To recognize Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, Penn State’s Gender Equity Center will light up campus on Purple Thursday on October 21. The event comes as one of the many the university is hosting to mark the occasion.

On Purple Thursday, students and community members are encouraged to wear purple to show their support. Penn State will also light up up various buildings on campus with purple lights throughout the course of the day to raise awareness for domestic abuse by highlighting support for survivors and reducing the stigma around it.

The following places will be going purple Thursday:

• Bryce Jordan Center outdoor digital board
• The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity windows facing the HUB lawn
• The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences “Women in Earth” and “Mineral Sciences” groups will be lighting the Edward Steidle rotunda and atrium and the Earth and Mineral Sciences library
• The College of Communications will light the front windows of the Carnegie building facing Pollock Road
• The Gender Equity Center is lighining the second story of the Boucke Building the entire day

“Given the success of last year’s campaign, we wanted to continue the event and look at ways to expand and grow the involvement with this initiative for all Penn State community members,” Becca Geiger, the assistant director of the Gender Equity Center, said. “We loved working with colleagues across campus to think through ways to not just light their spaces purple but illuminate the campus community on the issue and share resources available for anyone looking for assistance.”

You can participate in this event and even be entered to win prizes by emailing photos to [email protected] or tagging @pennstategeneq on social media and using the hashtag #purplethursday2021.