October is Domestic Violence Prevention Month and the Weber State University Women’s Center is hosting a poster contest to support the awareness of domestic violence in connection with the Safe@Weber campaign.

According to the organization’s website, each year, the center holds a White Ribbon Week to help students gain an understanding about this call to action.

“Domestic violence can really impact a student’s well-being and success at school,” Women’s Center Program Specialist Paige Davies said.

Katie Byrd, a receptionist at the Women’s Center, agrees with Davies on how important awareness can be.

“I think [it’s] important to get students involved and actively fighting (domestic violence),” Byrd said.

By wearing a white ribbon, students take a pledge to speak out against domestic violence. This year, the Women’s Center wanted to get more people involved, so they created a contest that ends on October 1.

Davies believes that the contest is a way for students to get involved on a different level and an opportunity for creative students to showcase their talents while sharing a positive message.

The contest requires that the poster be graphically attractive and may not include violent or sexual content. The theme of the contest is “Love looks like…”

The creator has very few restrictions on what the poster should look like, except for the required guidelines.

Davies and the director of the Women’s Center worked together and created this theme, so the students can create their individual visions of what they believe love looks like.

“Love might look like your family or your kids, so it’s not just about couples,” Davies said.

The center decided to portray a positive message for domestic violence this year, instead of the typical negative poster showing an abused woman along with a set of statistics. Davies’ concern was for those victims who maybe experience emotional triggers when seeing a poster depicting something negative.

“We’re really trying to go for a positive message and promote healthy relationships.” says Byrd.

Submissions for the contest must be in PDF format and emailed to [email protected]. Submissions must also include the artist’s full name, address, phone number, W number and Weber email address. Multiple entries are welcome.

The student body will decide on the winning posters. There will be a grand prize winner and two runners-up. Each winner will receive a gift, and the grand prize winner’s work will be displayed in the Fireplace Lounge.

For more information, please call the Women’s Center at 801-626-6090.