Students at Kentlake High School are donning purple today in honor of domestic violence awareness month and the school’s domestic violence awareness week.

“That’s kind of our way of knowing we got our points across,” said sophomore leadership student Austin Anderson.

The week, led by Kentlake leadership students Anderson, Lilyann Yoder, Emily Marotzke, and Jaselina Rodriguez is about not only awareness but also about educating their fellow students.

The students teamed up with the Covington Domestic Violence Task Force to learn and share information about warning signs of domestic violence and provide some resources for how to get help.

“We kind of have to hit people’s emotions to get them to pay attention,” Yoder said.

Leadership students posted flyers around the school with QR codes that students can use to anonymously learn more and get assistance. Leadership students also manned a booth during lunches which included a silhouette with a story from a domestic violence survivor and encouraged their peers to fill out a purple paper light bulb in honor of those they know who were affected by domestic violence.

“We’re really trying to target teens’ relationships and home life,” Yoder said.

She added that the main idea is to teach teens the warning signs so they can recognize an abusive relationship.

The idea was proposed to the students by leadership teacher Greg Kaas after he heard about the task force.

“We thought it would be a great idea and we all volunteered for it,” Yoder said.

All four leadership students said they volunteered because they knew someone who was affected by domestic violence and they wanted to make a difference.

“A lot of my friends have gone through relationships where their boyfriends abuse them and they think it’s ok because they don’t understand what DV is,” Marotzke said.

Throughout October the Covington Domestic Violence Task Force promoted Purple Light Nights to promote awareness and remember victims as well as offer support for survivors and those living with abuse.

Anderson and Yoder said two of the main warning signs they would want students to be aware of are controlling behaviors and abuse that happens through sexting or texting and other online formats.

“Controlling behavior is a really big one,” Yoder said.

For more information about Purple Light Nights go to www.purplelightnights.org.