Green Dot, Dickinson’s sexual violence prevention organization on campus, was established at the beginning of the 2014-15 academic year to help train bystanders on how to act in difficult situations.

Kelly Wilt, Violence Prevention Coordinator, and Dean Joyce Bylander, Vice President and Dean of Student life, head the program. While the program was formally launched in the fall, Wilt said that they “had been preparing for its introduction by training a number of staff and introducing it to key constituents. These activities began in the spring 2014 semester.”

The main effort of the program is to educate students on how they can intervene when necessary, in order to create a safe environment for everyone on campus. The goal is to “reduce power-based personal violence on our campus, [and] to shift the culture around sexual assault, dating violence and stalking so that we all understand that these things have no place in the Dickinson community.”

Sexual violence remains a problem for colleges and universities across the country, most recently with the Vanderbilt Rape Trial. Wilt and Bylander shed some light onto other programs similar to Green Dot across the country. “The White House, ‘Not Alone’ report and the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA,) encourage colleges and universities to implement ‘evidence-based’ bystander programs to reduce the incidence of sexual violence on campus.”

Green Dot did not originate at Dickinson, but rather from an initiative at the University of Kentucky. “Green Dot was started by Dorothy Andrews many years ago while she was at the University of Kentucky working in a violence prevention role. The findings of recent assessments of its effectiveness make it one of the best of the ‘evidence based’ programs.”

Students have responded well to the program. Dickinson’s men’s lacrosse team participated in the training. According to Wilt, “So far 60 students, from a diverse representation, have been trained and there is a list of interested students who will be able to participate in training in the spring.”

The program has received positive feedback from students thus far. As Wilt mentioned, “Students who have participated in the trainings so far find it to be a powerful tool for recognizing power-based personal violence and for learning how to address it.”

Green Dot will continue to reach out to students this semester. So far, two information sessions have been scheduled. The first will be on Thursday, January 29 from 12-1 in HUB sideroom 202/3, and the second will take place on Tuesday, February 10 from 12-1 in HUB sideroom 205/6. Also, there will be trainings for students in March and April. Wilt and Bylander expect the Green Dot to “be a highlight during April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the College’s Take Back the Night on April 15.”
Expect to see more from this organization as it continues to train more and more students on campus.