Green Dot Campus Action Challenge succeeds

By Ronnie Houchin and Kim Swisher

JR Ancheta photo. Mike Sfraga, UAF vice chancellor for university and student advancement, applies a pie to Chancellor Mike Powers' face during a fundraising event for sexual assault awareness programs.

Students, staff, faculty and community members showed up in force for the Green Dot Campus Action Challenge, April 11-22. The campaign was designed to build awareness for the violence prevention program. UAF Green Dot set a goal of establishing 1,917 green dot actions. A green dot is any action that prevents or stops harm from happening or sends a message that violence is not acceptable in our community.

If you count the dollars raised, the social media engagement and the campus events, we think it's safe to say we put more than 8,900 green dots on our campus map during the challenge.

Hundreds of people interacted with UAF Green Dot on social media, liked our Facebook page and shared our posts.

The hashtag #uafgreendot appeared on Instagram and Twitter posts and we received dozens of green dot submissions on our website. All of these green dots contribute to the campaign and help us to establish two new norms: that violence is not acceptable in our UAF campus community and that everyone can play a part in preventing violence.

During SpringFest weekend, Green Dot sponsored two fundraisers to benefit the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living. At Field Day, Chancellor Mike Powers, Vice Chancellor Mike Sfraga, Vice Provost Fred Schlutt and UAF Chief of Police Keith Mallard put their faces forward, bravely agreeing to have pies tossed at their faces, raising $524 for IACNVL. The next day, more than 100 participants participated in Run for Respect, raising $2,310 for Girls on the Run, a prevention program housed through IACNVL.

Every dollar raised counted as a green dot combined with the green dots we can count on social media, the proactive green dots done at mud volleyball and the green dots we know were done in our residence halls, in our classrooms and in the Fairbanks community, we are confident that we not only exceeded our goal, but we made a huge step forward in establishing a safer campus for the members of #NanookNation.

More photos available at https://www.facebook.com/uafgreendot/.

Ronnie Houchin is transition programs coordinator for the UAF Office of Admissions and the Registrar. Kim Swisher is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at UAF.