Mar. 19, 2014:  Last week, the students at The Bronxville School participated in an assembly with the One Love Foundation in honor of Yeardley Reynolds Love to learn about relationship violence. Although most people assume they will never be affected, the statistics suggest otherwise.

According to The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, one in every three women will experience relationship violence in her lifetime, and one in five college females will experience abuse during her college career.

Sharon Love and her family are on a mission to educate young people about how prevalent relationship violence is and how it affects people across every demographic. One Love Foundation's "Be 1 for Change" initiative serves as a signature program for the One Love Foundation, with an immediate goal of educating, creating awareness, and providing resources for people 16 to 24 years old.

Sharon Love's daughter Yeardley was beaten to death in May of 2010 by her ex-boyfriend while they were both senior lacrosse players at the University of Virginia. Sharon spent Wednesday morning with Bronxville High School students explaining to them the warning signs of being in a destructive relationship.

Some of the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship include incessant texting, the desire to always know a partner's whereabouts, the demand to only hang out with certain people, and someone saying, "I wouldn't want to live without you. If anything ever happened to you, I couldn't go on." These are all signs of a controlling relationship and can lead to abuse.

Also speaking to the students were Yeardley's two best friends and roommates, Caity Whitely and Kaitlin Duff. They spoke about the importance of the bystander effect and taking seriously the responsibility to speak up when and if you witness threatening behavior. "We were not educated on the warning signs of a dangerous relationship, so we did not know what we were witnessing. She broke up with him and we had no idea how dangerous he could be or that a breakup can instigate more violence," they explained.

Love's niece, Sharon Robinson, who is also the lacrosse coach at Bronxville High School, taught the students about One Love's free and anonymous app, One Love DA, which is available for download on iTunes. Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing developed this simple 20-question assessment that can help determine the level of danger in a relationship. The app is also a great resource for anyone who may be in an unhealthy relationship or someone who is concerned about a friend's relationship. The One Love Foundation partnered with LoveisRespect.org to incorporate a live chat function that provides 24-hour support so that anyone in danger can access professional help.

Principal Ann Meyer believes the assembly was worthwhile for her students. "By hearing Yeardley's story and beginning to understand the warning signs that a relationship may become violent, we hope that our students are able to help themselves or a friend should they witness concerning behavior. Feedback from the student body has indicated that the story hit home--students were able to relate to Yeardley and her roommates. That made the message all the more powerful."

The assembly concluded with a slideshow of Bronxville students describing love. They completed the sentences "Love is . . ." and "Love is not . . ." to start the discussion on healthy relationships. The slideshow was produced by Chris Landy.

Yeardley Love was a beautiful and talented athlete and scholar. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, and friend to many. The One Love Foundation will continue in its mission to educate young people about abuse with the hope that others can be saved before it is too late.

This assembly was arranged by Sharon Robinson and the B*well committee of the PTA.

For more information, go to www.joinonelove.org.

Pictured here: Bronxville High School student with one of the posters students made after the One Love Foundation assembly.

Photo by Sharon Robinson