The semester has flown by, and Spring Fling is just days away! Spring Fling is a day that most students eagerly anticipate and prepare for. Be it by ordering matching shirts as a club or making pre-concert plans, students attempt to alleviate the academic stress associated with our looming finals week and let loose on Spring Fling. Spring Fling should be a day to relax and enjoy the final days of the semester before summer begins. What many forget to plan for, however, is how they will act or react in instances of sexual misconduct on Saturday.
Green Dot, a program focused on reconstructing attitudes towards sexual misconduct on campus, hopes to provide some help with this difficult aspect of Spring Fling. To prepare, Green Dot has placed informational table toppers in Dewick and Carm, will be tabling on Wednesday, April 25th in the Campus Center. Additionally, on Tuftonia’s Day, Green Dot will be handing out water bottles and will be available to answer questions about what it means to be a Green Dot. The goal is to turn Spring Fling green with quotes about what it means to be a Green Dot placed around campus. Lienne Ng, a Tufts senior and a Green Dot Intern, spoke to the importance of having Green Dot be a part of Spring Fling, “[It] is not only a great way to expose Green Dot’s message but also encourage students at a campus-wide event to adopt these values and behaviors.”
Being a Green Dot is totally individualized to each person and their level of comfort being an active bystander. A Green Dot is someone that interrupts a situation and distracts a potential perpetrator; it is someone who asks a peer if they are uncomfortable, and it is someone who asks for help from others. No matter your level of comfort, watch this video on the Spring Fling website (https://sites.tufts.edu/tusc/spring-fling/), to know your resources. Green Dot-trained individuals can be identified on Saturday by green lanyards, and Green Dot supporters can be identified by green bracelets or tattoos with the Green Dot logo. Concert volunteers and TUPD can also always be approached with questions or concerns.
Spring Fling is sure to be a day filled with fun and friends. Remember to stay responsive and stay responsible. We all owe it to one another to be active bystanders against sexual misconduct.
Green Dot at Tufts Hockey game against Bowdoin.
Green Dot at the BARCC Walk for Change.