‘Green Dot Week’ builds awareness of sexual assault prevention

Juniors Winona Mantelli (far left), Kaitlin McDonagh (center) and James O'Connor proudly don Green Dot gear to cheer on the Camels at the third annual Green Dot Hockey Game. Scroll down to see more photos from Green Dot Week.
Juniors Winona Mantelli (far left), Kaitlin McDonagh (center) and James O'Connor proudly don Green Dot gear to cheer on the Camels at the third annual Green Dot Hockey Game. Scroll down to see more photos from Green Dot Week.

Connecticut College’s official colors might be blue and white, but last week, the campus was a sea of green.

Students donned T-shirts emblazoned with large green dots, the men’s hockey team wore special green jerseys to take on Tufts and the College’s camel mascot was spotted sporting – you guessed it – green. The College community was celebrating “Green Dot Week,” a series of events and activities to raise awareness for the College’s violence prevention program, Green Dot.

Through the program, students, faculty and staff are trained to help prevent power-based personal violence, including sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. A "Green Dot" is defined as any behavior, choice, word, or attitude that counters or displaces a "red dot" of violence, promoting safety for everyone and communicating utter intolerance for sexual violence, interpersonal violence and stalking. More than 500 students, faculty and staff members have been trained. 

"Connecticut College is on the forefront of addressing issues of sexual violence with well-developed education and prevention programs and comprehensive services and resources for students who have experienced sexual assault," said Dean of the College Carolyn Denard. "The popularity of the Green Dot program is one of the many ways Connecticut College stands out."

Connecticut College adopted the national training program as part of the College’s broader Think S.A.F.E. Project. Originally developed and funded in 2010 through a three-year, $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women, the Think S.A.F.E. Project is managed by Darcie Folsom, director of sexual violence prevention and advocacy, and addresses sexual assault, dating violence and stalking by integrating prevention and response training and education into the campus culture, building a community coalition and enhancing victim services. When the three-year Department of Justice grant work was completed in 2013, the College took on this important commitment with support from College funds, and named Folsom to her current position.

For more on Green Dot Week, see the coverage in New London's The Day and on Fox CT.  



February 11, 2014