By David Etley/reporter
The South Campus Student Center was alive with activity March 31 for the 11th Women’s Symposium sponsored by Women in New Roles and the Women’s History Month Planning Committee.
The theme, Back to Basics: Surviving the Jungle of Life, gave participants the chance to hear presentations from Forest Hill Municipal Court Judge Bobbie Edmonds and SafeHaven CEO Mary Lee Hafley as well as visit exhibits and network.
“We had about 100 registered guests and 36 vendors on hand,” said Triesha Light, South Campus WINR director and event chair.
Local vendors like Freda Ross from Freda’s Fancy were on hand displaying homemade jewelry and other items as were nonprofit organizations like Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County sharing information about their groups.
Edmonds, a municipal judge and private lawyer, presented Women and the Law: What You Need to Know, the symposium’s closing session.
All people will have to follow laws and rules for their entire lives, she said.
“Women participate greatly in making the laws,” she said. “We have women in Congress, in the Cabinet with the president, that are helping make decisions that impact the safety and welfare of our citizens.”
No one has the right to inflict violence on another person whether it’s verbal or physical, Edmonds said.
“Quite often, verbal damage is more severe than the physical,” she said. “If the physical is a push, then it’s the verbal that lasts longer.”
Family violence can impact the type of job one gets, affect custody disputes and visitation rights or result in jail time, Edmonds said.
“If you can’t get along, find a way to get some spiritual or professional counseling,” she said.
Edmonds had a message for high school students in attendance about the dangers of social media.
“There are evil people out there looking for you,” she said. “They can say they are 13 or 14 years old, and they know what to say to lead you on.”
Society wants young people to be computer literate, but the U.S. needs to have protections from the wrong people on the Internet, Edmonds said.
“Social media is controlling what is happening to our young people today, and crimes are increasing,” she said.
Edmonds encouraged all parents to have passwords for their children’s cell phones and different social media outlets on the Internet.
“Child protective services can come in if certain things are done on the Internet and your children are harmed,” she said.
Edmonds then turned her focus to the issue of bullying incidents across the country.
Bullying is so prevalent across the nation that school districts have implemented strict punishments, she said.
“Bullying can lead to assault or death, criminal charges or civil lawsuits for damages,” she said.