For the second consecutive year, the Belles Against Violence Office (BAVO) at Saint Mary’s College, a confidential resource group for students to report interpersonal violence, hosted “Honoring Lizzy Seeberg.”
Students and faculty came together Monday evening for this memorial service at the Lizzy Seeberg Memorial Garden to honor the fifteenth anniversary of Seeberg's passing in 2010.
A few weeks into her freshman year, Seeberg was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Notre Dame football player, Prince Shembo, and committed suicide four days after reporting to incident the Notre Dame Police Department.
Programming later moved to the basement of the Student Center for a showing of “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary which came out ten years ago and features Seeberg’s story alongside stories of other victims of sexual assault on college campuses.
In attendance were College President Katie Conboy, Liz Baumann, director for harassment education and response, Student Government Association president Ivory Muñoz, BAVO coordinator Mallory Lipps and seven other students and staff members. A moment of silence was held for Seeberg, and attendees were able to visit the gated garden afterwards.
Junior Ally Krause, a student advisory committee member of the BAVO team, shared that the purpose of the event was to spread awareness of Seeberg's story and showcase her humanity.
Though a memorial event has been conducted annually since her passing, this is the second official year that BAVO has held it on campus and made it open to anyone in the community, though still emphasizing Saint Mary’s students.
“[The memorial was made official] last year because there were a lot of stories going around, particularly among first years and sophomores about ‘Lizzy's tale’ and it was represented as a fairy tale or a ghost story. That really hurts us because she was a real person, she has family members, there are people in our Saint Mary's and Notre Dame community who went to school with her, who knew her, who loved her,” Krause said.
The event coincides with The Red Zone, the time from the start of the year until Thanksgiving Break, during which the majority of college campus sexual assaults occur.
Krause explained how the documentary made Seeberg’s story transparent to students.
“It's really important since this documentary features not only Lizzy’s story but stories of so many other individuals who have been survivors of sexual assault and interpersonal violence. It's really important to get the word out about college sexual violence, since it is the time where most individuals are sexually assaulted,” Krause said.
The event also occurred during National Suicide Prevention Week, and flyers can be seen throughout Saint Mary’s campus, advertising the 988 number and encouraging students to seek out professional help.
“The fact that this anniversary falls during National Suicide Prevention Week makes her story even more poignant. It reminds us that suicide is not an isolated act — it is deeply connected to trauma and stigma. It highlights so many of the goals BAVO is committed to — raising awareness of suicide prevention and bystander intervention, working to lower barriers that prevent students from speaking openly about mental health, believing and supporting survivors, and creating safe, accessible spaces for those in need,” Lipps wrote in a statement to The Observer.
To help keep students safe and support survivors, events are frequently held within the Saint Mary’s community on the matter of prevention and reporting. On Tuesday, Saint Mary’s held their annual safety tailgate, handing out nightcap lids for drink safety. In the near future, BAVO will be hosting a Callisto 101 workshop to help students understand the app for survivors of sexual assault, along with a survivor support group near Halloween.
Lipps wrote that she hopes the service empowers more students to take action and understand Seeberg as a person, whose life was taken too soon.
“I hope those who came left feeling connected to Lizzy’s story and inspired to take action — whether through raising awareness, education, or advocacy. The phrase ‘Once a Belle, Always a Belle,’ which is inscribed on Lizzy’s memorial plaque in the garden, beautifully captures the significance of this annual remembrance: though Lizzy is no longer with us, she is never forgotten,” Lipps wrote in an email.
