednesday is dedicated to domestic violence/violence against children. Another panel discussion regarding these issues will be held at the Downtown library at 6:30 p.m. The scope of this discussion is how to protect yourself and your children from these types of crimes, warning signs and the course of action for prosecuting these crimes.
• Thursday’s events will recognize international violence. Florida Coastal will host the “Emancipation Rocklamation” at Club Rain at 8:30 p.m. The concert consists of five local rock bands. The cover charge is $5 and the show is for those 18 and older.
• Friday will focus on hate crimes and discrimination. FCSL will host the final panel discussion regarding hate crimes, gender and discrimination in the law, and other topics related to this subject. The panel discussion is at FCSL at 4 p.m. in room 250. Additionally, the student organizations will be hosting an organization fair at FCSL from noon-3:30.
• Saturday FCSL presents the “Stop the Violence 5K Beach Run/Walk.” The event starts at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Jacksonville Beach Seawalk Pavilion. For registration information, please go to www.1stplacesports.com.
Additionally, in an attempt to involve local Duval County elementary and middle schools in this endeavor, LSAV is sponsoring a banner decorating contest and an essay writing contest. The banners will be hung on retail store windows all around the city and the essay winner will be presented with an official proclamation from the mayor. Also, a letter will be sent home to the parents informing them of the week’s events to encourage attendance. All events are open to the public.
All proceeds earned will be donated to local charities including Hubbard House, Lea’s Place, and Jasmyn. Also, all the FCSL student organizations are gathering specific items to donate, including — but not limited to — clothes, linens, toiletries, baby supplies, food, and school supplies.