More than a dozen Ozarks Technical Community College students and employees attended a 6-hour training on Friday, April 6 to earn their Green Dot Bystander Intervention Certification. Participants learned how to respond safely as a bystander to prevent imminent or potential acts of sexual or interpersonal violence on campus. As of today, more than 1,000 students, faculty and staff have received some form of Green Dot training.
“We are so proud of our students, faculty and staff for taking a stand against violence in our campus community,” said Dr. Loren Lundstrom, dean of student development and Green Dot training facilitator. “Through Green Dot training, we are empowering participants to engage in behaviors that can reduce and ultimately prevent violent acts from occurring in their social circles.”
OTC Behavioral Health Support students, Beth Lee and Tina Ordway, said the training was a valuable tool they can use to help themselves help others.
“As survivors of domestic assault, we want to do everything we can to help others who might find themselves in similar situations,” Beth said. “Today’s training has taught us how to be both proactive and reactive bystanders when instances of power-based violence occur.”
What is Green Dot?
Green Dot is a nationwide movement and comprehensive approach to violence prevention that uses student leaders to affect positive cultural change from within the student body. The model targets all community members as potential bystanders, and seeks to engage them in proactive behaviors that establish intolerance of violence as the norm, as well as reactive interventions in high-risk situations.
Green Dot specifically targets influential and respected individuals such as student leaders with the hope that they will integrate moments of prevention within existing relationships and daily activities.
The name of the program comes from the idea of turning “red dots” on a map marking incidents of violence into “green dots” of preventative actions.
Learn more about OTC’s Green Dot initiative here.
