Upcoming STEP awareness events

MAKE CAMPUS SAFER — Students Educating and Empowering Peers (STEP) offers training and documentary viewing to educate fellow Hope students and promote a safer campus. (Hope College)

Students Teaching and Empowering Peers (STEP) is a group of Hope College students that wish to educate, empower and encourage members of the campus community.

It is the vision of STEP to have a campus free from interpersonal violence, a campus where every member feels safe and respected, where every member is knowledgeable about how to handle a situation should one arise and where every member knows that there are resources available to help process a situation that was experienced or witnessed by that student.

STEP capitalizes on the extensive research indicating that peers are the single most potent source of influence on undergraduate students affective and cognitive growth and development during college.

STEP Educators use this influence to facilitate interactive workshops that are designed to:

Create an awareness of the definition and dynamics of sexual assault and relationship violence. Encourage healthy relationships. Promote becoming an active bystander. Provide tools students can use to establish an intolerance of sexual assault, relationships violence and stalking on campus.

STEP educators also assist with the planning of a variety of campus wide events.

Upcoming STEP events include Take Back the Night on Wednesday, April 19, from 6:30 9:30 p.m. moving through different locations with speakers. These locations will be in Schaap Atrium, DeWitt Theatre and Lobby, Martha Miller, Fried Hemenway Auditorium, Cook and Kollen Hall Lounges.

OneLove Training on Thursday, April 20, from 6:30– 9:30 p.m. in Martha Miller Center for Global Communication, room 158. The workshop will touch on dating violence and early warning signs.

The Hunting Ground documentary viewing will take place on Monday, April 24, from 7:30–9:30 in Winants Auditorium, Graves Hall. The film will be followed by a panel discussion.

STEP Bystander Intervention Training will be held during community hour on Tuesday, April 25, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Maas Conference Center.

Any questions on events or more on STEP can be emailed to dorer@hope.edu.