Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and Delta Gamma sorority partnered Tuesday afternoon for their second annual event designed to raise awareness within the community about domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The event, titled “ATO and DG Fight Against Domestic Violence,” was originally organized by senior human development and psychology double major Shelby Grant, a Delta Gamma sorority member.

“I think domestic violence and sexual assault are really prevalent issues, and it’s not always easy for people to talk about them, but someone’s gotta kinda get the ball rolling,” Grant said. “And it’s great to have a fraternity involved with a sorority, too.”

The goal of the event is to actively combat stereotypes and encourage the entire WSU and Pullman communities to take responsibility for their own actions instead of looking to place the blame elsewhere.

Keenan Scott and Alison Mittelstaedt, both juniors at WSU and public relations chairs at Alpha Tau Omega and Delta Gamma, respectively, organized the event and worked together this year to spread the news about the campaign on the chapters’ social media accounts. They accomplished this partly by forming the hashtag #DGATOagainstDV.

It is Scott’s hope that WSU’s Green Dot bystander prevention programs will take notice of their efforts within the Greek community in the future and will form a partnership directly with the university.

For now, the messages written on posters between the two houses signify a huge effort in this battle, he said.

Grant is confident that people have and will continue to take notice of these signs, as the event has been positively received by the community.

The partnership between the two chapter houses utilized the same platform as Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s “Pass the Peace” campaign, and managed to gain the attention of Wilson himself last year.

In the future, the two chapters are hoping to expand the event by involving more university organizations – both Greek and non-Greek.

For the present, emphasizing the importance of domestic violence prevention on campus and within the Greek community specifically is being prioritized.

“Not only are we Greek students, but we’re just college students in general, and I think our message is just that there should be no room for domestic violence and sexual assault at all on our college campus or in any situation on any college campus,” Grant said. “I think that it’s easy to push topics like this under the rug, and it’s great to have college kids talking and starting a dialogue.”

Grant said she hopes this dialogue will help denounce the stereotype that domestic violence and sexual assault are common occurrences within the Greek community.

Photos of the signs can be viewed online by searching the hashtag #DGATOagainstDV.