Summit Photo Gallery
Thirty-three student-athletes attended the 2013 Empire 8 Summit, which was held at the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Fairport, NY from Jan. 25-26.
In addition to the student-athletes, there were nine campus advisors and six Vice President’s in attendance. The Summit was geared toward identifying collaborative strategies to address interpersonal violence.
The participants spent Friday night with icebreakers, listening to a keynote address by Donald McPherson and taking part in a ‘Minute to win it” team challenge.
McPherson engaged the audience with a powerful message against violence and abusive relationships. Two of the statements he made during his speech that caused the room to stop and think included, “I’m not going to make my son better by degrading my daughter” and “How can we talk seriously about interpersonal violence when our country’s solution is to go to war?”. His innovate and thought-provoking technique stimulated the audience to reflect on their own experiences.
Saturday morning featured a SAAC meeting, hot topic break-out sessions on leadership, communication, hazing and bystander intervention and a second speaker presentation. This time the group heard from two Assistant Professors of Counseling at Alfred University, Dr. Steve Byrne and Dr. Hannah Young, on the topic of identifying and responding to dating violence.
Bryne and Young Presentation
Following the Presentation, the participants broke out into schools to begin working on an action plan of how to address interpersonal violence on their respective campuses.
“We hope that the experience provided the participants with information and resources to dedicate, discover and develop their future in Division III athletics and beyond,” stated Associate Commissioner Janelle Feuz. “Leaders can’t be bystanders.”