Green Dot Week is a formerly week-long conversation on personal, power-based violence in the community and at Sinclair.
Though this year, “Green Dot Week” will fold into the month long conversation during Sexual Assault Awareness Month that began at the start of April.
Throughout the month, alongside programs that address sexual assault there will be Green Dot Information Stations, providing faculty and staff with information on the program and raising awareness throughout the month.
The stations will be held Thursday, April 4, on the third floor of building 4 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 8 in the Tartan Marketplace from noon to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 17 on the second floor in building 14 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and will culminate with a Green Dot Overview Session that will take place in the building 8 stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tristan Chaput, the Coordinator of Student Engagement at Sinclair explained:
“Green Dot is our bystander intervention program that seeks to end personal, power-based violence on campus. So, that could be bullying, that could be sexual assault, it could be domestic abuse, it could be verbal abuse in its many forms—and so the whole motto for Green Dot is ‘No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.’”
“A Green Dot is any behavior, choice, word or attitude that promotes safety for everyone and communicates utter intolerance for bullying, dating/domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or child abuse.”
The program uses a strategy outlined by the “Three D’s” as a way of providing Green-Dotters with options for intervention should they witness a form of personal, power-based violence at Sinclair or in the community.
The Three D’s are: Direct, as in direct intervention in an incident, either physically or verbally; Disrupt, as in formulating disruption, or in other words any form of distraction that might stop an incident; and Delegate, as in finding help or alerting the Sinclair or local police during an incident.
“Intervention can look like a lot of different things,” said Chaput, “So, what we’re trying to do is encourage people to step in in a way that’s comfortable for them but also create a culture here that says: ‘This isn’t okay.’”
The program also encourages those who participate to cover up “Red Dots,” which are incidents of personal, power based violence occurring in the community, alongside “Green Dots,” which are any number of choices—big or small—that impact the community.
Green Dots can be a form of support, a tactic of spreading awareness or direct intervention with incidents of violence when we come across them.
A Green Dot does not have to be a big thing; It can be a subtle gesture, like checking on a friend or classmate they are worried about. It can be a show of support for the cause or discussing and spreading awareness.
A Green Dot is an attempt to create a better, safer world for ourselves and our community.
The program itself isn’t one that is exclusive to Sinclair, as the programs stretch across local universities like the University of Dayton and Wright State, as well as universities across the country.
The program has even been adopted by the Air Force as a way to prevent such incidents of violence on bases throughout the military branch.
Chaput explained:
“The idea is that, if we create that sort of environment here and engage people in Green Dot that it’ll trickle out into the community.”
More information can be found on the Student and Community Engagement portal on the Sinclair website, or by attending one of the Green Dot Information Stations happening throughout the month of April.
Richard Foltz
Reporter