A group of University student athletes are using their high-profile images - and putting their faces on local posters - to convince people that rough, aggressive behavior has no place in relationships.
The University's President's Task Force on Violence Against Women unveiled its poster yesterday as part of a three-stage campaign targeted at the student body and beyond.
"We wanted to create and provide a message not only to the University community, but to the community at large," said Wendy Powell, a member of the 2-year-old task force. "Aggression belongs on the playing fields and not in personal relationships."
Four of the seven student athletes - the rest had conflicts such as classes - spoke in an equally dedicated and focused manner about their personal involvement in the program.
Heavyweight wrestler Airron Richardson said playing rough sports is not an excuse for violence, but that being in the public eye as a player is a reason to speak out.
"It's about time the University used the familiar faces of the Athletic Department to speak out on social issues," he said.
"Sometimes it's easy to fall back on being aggressive on the field to find an excuse for irresponsible behavior. It's important that we don't allow people to give excuses for that," Richardson said.
About 40 group leaders from campus organizations attended the unveiling and received posters, the first stage of the campaign.
The second stage is plastering the posters up in a variety of places around campus. Randall Juip, president of the Residence Halls Association, said he would help in the next stage.
"I want to make sure the house council sees this," he said, referring to the poster. "It's probably long overdue."
While the campaign is addressing serious concerns, the athletes said the poster does not mean the end of speaking out against violence in relationships. An emotional Amy Johnson, a University basketball player, said there is a lot of ground to cover.
"It's not going to be enough until it stops," she said of violence in social situations. "I have seen it in my family. I have heard about it with my friends. It's not going to be enough until kids don't have to see it when they're very young."
The poster features snapshots of the student athletes, next to action photos of competitions. Each athlete also has a quote on the poster, all under the title, "Michigan Student Athletes Talk About Violence in Relationships."
The third stage of the campaign is taking the message to younger children.
"We want to tell kids that violence is unacceptable at a young age," Powell said. Students involved with conflict-resolution groups from Ann Arbor and Plymouth high and middle schools attended the event.
Social Work Prof. Daniel Saunders, co-chair of the task force, estimated 30 percent of college women were involved in a violent relationship, but said the task force was "designing a survey to find out the prevalence of incidents."
JOHN KRAFT/Daily
University wrestler Airron Richardson and field hockey player Sandra Richardson display the new poster to discourage violence in relationships. The poster uses the faces of high-profile student athletes to send the message.