Andrea Cooper led a suicide and rape awareness presentation Sept. 30 in Hall Auditorium to Miami University students, faculty and Oxford town citizens to further the understanding of domestic violence awareness month.
Cooper, a former Florida State University Delta Delta Delta sorority member, explored the topics of suicide, depression, rape, and sexual assault within her discussion about her daughter Kristin, who was an Alpha Chi Omega at Baker College, to a packed Miami University audience.
Cooper told the large audience her daughter's story.
"As a small girl I noticed that Kristin had some signs of depression, but then in high school, she was so happy," Cooper said. "She was involved in the band, participated in every musical, and a play, and she was on the swim team. It wasn't until college when her boyfriend had broken up with her, that I had noticed her being upset and depressed again."
Cooper elaborated on Kristin's depression.
"When she went away to college, she was so happy," Cooper said. "She loved her sorority sisters. She found a boyfriend, and they were heads-over-heels for each other. She really loved him. But then he broke up with her a few months after and she was devastated."
Cooper revealed that due to the break-up, Kristin had called her every other day to discuss how upset she was about it.
"She came home for Thanksgiving and was so upset," Cooper said. "She would be crying in her room every day, and as a mother, I told her to get over it. We then went skiing and she was happy when we were out on the slopes but then when we came back home, she went back to staying in her bedroom all the time. Then when she returned for the Christmas holiday, she was so happy. Do you know why she was happy? Because she had released herself. And that's when she decided to ill herself."
Cooper described how she and her husband came home from a New Year's Eve party to find Kristin dead in their family room. She left behind a journal suggesting rape was the reason for her suicide.
"I read in Kristin's journal and had come to figure out that she had been raped by someone she knew," Cooper said. "I called her best friend and asked her if she had known Kristin had been raped and she told me that Kristin had. I was shocked."
After Cooper had discovered that Kristin had been raped and became depressed, she decided she would continue Kristin's story to teach college students the prevalence of sexual assault and rape on college campuses.
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"I came to visit Miami University in 1999 and there were about 400 people in the audience, and then I came five years ago and there were about 100 people, and then I was very disappointed," Cooper said. "But tonight, there are around 1,000 people here which is incredible."
Miami's Alpha Chi Omega chapter decided to bring the Kristin's Story narrative to campus, according to chapter president Carly Marisco.
"Kristin's Story is something that Alpha Chi Omega Nationals is very involved with," Marsico said. "Our nationals and Tri-Delta's nationals really try to support this event because two of the women involved, Kristin was an Alpha Chi Omega and then Andrea was a Delta Delta Delta, so it was something they really encouraged our chapters to bring to our campuses."
Marisco also said it was not only her sorority's effort in funding the event. She said Sigma Theta Epsilon and the Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault organization help Alpha Chi Omega to fund Coopers presentation at Miami.
Members of Alpha Chi Omega, Sigma Pi and MARS were present during Cooper's presentation.
"I thought she did a very good job," Mark Freking, a member of MARS, said on the lecture. "I think she got the crowd involved and she was funny and it is usually not a funny subject."
Other students agreed and believed the presentation was enlightened and light-hearted.
"I think its good that she was getting the awareness out," senior Colleen Martin said. "I think the message was just to support anyone who comes to you when they are sexual assaulted or raped. I think she did really well."
Cooper came to Miami for her third time in order to educate Miami students of the prevalence of rape and sexual assault among college students and the options to receive help.
"It is an overwhelming thing to talk about, rape, depression and suicide, but I just hope that I can help some people in this room." Cooper said.
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