Although for many it may seem like yesterday, it has been almost six years since Olivia Marchand, a Westford Academy senior, was fatally shot by her father in a case of domestic violence; a night that devastated the Westford Township, along with those close to the Marchand family.

In the past five years; however, steps have been taken within the community in order to prevent future incidents of domestic abuse, including the foundation of the Westford Coalition for Nonviolence, the group to lead in organizing last night’s Light Up The Night event at Stony Brook Middle School.

Westford Academy Theater Arts Students performed original monologues and short plays describing the emotional deterioration, along with the different stages of an abusive relationship. Many attendants of Light Up the Night found the uncensored, raw portrayals of the topic extremely powerful. Lauren Andrews, a Westford Academy actress who performed that night spoke about the event and its cause.

“I’ve thought a lot about abusive relationships and domestic violence, and I knew what it was, but being there […] it made me think more about it, and it changed my perspective on a lot of things. It made me more open to seeing these patterns; these cycles in the lives of people that I know, just making me more in tune with it, making me more able to help these people”.

The Westford Academy Honors Choir was also in attendance and performed unique renditions of songs by Oasis, Coldplay and Katy Perry, along with a final performance of Inspiration of Hope.

 For the future, WCNV member Sarah Habe says that we must start to talk about these issues with each other. 

“People are often afraid, or don’t want to talk about domestic violence, because it’s a horrible subject, but unless we do, and unless we start talking to young people and hearing what they have to say about it, I don’t think we’ll ever solve this,” said Habe.