Closing the Circle Identifying a missing piece of bystander intervention Kevin Saberre Jr., Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life & Kacey Sebeniecher, Director of Student Wellness Center The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Learning Outcomes Evaluate the strengths and challenges of extending supportive services to reporting students within a bystander intervention program Understand how reportable issues on their respective campuses will benefit from the inclusion of vicarious trauma services Recognize how regular assessment and vast campus partnerships can improve bystander intervention programs The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Discussion What does the bystander intervention initiative on your campuses look like? The University of Texas at Dallas

Discussion What do you think your bystander intervention initiative is missing? The University of Texas at Dallas

UT System Bystander Intervention UT System provided funding and support to all UT System institutions to create bystander intervention initiatives on their campus for 3 years. The University of Texas at Dallas

Bystander Intervention at UT Dallas Comet Voice was originally housed within the Student Wellness Center with guidance from the Dean of Students Comet Voice is an umbrella initiative that seeks partnerships and collaborations from various departments and divisions We have a Comet Voice logo, website, social media accounts, a campus wide taskforce etc. Comet Voice applies to various harmful situations from high risk drinking and mental health concerns to sexual misconduct What we discovered is that we are asking students to step up, but not offering them any support after they make their report. The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas The Missing Piece Following a report of hazing in a Greek organization It was clear that Comet Voice did not offer follow-up support to third party reporting students in a clear way The Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life recognized that this was a needed service The connection with Comet Voice was made and the Comet Voice Care Team concept gained momentum Do you have services specific to third party students that report potentially harmful situations? Steve’s story Steve was aware and confident to intervene, but he knew that there were multiple other members that were more wiling to stand by instead of intervene for fear of the consequences. The University of Texas at Dallas

UT Dallas Research Findings 63% of UT Dallas students are familiar with Comet Voice On average, students were inclined to stand by rather than intervene in a situation involving sexual harassment or sexual assault Refer to the UT Dallas CLASE Bystander Data and touch on Confidence about Intervening and the emphasis on positive reinforcement within the Care Team to increase student confidence in reporting. Refer to example from Steve’s story and how multiple other members knew what occurred and were unwilling to report. The University of Texas System Cultivating Learning and Safe Learning Environments (CLASE) Survey, 2015 The University of Texas at Dallas

Inclusion of Vicarious Trauma “A change in one’s self resulting from an empathetic engagement with another person who has been traumatized” (Witte et. al, 2017, p. 150) Signs of vicarious trauma: Feeling unable to help those involved in the situation Difficulty sleeping Change to eating habits Possible depression Difficulty talking about their feelings toward the situation “…bystanders who intervene may likely feel good about their decision to intervene, but that some events may be perceived as traumatic, and that both witnessing and intervening are linked to traumatic stress symptoms.” (Witte et. al, 2017, p. 150) Dating violence is the most prevalent issue of sexual misconduct at UTD. Witte referenced that most students who experienced vicarious trauma witnessed an issue of dating violence. While vicarious trauma typically occurs after assisting individuals with traumatic experiences repeatedly, we have seen some signs of vicarious trauma among students who have reported harmful situations as active bystanders Witte, T.H., Casper, D.M., Hackman, C.L. & Mulla, M.M. (2017). Bystander interventions for sexual assault and dating violence on college campuses: Are we putting bystanders in harm’s way?, Journal of American College Health, 65(3), 149-157 The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Comet Voice Care Team The University of Texas at Dallas

Purpose of the Comet Voice Care Team A team of Student Affairs professionals will provide advocacy, resources and a positive support system to UT Dallas students who stand up and step in when they see potentially harmful situations in their community. We should read the proposal… that we sent to the dean The University of Texas at Dallas

Comet Voice Care Team Mission The Comet Voice Care Team will provide advocacy and support services to UT Dallas students that report potentially harmful situations. Harmful situations can include, but are not limited to: Sexual misconduct Hazing Suicidal attempts or ideation Dating/domestic violence Stalking Hate Speech Bias incidents The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Steps to Care Team Identify key stakeholders Dean of Students/ Community Standards and Conduct Title IX Coordinator Chief of Police Create training materials for involved staff Wellness Conflict resolution Retaliation Determine effective referral process Preformed research and benchmarking to determine if similar programs and trainings took place at other UT system institutions Intentionally simplified the process so that it fits with other referral procedures Brainstormed potential components of training for Care Team members: Empathy- provided by the Student Counseling Center Retaliation- provided by Community Standards and Conduct Campus Policy Overview- Provided by Title IX and Community Standards and Conduct Conflict Resolution- Student Counseling Center Overview of Support Services-Student Wellness Cents/Comet Voice We didn’t want Care team to be a resource that we “discovered” we had due to normal referral system; we looked for the CARE team to be a full program so students wouldn’t fall through the cracks. The University of Texas at Dallas

Comet Voice Care Team Structure Care Team Members Care Team Referrers Student Wellness Center Community Standards and Conduct Fraternity and Sorority Life Residential Life University Recreation Title IX Gender Center UT Dallas Police Multicultural Center Dean of Students Student Organization Center Being a Care Team emmer is a choice. It empowers members to have conversations with students and keeps them invested in the initiative. It creates a support structure for staff Determined which areas would refer students to the Care Team for support: Community Standards and Conduct Residential life Title IX UT Dallas police Mention the uniqueness of Center for Students in Recovery staff being on CARE team as she is a licensed counselor The University of Texas at Dallas

Care Team Members Responsibilities Meet with students who have reported an incident Offer positive reinforcement and support to the student during the meeting Report additional facts or information to referrers related to the incident Have an understanding of campus policy and acts of retaliation The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Referral Process A list of Care Team members with their areas of expertise was provided to all Care Team referrers Students are not required to meet with the Care Team, but they are provided information about services that are available to them and encouraged to reach out Care Team members meet with students as needed The University of Texas at Dallas

Next Step: Faculty Collaboration Inform/present Care Team information to academic student groups Recruit and train academic staff and/or faculty as Care Team members Develop academic liaison program Create a Care Team reporting structure suitable for faculty members The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Questions? The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas Thank you Kacey Sebeniecher, M.S Kevin Saberre Jr. knl101020@utdallas.edu Kevin.Saberre@utdallas.edu Director of Student Wellness Center Director of Fraternity & Sorority Life The University of Texas at Dallas 972-883-4275 (Office) 972-883-6173 (Office) The University of Texas at Dallas