10/30/2025
This October, the Ashley Doolittle Foundation had the privilege of holding One Love’s Escalation Workshop for all of the CSU Fraternities. For the third consecutive year, we spent the evening educating over 200 young men about toxic relationship dynamics, signs that a relationship is becoming unhealthy, the importance and meaning of consent, and what to do if you notice these red flags of abuse in your own relationship or in a friend’s relationship.
The men watched a film depicting a young couple with early warning signs of an abusive relationship developing, and how quickly those red flags escalate into violence and danger for the DV victim. After the film, the men broke out into smaller groups and leaders from various fraternities guided their friends and fraternity brothers through thoughtful discussions about what they’d noticed in the 40 minute film.
They identified places where the fictional relationship on screen showed signed of being toxic and unhealthy, and discussed what traits to be on the lookout for in their own relationships and the relationships of people around them. They discussed what a person can and should do if they start seeing those warning sign of abuse against one of their friends, and how they should handle it if they were to see their friend exhibiting abusive behavior against a romantic partner. They were asked to reflect on how the victim in the film might have felt at various points of escalation of the emotional manipulation, or what factors might have led her to not leave, to not ask for help, to not tell others about what was happening in her relationship. They learned that when a victim leaves the relationship is statistically the most dangerous and most likely point of escalation, even if it never involved physical abuse before.
Thank you to CSU Fraternities for committing to teaching your young men about this incredibly important topic, especially during Domestic Awareness Month, and for allowing the ADF back to lead an Escalation Workshop again this year. Learning how to identify the warning signs for abuse and what to do when you see it can quite literally save a life.
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