In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, the Georgian Court University community has come together to educate, offer support, and commemorate lives that were tragically lost due to domestic violence.
On Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the “Silent Witness Project” community-based exhibit will be presented by Providence House Domestic Violence Services of Catholic Charities, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department. The program will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Dorothy Marron University Community Chapel.
The event features speakers from the community and essential local agencies who will help the audience visualize the results of domestic violence, teach about its commonness, raise awareness, connect people with resources, and advocate for its end. The lives of those who have passed in Ocean County will be memorialized in a display of life-sized silhouettes of victims that include their tragic stories.
Another domestic violence awareness exhibit was created by Dr. Johann M. Vento’s GEN 400 students in collaboration with the Office of Mission and Ministry. The class recreated the “Empty Place at the Table” project as part of their service learning, which is on display in Raymond Hall Arcade for the entire month of October.
Amy Cerreta, Campus Minister, reached out to Providence House for the names and stories of victims that students could use for the project. Students were paired, assigned an individual who lost their life due to domestic violence, and were given their age, gender, a brief, detailed story, and name if available. Students were given the option to learn more about the victim’s story and whether they wanted to represent the specific individual or all victims of the same age and gender for their table setting.
Caitlin Petrellese ‘26, majoring in history with a minor in politics, government, and law, received the name of Kyle Peckham. This seven-year-old boy lost his life on January 6, 2007, at the hands of his stepfather, who also took the life of his 41-year-old mother and then his own.
“We collected plates, bowls, cups, utensils, and small toys characteristic of a young boy to set a seat for him at this table,” said Caitlin. “At our next class meeting, our entire Gen 400 class traveled over to the dining hall together, set our spaces, and paid our respects to these victims.”
To visualize the tragic loss of such a young life, Caitlin explained that they displayed a number seven and eight birthday candle, which to her was the most somber part of their place setting. “The number seven was opened, and the wick burned. However, the number eight remains in its cardboard wrapping, never used, as Kyle will never turn eight years old with us here on earth.”
Dr. Vento was touched by the ways her students personalized their place settings. She knows the project impacted her students and will have the same impact on the Georgian Court community members.
“I feel that it brought home to them the terrible costs of the problem of domestic violence,” stated Dr. Vento. “I’m sure they were aware before, but this opportunity to honor someone who became a victim may have made it more interpersonal in a way.”
Caitlin believes this project is an effective way for individuals to feel the impact of domestic violence while paying respect to victims. She also noted that the specific personalized items for each victim and the emptiness of the chair at the place setting cause a higher level of connection in the observer, providing an emotional reminder that a real life was lost.
“I hope that this display causes people to stop, read, and really take in the picture in front of them. Beyond this, I hope it calls people to raise awareness about domestic violence and possibly even help someone who is in a dangerous situation find the courage to reach out for help.”
Mercy is at the heart of the “Empty Place at the Table,” and the mission of Mercy drives the action of service and all the Mercy core values. “Mercy is about seeing an injustice and doing something,” expressed Amy. “Mercy is about relationships and being present for others. We are all called to care for our neighbors, and domestic violence affects everyone.”
“This project inspires us to fight for justice for victims of domestic violence; those who are still living through it, those who have survived it, and those who have lost their lives to it,” added Caitlin.
“The hope of this month is that by bringing awareness to domestic violence, we will empower victims to seek help, friends to offer support, laws to be changed, and violence to stop,” concluded Amy.
Founded in 1993 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the “Empty Place at the Table” Memorial Project was inspired by the “AIDS Quilt” and Judy Chicago’s art exhibit “The Dinner Party.” Following the tragic homicides of two women and one child within a 22-day period, this visual project was created by advocates from the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) and surviving families to humanize the domestic homicide statistics, honor victims, foster understanding, and drive social change.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, take the first step and call the domestic violence hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential, and translation is available in any language.
