Whitworth’s Green Dot club hosted the “We Will” campaign all day Wednesday, April 8 in the HUB’s Multi-Purpose room to promote ideas for campus safety. A video played on the big screen and the windows were adorned with green strips of paper covered with pledges by numerous students, faculty, staff and community members.
Pledges were made to raise awareness about sexual assault, advocate for women’s and transgender rights and to not pass judgment on anyone, just to name a few of many. Submissions ran until March 27 and were submitted by website, paper pledge and even selfies posted on social media websites with the #wewill.
“Submissions allow students to take part in something bigger than the campus community,” said Pam Oswalt, the Whitworth coordinator of Green Dot. “The idea is to use your gifts, your passions, your commitments, and make a public statement.”
Oswalt explained how everyone can make a difference with how accessible the campaign is. Whitworth’s Green Dot, along with the Health Education Action Team, featured a run/walk on Saturday, April 4 in support of this campaign that welcomed anyone who wanted to attend. The organization will also be present at River Park Square on April 16 beside numerous local colleges and universities as a part of the “We Will” campaign.
Each school’s campaign is catered to the specific needs of their campus, but are joined together for one specific purpose; to make campus communities safer.
The exact location and time for the downtown display are still not confirmed.
“The hope for the future is to change the culture one step at a time; me and my friend, me and my dorm, me and my school, me and my community and so on,” Oswalt said. “There are a lot of things that are simply not talked about, especially when it comes to sexual assault.”W
She encourages open discussion and supplied a lengthy list of resources for anyone in search of help or support, on and off-campus.
“We will know where the resources lie, so if anyone needs support we will know how to support them,” Oswalt said, finishing up a Green Dot presentation.
Contact Alyssa Saari at [email protected]
