February 28, 2025/Midnight
Corry, PA – February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Corry Area High School’s (CAHS) Safeline Council has traditionally hosted some form of awareness week that is relevant to high school students. They pick a topic and plan a themed week and keynote speaker. This year, the National Honor Society (NHS) and Safeline Council teamed up to hold a relationship and self-love week and named it “Respect and Protect Week.” This week focused on friendship and self-love; respect for self and others was also highlighted.
NHS member Luke Hurd worked on this project and helped bring it to life. “We chose this particular speaker because we wanted to highlight how important it is to be aware of signs and practices of those who are in abusive relationships, so that they can get the help that they need before something tragic happens,” Hurd said. “Many teenagers are affected by dating violence and relationship abuse in general; therefore, it was very important for us to tell people they are not alone.”
Hurd continued, “We came up with the name of Respect and Protect week because the week was about respecting others’ boundaries and not making anyone feel like less of a person and to protect those who are in abusive relationships and friendships.”
Safeline member Sydney Woods, who also helped work on this project, commented on how she thought the week went. “Our ‘Respect and Protect Week’ was a huge success,” Woods said. “Every day students in the school came together in a little spirit week to show their support for standing up against teen dating violence. We had a phenomenal speaker come in and share his daughter’s story and I’ve heard from many people that the presentation hit close to home for many people. There were also guests that were at lunch so that students could go and ask any questions they had. Overall, it was a powerful and informative week that really made a significant impact on us students.”
In 2006, National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week was declared to be the first week in February. This all came to be because in 2005, teens and their adult allies achieved a major victory when teen dating abuse was highlighted in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. This month is an opportunity to speak to young people about healthy relationships and to show those who have been impacted by teen dating violence that they are not alone.
Throughout this whole past week, there have been various activities and presentations spreading the word on teen dating violence. Throughout the week, NHS and Safeline members sold candy grams for students to buy and send a nice message to someone they care about. There was an assembly for all students in 7th to 12th grade on Tuesday, with a speaker discussing healthy relationships, self-love, and more on teen dating violence.
The guest speaker at the assembly was keynote speaker Dr. Gary Cuccia. Cuccia lost his daughter, Demi Brae, on August 15, 2007. She was violently murdered by her boyfriend while breaking up with him. Demi’s boyfriend was her brother’s best friend. According to Mrs. Dow, National Honor Society Advisor, Dr. Cuccia has shared his story with over 300,000 high school students and has been an advocate of dating violence awareness and an agent of change, pushing for legislation in PA to instill education in the schools about healthy relationships and dating/domestic violence. The Demi Brae Cuccia bill was passed into law as Act 104 on November 17, 2010. As a direct result of the Demi Brae Cuccia Bill, the PA Department of Education has now developed a curriculum for all PA schools to use as a teen dating violence prevention effort. He continues to share the story of his family’s tragedy in an effort to prevent others from falling victim to dating or domestic violence.
A spirit week was also in action all week long, starting on Monday with Wear Sweats, which stood for “Don’t sweat the small stuff; be comfortable in your relationships.” On Tuesday it was Wear Orange, which is the color that represents Teen Dating Violence Awareness. Wednesday was Twin Day to show the importance of good relationships. Finally, on Thursday, students wore red to acknowledge red flags in relationships and support healthy relationships.
“Students enjoyed the ‘Candy Grams’ they were able to send for free to a friend with a positive message,” Dow said. “Having the Prevention Team representatives from Safe Journey in the lunches was an educational tool, and Dr. Cuccia’s message was extremely powerful. Students were captivated by his story and extremely attentive. Approximately 20 students stayed behind when he finished his address to personally thank him for sharing his experiences. They offered condolences and appreciation to him.”
There are many ways to seek help, starting with a national Domestic Violence Hotline; you can call 800-799-7233.
