“I was harassed by members of the hockey team.” This is not something that one hopes to hear about members of our community who are involved in athletics, particularly considering how athletic organizations already hold a stigma in the public consciousness as perpetrators of power-based personal violence. The individual who brought us her story is brave for stepping forward and speaking out about her negative experiences with members of the men’s hockey team.
With the Green Dot hockey game taking place this past week, these words initially made me question how much of an impact the Green Dot program has on our athletic culture. I want to say first and foremost that through this article I do not intend to undermine the impact of the Green Dot program. As a Green Dot grad myself, I do not wish in any way to do a disservice to this amazing campus resource that is positively impacting the culture here at Connecticut College and is at the forefront of conversations surrounding the prevention of sexual violence and harassment on college campuses across the nation. I do, however, think that it is important to not take this at face-value. It is important to look deeper and engage in a critical dialogue as to how these programs could improve and further strengthen our collective fight against sexual assault, harassment and other forms of power-based personal violence.
When I first decided to undertake this investigation, I thought it would be pertinent to actually know how many hockey players are indeed Greed Dot grads. When asked, Darcie Folsom, Director of Sexual Violence Prevention & Advocacy, stated via email, “About 1/3 of the team has been through training.” Initially I was surprised that the number was so low, but considering the number of non-athletic students who are Green Dot trained, this number seemed to be an accurate reflection of our campus at large. Although I do wish this number was higher as there are so many positive gains that could benefit the culture on our campus, I do understand that logistically this is not quite possible yet.
As Green Dot training is not a mandatory requirement for this type of event, my next question for Folsom dealt with how athletes are encouraged to participate in the program. She explained to me that she does “an overview speech with teams that invite me to do so.” Each team that wishes to hold a Green Dot game meets with Folsom prior to the event and is familiarized with the program and its goals. Folsom went on to note the extensive importance of the Green Dot program for athletic teams, noting:
“For the teams who host Green Dot Games (men’s hockey, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer and volleyball) Green Dot has become a part of their team. Upper class students model the behaviors of Green Dot and talk to underclass students about the importance of what they do. I think this is especially true for the hockey game – several of this year’s first year students introduced themselves to me at orientation, already knowing that this was an important part of being on the team. Green Dot training is never mandatory for anyone on campus although I have heard a rumor that people think it’s required for commencement – I’d like to think I have that much clout but sadly, I do not. This comes back to the idea that Green Dot is for the students here at Conn – we can encourage students to attend events and sign up for training, but it’s the peer influence and making this a part of our community that has been the most effective. The Think S.A.F.E. Project office is always interested in ideas for partnering and coming up with new and effective ‘proactive Green Dots.’ The hockey game is just one example of this and has truly made an impact.”
One of the main purposes of the game is to bridge the gap between two seemingly opposing groups on campus. In doing so it also creates a generally productive event wherein the program garners attention and praise. The Green Dot Hockey game “is the most well attended Green Dot event of the year and the most well attended hockey game of the season,” Folsom says.
I want to draw attention to the fact that while it is certainly exciting that athletes are taking the initiative and find value in undertaking this kind of work, it is only a select few that have taken the time to undergo training. I do not want to diminish the power of the Green Dot Hockey Game and the amazing cooperation between these two campus institutions, my intention in writing this piece is to state that there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to undoing the cultural stigma surrounding athletics and its perceived tolerance of power-based personal violence. The anonymous contact wished it to be known that the Green Dot program should not cover up the fact that, regardless of the embodiment of the goals of the program by the team collectively and how important it is to them, there are still individual players that are not upholding the standards they should be considering their involvement in the Green Dot program. Essentially, we need to remember that just because people are participating in Green Dot sponsored events does not mean that they are Green Dot certified or that they are enacting the principles of the program and applying them to their lives on campus.
Although I think that it should be compulsory for every Conn student to become a Green Dot graduate as a requirement for graduation, this is simply not the case. And as much as I understand the function of the Green Dot hockey game to draw attention to the program, I also think that at it would be ideal for all members of a particular team to undergo training. Sure, this is an ideal situation, but if our College truly wants to be breaking the frontier on issues of power and privilege, this should be integrated in the curriculum. After all, the liberal arts are not only about academics, but about global citizenship, which our College stresses.
Inevitably, the Green Dot program is not meant to stop after one exits the workshop. This fact is exemplified by the myriad of Green Dot events that take place throughout the course of the academic year. However the program is not only external, it also takes sustained deep internal reflection for a graduate of the program to continue to take a stand against sexual violence, assault and patriarchal notions of power-based personal violence. It is a continual process that one must take personal responsibility to undertake. One workshop is not going to solve the world, but it definitely acts as a catalyst in many individuals to begin to reflect upon their social stance and allow them to start breaking down the internal ideologies that have allowed them to remain silent when they felt uncomfortable as a bystander witnessing an incident of power-based violence.
Green Dot is not about one six hour workshop in the 1962 room, bingo, hockey games, etc.; the real hard work is taking what you’ve learned and applying it to your own experience both internally and externally. •
To give the author some peace of mind, I thought I’d point out that the Green Dot program is a bystander intervention program (though I assume you know this). But what you might not know is that part of the reason bystander intervention programs are so successful is because they don’t waste resources trying to recruit people who aren’t interested.
For instance, with sexual violence, about 1 in 16 men will report predatory sexual behavior and among those men, they will be responsible for about 5-6 assaults each. Rather than focusing tons of energy on an extremely small group with little motivation for buy-in, bystander intervention programs target the other 15 in 16 men (and of course, other genders) by giving them the skill set to respond to potentially violent situations, or to tell their friends that their behavior isn’t cool, thus changing the campus community.
Basically, while it would be great to have everyone go through Green Dot training, its important to note that for the program to be successful, it is not necessary that every one see it. What is important is that groups like the Hockey Team have individual leaders who are able to set the tone of the group and maintain a healthy culture. The success of Green Dot isn’t in the training, because men who rape aren’t going to change because they go to a six-hour training. The success of the program is in the cultural change; men will change when they realize that their culture no longer supports their behavior, and that their community finds what they do to be unacceptable.