On Friday, Feb. 15, Green Dot hosted Reid Takeover to encourage continued conversation about sexual assault.

Sophomore Siri Danielson is one of the interns that works on sexual violence prevention efforts with Barbara Maxwell, the Sexual Misconduct Prevention Coordinator. Danielson is tasked with running the Green Dot Program alongside another intern, Clauds Bueermann.

Green Dot programs are a significant part of orientation at the beginning of the year. However, Danielson and Bueermann wanted to make sure that Green Dot values were still being upheld by the student body as we get farther away from orientation week.

“Through events like Reid Takeover, my main hope is that folks are able to reflect back on the skills and information they learned during Green Dot orientation and are reminded that prevention efforts remain important,” Danielson said.

Danielson stresses the proactive aspect of Green Dot initiatives, and notices a lot of reactive dialogue on campus when people talk about how to respond to sexual misconduct, which is a necessary part of the conversation. However, the discourse often lacks how to prevent sexual assault before it happens.

“Green Dot is a program that is all about being proactive rather than reactive. It’s about recognizing lower level unsafe behavior right away, in order to prevent more harm and trauma from occurring,” Danielson said.

First year Nell Falvey joined the Green Dot team earlier this year and was one of the main organizers of Reid Takeover. According to Falvey, the takeover acts as a way to continue discussions about Green Dot.  

“Reid Takeover was kind of a way to revamp the hype around Green Dot around campus, which can die down during the winter. It was also a great night to keep conversations about sexual assault awareness going,” Falvey said. “Lately, we’ve been working to keep the energy and awareness of Green Dot up and trying to keep it fresh in everyone’s minds.”

Bueermann points to how Reid Takeover reminds us of the level of responsibility that students hold each other to.

“During the first few weeks after first year orientation, you can hear everyone talking about Green Dot because it’s all over the place and on everyone’s minds. However, as the semesters go on, it is easy to slip and forget about it,” Bueermann said. “Having nights like Reid Takeover, where everyone comes together to celebrate something that we’ve built together as a community, is unlike a lot of events on campus. It is a night of reminding each other that we are responsible for looking out for each other and that others are looking out for us.”

Danielson and Bueermann work together to emphasise the importance of continued critical thinking and the accountability of others using bystander intervention and harm reduction tactics.

“It is essential to remind students that prevention efforts are far from being complete and that as a community, we need to continue to think critically about our own behavior and how we can take active roles in shaping our campus culture,” Danielson said.

Green Dot members are constantly working on events and projects that will help our campus become aware of sexual violence and prevention. In addition to Reid Takeover, Bueermann (and Green Dot) helped create the Party Safe Project, which gives students a way to know where exactly they are around campus.

“We have worked really hard to build an off-campus map of the houses with all of the house names. This is especially needed, we think, in the resident halls and for first years during the first semester. It was overwhelming my first year when we knew there were parties at off-campus houses, but not knowing exactly where those houses were,” Bueermann explained. “Now, there is a QR code with a Google map where you can sign in with your Whitman log in and map yourself to the majority of named houses as well as different resources like the Health Center and Counseling Center.”

Through Reid Takeover and the continued education on issues of sexual misconduct, Green Dot serves as a unifying presence for members of Whitman’s campus.

“Green Dot highlights some of the best parts of our campus community. I am hopeful that it has and will continue to display the fact that being a student here implies that you also care for your peers and want the people around you to feel safe,” Danielson said. “And for me, any type of event, program, club, etc. that can solidify just how important that is has made a pretty crucial impact on our campus.”

The community aspect of Green Dot carries through to Bueermann as well; she believes that Whitman’s campus community is driven by genuine care for others.

“We have a really incredible community here and I think something that Whitman excels in is how much people care for the people around them. Green Dot is a really great example of our community and getting to see folks Green Dotting their friends at parties is a unique and really special process to witness within our community,” Bueermann said.

Falvey notes how eye opening and exciting Green Dot was for her as a first year. Seeing students be so proactive about sexual misconduct encouraged Falvey to take part in Green Dot.

“The overall campus culture of awareness and prevention surrounding sexual misconduct is unlike anywhere I’ve been before. Even people having green dot stickers on their water bottles or wearing the pin is a constant reminder that consent is key,” Falvey says.

Danielson explains what’s next for Green Dot. This spring is important for green dot, and members are working hard to continue to promote awareness of sexual misconduct.

“April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, so I’m hoping to really orient our team’s efforts around that for the spring. More specifically, I’m really interested in getting into the residence halls to do some programming and study breaks. So stay tuned!” Danielson said.