“Nobody has to do everything, but everyone has to do something.”
At EFSC, the safety of our entire community is important. That’s why we believe in the Green Dot Violence Intervention Initiative. Imagine you are looking down at one of our campuses from a bird’s-eye view. Now imagine all the students, employees and visitors below surrounded by red or green “dots”. Each red dot represents an act (or potential act) of interpersonal violence. Each green dot represents a strategy for taking action to prevent or intervene in these situations. In other words, it “is simply your individual choice at any given moment to make our campus safer.”
Green Dot Bystander Training
I recently attended an on-campus Green Dot Bystander Training, a workshop where I learned that I (alongside students and other College employees) play an important role in keeping our campuses safe. It’s funded by the Florida Department of Health in partnership with the Women’s Center in Brevard. Experts from the center facilitate the training in a fun, interactive way that engages all participants.
The most memorable part of the training involves hearing examples of real-life situations and answering how we would have handled them. Many of us felt uncomfortable with the idea of stepping into a situation in which two people were arguing and physical violence was a clear threat. Some feared for their own safety, and others stated it was none of their business. Nobody likes a bully, but nobody likes a nosy person either. How do we know when to draw the line?
Working through these topics as a group helped us all feel more prepared to handle potential red dot situations. Green Dot goes beyond the “see something, say something” concept by educating and equipping bystanders with tools to identify and prevent potential threats. It encourages you to utilize these three options:
- Direct: Check in with the people involved by asking if help is needed.
- Delegate: Find someone on the security team or others who can intervene.
- Distract: Create a diversion that may diffuse the situation.
What’s Your Green Dot?
So what’s MY Green Dot? Awareness and positive action. As I walk around our campuses, I keep my eyes up so I can greet everyone I pass along the way with a warm smile and a friendly hello. When I see a Green Dot poster in an office window or a student wearing a T-shirt that asks “What’s Your Green Dot?”, I feel a sense of gratitude in knowing that others are catching on to the concept. Each of us can play a role in keeping our campuses safe and developing an inclusive culture throughout our community.
Students, faculty and staff: Join the Green Dot Initiative, and make a positive impact on our campus community! Check out the video below to learn more, and be sure to register for the next Green Dot Bystander Training (held at least once per term on all four campuses).
- Faces on Campus: Winter Break Edition - December 15, 2021
- It’s Never Too Late - August 25, 2021
- Overcoming Barriers To Degree Completion - April 28, 2021
