St Brendan’s College Walk against Domestic Violence
12 May, 2022
It was an impressive sight seeing the 1000 students and staff, mostly dressed in their purple Not Now, Not Ever t-shirts, walk from St Brendan’s College through Yeppoon to the beach. Police stopped and directed traffic to ease their way through the town. A clear statement was being made.
This was the 5th Annual Walk Against Domestic Violence and one of the largest collectives of men in Central Queensland. As sons, brothers and future husbands and fathers, the students united under the ‘Not Now Not Ever’ message in the hope of bringing awareness to this insidious issue plaguing communities across the nation. The event occurred on the College’s Edmund Rice Feast Day and aimed to ensure the anti-violence message and the importance of service and justice is taken from the school yard and into the community. Primcipal Rob Corboy said of this ‘protest’: We define a protest as, a body of people coming together to stand against something that is unfair. We see domestic violence as a scourge that has to be addressed. It is the right of every person to feel safe and respected. As a College Community we choose to stand up in a display of solidarity against this issue that is not ok, ‘Not Now, Not Ever.’
It began with the Edmund Rice Feast Day Mass. Then the students, staff and members of the SBC family walked to Main Beach, where they were addressed by Old Boy Jason Bongers, who is now the School Officer for the Edmund Rice Foundation Australia. He gave a strong anti-violence statement. After enjoying a lunch of Red Rooster, they enjoyed the break from school routine spending time at the beach.
