Content warning: This article contains mention of sexual assault.
The Green Dot program at Iowa State University aims to prevent sexual violence in the Ames community.
“The power is really with each and every person in our community to make a positive change,” Carrie Giese, the assistant director for student wellness, said.
Any place where sexual violence occured becomes a red dot, and any place where an instance of sexual violence has been deterred becomes a green dot.
“It can happen to anyone and it can happen anywhere,” Lily Blizzard, a sophomore in advertising, said. “It’s scary how many red dots there were. It was eye-opening.”
“This program is vital for every campus community,” Giese said. “It’s evidence-driven and proven to reduce sexual violence. It also creates an ethos on campus of care, compassion, looking out for one another and community.”
When taking Green Dot training, people are equipped with three Ds: distract, delegate and directly address sexual violence when you observe the possibility of that happening.
In distraction, the bystander indirectly intervenes. This could look like spilling a drink or inserting yourself into the conversation.
To delegate, alert someone of the situation, such as a friend, a police officer or a worker at the establishment.
“There’s a lot of fluidity to the model and gives students individual choice of how they want to be involved,” Giese said. “We always encourage students to take their own safety into consideration first before taking any bystander action.”
Members of the Green Dot program at ISU are driven by passion for the topic and tailor the length of training to increase community involvement.
“If you are going to be generous with your time and give us anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour of your day as a busy college student, we want to make sure we’re giving you information that is effective,” Giese said.
“When you get someone who is passionate about what they’re speaking about, it makes it better,” Blizzard said. “You could clearly see she [the speaker] was passionate about it, and therefore I was too. It makes me feel better knowing that I have the ability and reminders to help those in my sorority and in the community.”
For more information about Green Dot, visit the Green Dot website or stop by the Student Wellness building.