The Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center held Green Dot Day on Sept. 22 on Lowry Mall to educate students about violence prevention. The RSVP Center handed out goody bags and talked to students about preventing violence.
Green Dot Day is a part of Rape Awareness Month, which lasts throughout September.
Students are encouraged to “do a green dot,” or prevent violence before it happens.
The RSVP Center describes the initiative as a map of campus marked with “red dots” to show acts of violence. The center’s goal is to replace the red dots with green dots.
RSVP Center volunteer Taylor Larson said that Green Dot Day is all about “making acts of violence into acts of kindness.”
Vanessa Whitnell described a green dot as her sister. She said she thinks of someone in danger of potential violence in the same way she would think of her sister.
For senior Sean Nahlik, Green Dot Day is more than just violence prevention.
“I think that violence is totally intertwined with everything in the social justice world,” he said. “Preventing violence is all about getting on the road to equality.”
Nahlik is an RSVP peer educator as well as the chairman of Four Front, a social justice organization that brings together representatives from different social justice groups on campus.
His social justice advocacy sparked his interest in the RSVP Center. Nahlik said he thinks violence is often connected to racism, sexism and homophobia.
Whitnell, who is also an RSVP peer educator, got involved with the center because she wanted to help students stay safe on campus.
“I care about people, and I care about people on campus being safe,” she said. “Just knowing that I can do what little I can to make that happen is why I got involved with RSVP.”
RSVP chooses to highlight violence on campus because they feel it is not discussed enough.
“Violence is around, and people don’t recognize it as an issue on campus,” Larson said.
RSVP peer educators give presentations about violence prevention to many organizations on campus, such as sororities and fraternities and Freshman Interest Group classes. The center also educates at local schools.
Peer educators talk to students about the dangers of college life and inform them about the resources the RSVP Center offers.
