Green Dot Training

The Department of Residence Services is a proud supporter of the Green Dot strategy at Kent State University. Green Dot was launched by the Office of Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services in Fall 2014 to help promote a campus culture where everyone is responsible for keeping each other safe and creating a healthy, supportive community. As of Summer 2015, over 30 professional and student staff of the Department of Residence Services have attended Green Dot training!

Students and staff can attend Green Dot training in order to learn more about how to be an active bystander and to safely take action when needed. Acting as a Green Dot bystander can be as simple as sharing an article about healthy relationships on Twitter to finding a staff member when you hear something concerning about a friend. Green Dots can be proactive or reactive. Proactive Green Dots are educational, usually easy, and make Green Dot visible on campus. Reactive Green Dots are actions that are taken during or after a concerning situation.

Here are just a few examples of Green Dots completed by our housing team!
  • John Hummell, a residence hall director, is proud of the proactive Green Dots he has completed after attending Green Dot training in Spring 2015. John shared that he has placed the Green Dot symbol in his office window and his email signature. He has also taken multiple opportunities with his RA staff and students to share his enthusiasm for Green Dot, how to be an active bystander and provide information about resources on Kent State’s campus.
  • Katie Sorokas, an Assistant Director of Residential Communities, is a trained Green Dot educator and regularly encourages people to act as an active bystander. She celebrates every Green Dot she hears about because each action makes Kent State’s campus a safer place.
  • David Haas, a residence hall director, completed a reactive Green Dot when he discussed the impact of a student’s joke about sexual assault on college campuses. By addressing the incident and educating the student, David helped role model that joking about sexual violence is not okay and should be addressed.
  • Multiple Residence Services staff members are attending Green Dot Educator Training this summer in order to teach Green Dot trainings across campus! Ask Diane Platton, Beth Chambers, Josette Skobieranda-Dau, Dianna Penney, Meghan Miller, Tiff Tyree or Christopher Owens about Green Dot when you see them at Kent State in the fall!

Currently, the Training Team is using a Green Dot lens with the development of student staff training programs for Student Desk Receptionists, Security staff and Resident Assistants. All 240 of our student staff members will gain a better understanding of the Green Dot movement and how they can impact culture change to ensure the safety and supportive environment of our residence halls. The Department of Residence Services is proud of the work we are doing to promote a culture of safety and support in the residence halls and look forward to spreading the Green Dot movement during the 2015-2016 academic year.

Want to support your residence hall and campus community by attending Green Dot training? More information can be found at www.kent.edu/greendot.

Do an easy, proactive Green Dot now – Follow @KSUGreenDot on Twitter!