Since its implementation this winter, nine varsity teams have gone through the Gameplan 2.0 program, a bystander intervention workshop designed with athletes in mind, survivor advocate and program director Benjamin Bradley said. The remaining teams will have their workshops this spring, Bradley said, with the possibility of holding a few during summer term.
This workshop is part of a series of four that began in early 2014. The first workshop, Gameplan 1.0, consisted of broader talks between Dartmouth Bystander Initiative and the athletic department. This year, Dartmouth Peak Performance partnered with DBI to bring DBI’s sexual assault awareness and bystander intervention programs to athletes, Bradley said.
“Dartmouth Peak Performance and the athletic department wanted DBI to be part of the athletic experience here,” Bradley said.
Last year’s program, which focused on sexual assault awareness, was unofficially known as Gameplan 1.0, Bradley said. This year’s relationship violence program is Gameplan 2.0, while next year’s program will be known as Gameplan 3.0 and focus on sexual harassment. Gameplan 4.0 will focus on stalking, Bradley said. The workshops will rotate each year, Bradley said.
“That’s so athletes who will be participating every year aren’t seeing the same thing,” Bradley said. “There will be new workshops every time with a new focus.”
This year’s workshops target how to recognize signs of relationship violence, how to intervene as a bystander and how to recognize and work around barriers to intervening in order to support others, Bradley said. Last year’s workshop with the athletic department focused on sexual assault awareness, but not every athlete participated, Bradley said.
Bradley said the program also emphasizes a proactive role “to change campus culture to make sure these moments of harm don’t even happen.”
The program worked to create examples that athletes specifically might encounter during their Dartmouth experience, Bradley said, such as seeing a teammate distressed by receiving constant messages and voicemails in the locker room. The program teaches students how to intervene as a teammate and a bystander in this situation, Bradley said.
Athletes are a particularly important group to target with such educational efforts for multiple reasons, Bradley said, citing the team dynamic and the visibility of student athletes on campus as factors that have potential to create positive cultural changes on campus.
Adam Frank ’15, a varsity baseball player, said the program was helpful, though he thought the majority of the baseball team was already aware of the issues discussed.
“I don’t think there are any issues the program really addressed for us that we didn’t know about,” Frank said. “We’re all pretty in tune to how others are treated, but I think it’s important that teams went through it and at least had that preparation in case it is something that comes up down the road.”
Frank said that the workshop presenters were friendly and laid back. Their use of athletic examples and, in some cases, their previous collegiate athletic backgrounds, made them especially relatable, he added. Frank said, however, that he believed much of the material had been repeated from freshman floor meetings and similar first-year experiences.
“I don’t think it was groundbreaking, but it was good to get a recap on these interactions with people,” Frank said.
Frank said that it was important to have his coach attend the workshop to learn about what students and student-athletes experience.
The visibility of student-athletes on campus, and their potential for leadership on campus, makes the program especially important, Frank said.
“I think athletes, especially on Dartmouth’s campus, have a very big light on them as a whole, whether it be in a team setting or as an individual,” he said. “I think athletes are more well-known than other students to the whole of campus. When a student-athlete gets in trouble, a lot of people hear about it.”
Chris Burkholder ’17, also a varsity baseball player, spoke positively about his experience with the program. He said the workshop gave a more interesting and unique perspective on the issue, giving him and his teammates the athlete-specific education necessary to “be at the forefront of this issue.”
“I think it’s helpful to have a lot of groups and societies and teams to be the face of this program,” Burkholder said.
Networking between groups as they undergo DBI training will be important in the future, Burkholder said.
“I think athletes are very social, and have a lot of connections that can help this program grow,” Burkholder said.
Women’s soccer head coach Ron Rainey said the feedback he received from his team about the program was positive, and that he personally was very supportive of the program and encouraged his players to participate.
“Any time that you have a discussion about some of these things that are on college campuses across the country, it can be eye-opening for people,” Rainey said. “We need to get to the ones who are living this, and if there’s anything we can do or talk about to help someone in a difficult situation, I think that’s great.”
The program also emphasizes taking proactive steps as a team, Bradley said, noting that several teams had already come up with “really cool” ideas or “game-changers.”
“DBI is also about changing our culture, and making the Dartmouth community a safer place,” Bradley said. “So towards the end of the workshop, we give the team a space to figure out what they want to do as a team to show Dartmouth that they believe in making Dartmouth a safer place, that they stand against violence and that they’re invested.”
Responses from athletes and coaches alike have been positive, Bradley said, though DBI is constantly seeking feedback from participants to improve their programming and make it as relevant as possible to its target audience.
DBI workshops are not limited to athletes, Bradley emphasized, adding that they look forward to partnering with other student groups on campus in a similar way as the initiative grows.
“I really value DBI because it’s a program that all students can really feel invited and really feel invested in,” Bradley said. “And that’s where the real power is — all of us as individuals and all of us collectively as a community recognizes the importance of stepping in and intervening during potentially harmful situations and continuing to create a safer campus.”
