Before the DBI program was introduced, members of Greek houses participated in two programs facilitated by MAV. In addition to a facilitation during pledge term, GLC required affiliated students to participate in a sexual assault prevention program during sophomore summer. The new policy will allow members of Greek organizations to choose between the MAV and DBI programs.
Summer Alpha Phi sorority president Courtney Wong '15 said she chose the DBI program for her sorority after attending a six-hour DBI leadership training program for Greek leaders.
Of the 31 Greek organizations under GLC's umbrella, 19 chose to participate in DBI training. Seven fraternities, four sororities, and one coed fraternity comprise the 12 organizations that opted for the program instead, summer MAV co-director Murylo Batista '15 said.
DBI is an evidence-based, Dartmouth-specific program that trains individuals to be "positive bystanders" and acquire the tools necessary to prevent sexual assault, Sexual Assault Awareness Program co-coordinator Amanda Childress said. SAAP is offering 60 "overview talks" to Greek organizations to help individuals identify and overcome personal barriers to intervening in sexual assault.
The talks are condensed versions of the six-hour training offered to Greek leaders, Wong said. In the sessions, participants break up into small groups and discuss realistic ways to intervene as bystanders in situations that may be uncomfortable. The scenarios presented to participants included asking how participants would effectively intervene if they saw someone in a basement who looked dangerously drunk, she said.
Clinical psychologist Jennifer Sayre '93 developed the DBI program in collaboration with SAAP coordinators. The program was adopted by GLC in February, and open facilitations began last winter.
The DBI program is offered to students and staff members on a voluntary basis, and sessions are facilitated by staff members, Childress said.
"Overview talks are being facilitated by a number of staff across campus to acknowledge that sexual violence impacts everyone and preventing it is a community issue, not one that lies solely with the SAAP office," Childress said.
Though the discussion that happens during DBI training sessions is directed by the students participating, the facilitation is the same regardless of which group is being addressed, Childress said.
Wong, who participated in a facilitation session for Alpha Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, said that doing the training with another sorority enforces the idea that students need to look out for all members of the community.
While DBI focuses on educating individuals, MAV facilitations work with Greek organizations as a whole, Batista said. Though the two programs differ in their approaches, they both focus on intervention, prevention and education about sexual assault.
The MAV program focuses on creating a group dynamic within a Greek organization that promotes intervention in situations that students deem potentially dangerous. The facilitation asks members to identify common ideas within their house and encourages the group to think of themselves as an intervention power, Batista said.
MAV facilitation is specifically geared toward Greek organizations because it addresses campus norms regarding drinking, the Greek system and sexual assault.
The format of MAV facilitation has not changed since the new DBI program was enacted.
The MAV directorate intends to update MAV facilitations to fill in the gaps that DBI and other programs do not cover, Batista said.
"We don't know what DBI does until DBI does it," Batista said. "MAV has to be on alert, we have to adjust to their schedule."
Summer Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity president Conor Cathey '15 said his house's MAV facilitation was professionally run and informative.
Devika Bodas '15, a trained MAV facilitator, attended a DBI session and said that it has potential to be helpful for incoming freshmen, who do not yet have access to a Greek network.
Currently, the only mandatory sexual assault program for unaffiliated students is the "Sex Signals" presentation and discussion during orientation week.
Once current students become accustomed to the DBI program, it may be incorporated into mandatory orientation programming, Childress said.
*Wong is a member of The Dartmouth staff.**##
