Understanding Better Series
The Compliance and Diversity Office is happy to announce our new Understanding Better series!
Stay tuned for additional presentations scheduled as part of the ongoing Understanding Better series.
The Compliance and Diversity Office is happy to announce our new Understanding Better series!
Stay tuned for additional presentations scheduled as part of the ongoing Understanding Better series.
During this series, we will examine and explore topics that affect our entire University, including issues faced by members of our community with differing identities and lived experiences.
Please see below for the dates, times, and descriptions of presentations. All presentations will be virtual, available through Zoom Webinar. Please click the links embedded in the presentation titles to register.
Upcoming Events
Staying Safe When Abuse and Harassment Go Digital (for student, faculty & staff)
Speaker: Adam Dodge, EndTAB
October 12, 2023
1:40 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The amount of time we spend online and on our devices is at an all-time high and encountering challenging or harmful situations in online spaces is becoming more common. The good news is that we do not have to be tech-experts to stay safe when this happens. In this session, we will demystify the online abuse landscape and explore practical ways that anyone can navigate common and emerging ways that harassment, dating safety and sexual violence can show up in our online lives.
Supporting Student Survivors (for faculty & staff)
Speaker: Samantha Skaller
October 24, 2023
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
This workshop will discuss how to be the best support to someone who may have experienced sexual violence. The workshop will include best practices for survivor support, trauma-informed language, and a list of helpful resources to have on hand if someone discloses to you at some point.
Let’s Talk About Sex (for students)
Speaker: Samantha Skaller
October 25, 2023
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
In a society that is still, unfortunately, uncomfortable speaking about the realities of sex and intimate relationships, we are always striving to create a safe space where these important issues and topics can be discussed openly, freely, and without judgment. As such, this presentation will provide an opportunity to discuss healthy and safe sexual experiences, including an emphasis on the definition and practice of affirmative consent.
Bringing in the Bystander (for students)
Speaker: Samantha Skaller
November 7, 2023
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Bringing in the Bystander® is a bystander intervention workshop. Rather than focusing strictly on the roles of perpetrator and victim, the highly interactive Bringing in the Bystander® curriculum uses a community responsibility approach. It teaches bystanders how to safely intervene in instances where sexual violence, relationship violence or stalking may be occurring or where there may be risk that it will occur.
Supporting LGBTQ+ Students (for faculty & staff)
Speaker: Samantha Skaller
November 13, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
This workshop will delve into what violence looks like within the queer community, the complexities that are unique to it, how to recognize warning signs, and the unique barriers that may be present when attempting to access services. This workshop will also offer suggestions on how to make yourself more approachable to members of the LGBTQ Community. When we think about sexual violence, stalking, dating violence, etc...it is almost always understood within a heteronormative context. Not only is this incredibly narrow, but it contributes to the invisibilization of some of the most historically oppressed groups in our country. Violence is experienced at a higher rate within the LGBTQ community as compared to the heterosexual community.
