MAAV to host screening, discussion of documentary ‘Living for 32’
A survivor of the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech will join University of Maine’s Male Athletes Against Violence for a screening of the film “Living for 32” as well as a discussion about gun violence on Wednesday March 23.
Colin Goddard was shot four times during the Virginia Tech incident. His 911 call brought police to the scene, but not before 32 people lost their lives. Goddard was one of 17 people injured in the attack. The gunman took his own life.
“Living for 32” is Goddard’s story of that day and his subsequent role as an activist for stricter gun control laws as a volunteer for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The film, directed by Kevin Breslin and produced by Maria Cuomo Cole, was featured at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
“Hosting this film is in line with the work of Male Athletes Against Violence,” says Chase Hoyt, a child development and family relations major and student coordinator of the peer education program.
Hoyt, a senior offensive lineman on the football team, says MAAV believes challenging social norms and institutions that condone or promote violence can help prevent mass shootings.
“We hope this event will help springboard the discussion of gun violence in America,” he says.
MAAV has invited Maine Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense to make a few comments after the screening. Amy Hughes, a field organizer for the Maine Moms group, calls the film “very heart-wrenching.”
“It is incredibly moving how Colin chose hope,” Hughes says. “He has taken a very negative event and tried to turn it into a positive.”
The screening of “Living for 32” will take place on Wednesday March 23 at 7 p.m. in D.P. Corbett Business Building, Room 100. The event is free and open to the public. MAAV also will be hosting an informational table in Memorial Union from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 21–23.
For more information, contact Sandra Caron, professor of family relations/human sexuality and MAAV director, 207.581.3138; scaron@maine.edu.