From left, Gina Rentschler of Evangel University; Andrew Goodall of Drury University; Ed Derr of Drury; Loren Lundstrom of OTC and Jill Patterson of Missouri State University. All spoke about Green Dot efforts at their campuses.
Representatives from Ozarks Technical Community College and the four-year colleges in Springfield spoke to the media today about the Green Dot project that is designed to help fight all forms of violence on their campuses.
Green Dot is a comprehensive approach to violence prevention that uses student leaders to affect positive cultural change from within the student body.
The Green Dot 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.
The news conference was held at the Community Partnership of the Ozarks office and attended by staff from OTC, Drury University, Evangel University and Missouri State University.
Dr. Loren Lundstrom, OTC dean of student development, said OTC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa has adopted Green Dot as its project this year. The week of Oct. 26 is Green Dot Week at OTC, and various exhibitions and presentations available around the Springfield campus are designed to bring the project to the attention of faculty, staff and students.
OTC has four trained Green Dot facilitators and a number of faculty, staff and students have taken the by-stander training the Green Dot project offers.
For more information about OTC’s Green Dot initiative, contact Dr. Loren Lundstrom at 417.447.8197, or lundstrl@otc.edu.