A new training program designed to engage campus in preventing power-based personal violence such as stalking, dating violence and sexual assault will publicly launch this month at a series of campus events in November, including three on-campus athletic matchups. The Green Dot violence prevention initiative, a nationally recognized program, will debut at Friday’s hockey game against Minnesota in the Compton Family Ice Arena. Student fans will receive free giveaways and have the opportunity to sign up for an upcoming bystander training. Similar promotions will occur on Nov. 17 at the men’s basketball game versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee and on Nov. 18 at the women’s basketball game versus Toledo, both in the Purcell Pavilion.
The goal of Green Dot is to promote culture change and to engage proactive bystanders campus-wide to communicate that violence will not be tolerated at Notre Dame, and that everyone has a responsibility to help. Green Dot is being utilized in conjunction with existing programs at Notre Dame also used to prevent and report power-based violence.
“Any type of sexual violence is antithetical to our Catholic mission at Notre Dame, where we have a responsibility to be our brother and our sisters’ keepers and where we value the human dignity of each member of our community,” said Erin Hoffmann Harding, vice president for Student Affairs. “The Green Dot initiative is an important continuation of the efforts of so many, including the programs facilitated by the university-wide Committee for Sexual Assault Prevention (CSAP) and student organizations aimed at preventing any of these harmful incidents from occurring on our campus. I’m proud of how we improve our prevention efforts each year and am excited about how our students, faculty and staff have already embraced this new initiative.”
“The Green Dot initiative is built on the premise that in order to reduce the continuation of power-based personal violence, a cultural shift is necessary. In order to create this shift, a critical mass of people need to engage in a new behavior to make violence less sustainable within our community. We can accomplish this at Notre Dame. Together, we can make our campus safer for everyone,” Christine Caron Gebhardt, co-chair of CSAP and director of the Gender Relations Center said. “We have over 40 people across campus working on seven subcommittees to advance this program at Notre Dame. Since August, we have given almost four dozen overview speeches reaching over 2,000 students and 200 faculty and staff, including University senior leadership. We are looking forward to continuing this momentum in the launch phase of the program. ”
Whereas red dots are used to indicate individual decisions, moments, values and actions that contribute to a culture of violence and bystander inaction, green dots are used to signify behaviors, choices, words or attitudes that promote safety and intolerance for violence. A green dot could be striking up a conversation with a friend or family member about how much violence prevention matters or putting an awareness post on Facebook. Simply put, a green dot is an individual choice at any given moment to make Notre Dame safer.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in a basic overview program that will teach them how to integrate green dots into their existing relationships and activities. Students will have the opportunity to sign up for an upcoming bystander training on Nov. 23 and 30, or Dec. 5. Information will be available at each athletic event and at booths around campus Nov. 6, 10, 16, 17 and 18. For a full schedule including times and locations, please visit StudentAffairs.nd.edu/GreeNDot.
Contact:
Kate Morgan, Associate Director for Communications and Marketing, Office of Campus Ministry
574-631-5241 (office)