SUNY Canton Joins 'Green Dot' to Prevent Acts of Violence on Campus

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SUNY Canton has implemented Green Dot to help reduce reduce power-based violence, which includes sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

CANTON, NY (09/02/2016)(readMedia)-- SUNY Canton is implementing the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training to make additional strides toward a safer campus.

The Green Dot slogan is "No one has to do everything, everyone has to do something." The strategy gives students and other bystanders the means to intervene, interrupt or distract individuals before a problem erupts, according to Farren C. Lobdell, SUNY Canton's health educator and wellness coordinator.

"We want students to be able to recognize the potential dangers of a situation before it gets out of hand," Lobdell said. "If someone sees the possibility for harm here on campus – or anywhere – we want them to be responsive by stepping up and saying something."

Green Dot is an organization built on the premise that everyone can help measurably reduce power-based violence, or more specifically, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Green Dots are used to counteract red dots, which typically demark an instance of personal violence on a map. A Green Dot is any behavior‚ choice‚ word‚ or attitude that promotes safety and communicates intolerance for violence.

"This strategy focuses on the actions we can all take on a daily basis to let everyone know that violence is not tolerated," said Courtney B. Bish, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. "Everyone can take a role in making our campus and our communities safer places."

The college began a series of Green Dot trainings last semester and has already taught nearly 300 members of the college community about violence prevention.

The next Green Dot bystander intervention training will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at SUNY Canton. The event is open to students, but preregistration is required. For more information, email greendot@canton.edu.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as ten exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III.

-www.canton.edu-