The Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO) of Saint Mary’s College held the first educational memorial service in honor of the late Elizabeth “Lizzy” Seeberg, a 2010 freshman who, after being sexually assaulted by a Notre Dame football player, committed suicide.
On Tuesday evening in the south lounge of Holy Cross Hall, BAVO’s student advisory committee hosted a group watch of the 2015 documentary “The Hunting Ground,” which details institutional cover-ups of sexual assault and violence that have happened on college campuses across the country. During the documentary watch, students created posters of support for victims of interpersonal violence as a way to display BAVO’s vow against violence.
BAVO’s student employees and mental health counselor Lauren Cooper attended the event to provide students with confidential sources to talk to in light of the documentary’s topic. Director of campus safety Phil Bambenek and college president Katie Conboy were also in attendance.
Junior Allyson Krause spearheaded the memorial alongside sophomore Daniela Rivera. The pair expressed their desire to share BAVO’s message and resources with the community.
“I think we kind of hear a lot of misinformation about what happened to Lizzy Seeberg,” Krause said. “It kind of became a campus myth, like lore, which is something we are trying to avoid because this is only fourteen years past her death, and people who knew her and went to school with her still work here.”
Krause and Rivera said they aimed to educate about Seeburg’s story and reflect on the history that propels the work of BAVO.
“[The purpose of showing this documentary is to] raise awareness, especially in these topics that are hard pills to swallow and hard to have conversations about,” Rivera said. “This documentary makes you more aware of the things going on around us, her story and how we can use that in our lives.”
Freshmen Lilly Lessard shared her takeaway from both BAVO’s mission and Seeberg’s story.
“I feel like there needs to be more awareness of the story and all stories,” Lessard said. “I think that everyone should be able to speak up in a good way to make everyone on campus aware of the things that can happen.”
Towards the end of the event, Krause, Rivera and their student associates led the group to the memorial site for Seeberg, a small section of the garden located next to Riedinger House. There, a moment of silence was held to honor Seeburg as students were given the opportunity to individually reflect on Seeberg’s life.
The memorial event dedicated to Seeberg demonstrated how the conversation regarding students who are victims of sexual assault has continued since her death and the release of the documentary, which highlights Notre Dame and Seeberg’s story. Shortly after the release of “The Hunting Ground,” Saint Mary’s College hosted key figures from the documentary and appointed a task force for investigating sexual assault.
