We now know that the murder of Dr. Raja Fayad last Thursday was an act of domestic violence.
While the specific details of what precipitated the events of Feb. 5 are unknown, it seems that Fayad’s relationship with his ex-wife Sunghee Kwon, who shot him to death Thursday before killing herself, was unusual.
On Jan. 12, Kwon appeared in Fayad’s class unannounced. Two weeks prior, the couple had reportedly broken up and, as a result, Fayad left their shared home to live with relatives.
When Fayad called the police to get her out of the classroom, he said he did not think she was a threat.
We can speculate all we want about what these events might say about their relationship. But what these facts tell us is that Kwon was an unwelcome presence in Fayad’s professional life, and he felt that her behavior was abnormal enough to call the police.
What is important now is what this story tells us.
It tells us that nobody is immune from domestic violence, no matter what the statistics say. It tells us that men are vulnerable as well as women, old as well as young, educated as well as not.
It tells us that, when it comes to domestic violence, nobody’s exempt. No one gets a pass. While the statistics are correct in pointing out that young women are the primary targets of domestic violence, nothing stops anyone else from being an outlier.
What Fayad’s story tells us is that stopping domestic violence can no longer primarily be a process of students thinking about students.
What is necessary now is a mentality shift in how we think about domestic violence. The Stand Up Carolina campaign exemplifies a number of actions one can take to prevent violence including to “call attention to bystander behavior” and to “encourage people to react and take appropriate action with respect to unacceptable behavior.”
It is now tragically clear — more than ever — that these attitudes must be applied universally.
We feel that for the safest university environment, these actions must be upheld based not on statistical probability but on what isn't seen in plain sight.