By Maylyne Togafau |Staff Writer|

We’ve created a dating and relationship advice column, largely dependent on reader contribution because we want to have the hard conversations about our the relationships now before it’s too late.

It’s second nature to share highlights of our lives with the worldwide web, but in turn, we’ve forgotten how to talk about issues like domestic violence with the people closest to us.

On April 10, 2017, in San Bernardino, a man entered his estranged wife’s North Park Elementary School classroom and opened fire, fatally shooting her and an 8-year-old student, before taking his own life in what police reported to be a domestic dispute.

This tragedy hits hard for the city of San Bernardino whose community is still reeling from the December 2015 shooting that resulted in 14 dead, but unlike 2015, this incident was not a random act of terrorism, but a calculated case of domestic violence.

Dialogue surrounding the incident highlighted issues like gun control laws and school security, but even major media outlets skirted around details relating to domestic violence.

It is unsettling to wonder what different outcomes could have been at play if the stigma surrounding domestic violence did not overpower the severity and reality of its consequences.

According to the U.S Department of Justice, domestic violence not only affects those who are abused but also has a substantial effect on the community at large. 

The April 10 shooting affected not only 500 students, and the small team of teachers and staff of the North Park Elementary School, but also affected Cajon High School and CSUSB, which provided support to the elementary school.

CSUSB has 20,000 students in total enrollment, and according to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five college students will experience domestic violence. 

Statistically speaking, there are several lives on our campus that may literally depend on having a healthy conversation about the unhealthy parts of our lives.

What tough conversations are we not having?