On March 25, 2015, Bloomsburg University held its first panel of the Red Flag Campaign. The Red Flag Campaign, which was led by two BU students, Jasmin Velez, a senior, and Francesca Elezovic, a junior, may be new to Bloomsburg’s campus this year, but this will definitely not be the last we hear about it. I was able to sit down with both amazing women who took the initiative to work toward a safer campus and community and have them answer some questions about the campaign.
Her Campus: What exactly is the campaign?Francesca Elezovic: The campaign is about public awareness, addressing dating violence and prevent on college campuses. The campaign was created using the bystander intervention strategy encouraging people to speak up if they see warning signs (red flags) and dating violence in a friends relations. The campaign uses posters with racial and diverse models, illustrate hetero and same sex.
HC: How did you hear about the campaign?Jesmin Velez: We heard about it first at the Women’s Consortium Resource Conference during the summer of 2014. Girl’s that had attended the year before us had bought a kit for it. During the conference we learned leadership roles women can take on campus and in the work force. It was like a feminist boot camp, good way to empower women to speak up and know that we are and can be equal.
HC: What made you want to start a satellite here?JV: Personal experiences. It’s a good cause to bring to campus because one in four college students are assaulted. Domestic violence and sexual assault are rarely talked about. We live in a culture on campus where these things happen but people are too afraid to talk about it because they don’t want to look not cool or get involved. They think ‘it’s not our business don’t get involved’ but sometimes you need to. People stand on the sidelines because it’s easier but you could really be saving a life or saving someone from that experience.
HC: What exactly is your intent with this campaign?FE: We hope for it to be an annual thing potentially, expand upon it make it bigger with more people. There are a lot of things you can do with it like you can have speakers come in and such so if you expend it that’s a goal. It’s a good launching campaign. We have smaller funds now but if it’s successful we can make it bigger.JV: We want to raise awareness to help with bystander intervention and make it not so hush-hush. It gives these issues a voice. People don’t like to talk about it but we need to, it’s seen as taboo.
HC: Do you think this will help promote change on campus?FE: Absolutely. People are already noticing it and it’s been under a day. Even if it help one person step in or tell their friend it is really making a difference or gives them a resource. This is not to change everyone’s mindset but to be prepared.
For further information on the Red Flag Campaign you can visit www.theredflagcampsign.org