The phased roll-out will begin with faculty and staff in spring 2019, while students 鈥渨ill begin to see signs of the program on campus in fall 2019,鈥� said Leda Werner.

She manages a multi-year grant 91短视频 received through the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to combat sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus. The first year of the grant, 2017-18, was devoted to needs assessment and planning.

The bystander training is one of several initiatives to be implemented in the next two years.

Empowerment to act

The imagery of the Green Dot program is simple: If a red dot on a map represents an individual act of sexual violence, a green dot can represent any individual choice that builds community safety and cultivates intolerance for sexual violence. That could mean actions such as defusing a situation through distraction, showing concern for someone who is being harmed, or asking someone who is causing harm to move away.

A key difference from other programs is that it goes beyond typical awareness-raising measures. The training empowers participants with 鈥渘ew actions and new ways of seeing and engaging that can enhance a community鈥檚 capacity for response and change,鈥� said associate dean of students Jonathan Swartz.

鈥淭o keep people safe, it is necessary to widen the circle of responsibility,鈥� Swartz said. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 basically a call to all of us for active involvement in the safety and well-being of all of us.鈥�

Equipping members of the campus community to step up in harmful situations is key, as 鈥渁 lot of the time, the reason people don鈥檛 intervene to prevent or deescalate a situation of sexual harm is because they鈥檙e not sure what to do or say,鈥� said Werner. 鈥淭hrough Green Dot trainings, confidence to step up in these situations will increase.鈥�

Launched in 2006 at the University of Kentucky, the Green Dot curriculum has been used in more than 300 colleges (including James Madison University), 50 middle and high schools, 50 communities and across other entities on four continents.

Initiative begins with faculty and staff

The five staff attending the training include counseling services director Tempest Anderson, housing and residence life assistant director Matt Hunsberger, applied social sciences associate professor Carolyn Stauffer, Swartz and Werner.

The group will help to anchor further efforts on campus with faculty and staff in spring 2019. These discussions will include strategizing about聽 ways to bring Green Dot to life on campus through, for example, course content, awareness campaigns and programming.

Later in the semester, bystander trainings will be extended to all faculty and staff. Participants will learn how to recognize warning signs, identify barriers to action, and reinforce social norms that are intolerant of sexual violence and foster 鈥渁 community of safety and respect,鈥� Werner said.

Beginning in fall 2019, the process will start over with students. By fall 2020, all incoming students will receive Green Dot鈥檚 bystander training.

鈥淥ur overarching goal is to shift the campus culture around response to and prevention of sexual violence,鈥� said Werner. 鈥淲e look forward to working with faculty and staff this spring on creating a strong foundation for that goal.”

For more information or to find out how to get involved, contact Leda Werner at leda.werner@emu.edu.

The Tony-nominated Broadway musical 鈥淎 Year with Frog and Toad鈥� is based on author/illustrator Arnold Lobel鈥檚 鈥淔rog and Toad鈥� children鈥檚 book series. The musical, directed by professor opens Nov. 20. Additional performances are Nov. 21 and Dec. 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. with matinees Nov. 22 and Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the 91短视频 box office at 540-432-4582 or聽.

鈥淥ur production聽is set here in the Shenandoah Valley and the animals are the kind you would find in the woods and ditches right here in western Virginia,鈥� says Vogel. Her vision was to have the actors portray human characters with animal qualities instead of being in animal costumes. 鈥淭he actors have studied the way the animals move and are using that in their portrayals. Also, the characters reflect folks you might meet here too.鈥�

For history major Derrick Turner, assistant director and dramaturg, the show brings back memories. 鈥淚 loved those books. My mom read them to me when I was a child.鈥�

To spark the actors鈥� imaginations, Turner conducted extensive research with 91短视频 professor and conservation photographer . He then compiled movement videos and information on each portrayed animal for the actors, including habitat, food and skeletal structures.

91短视频 hasn鈥檛 done a children鈥檚 play in at least a decade, Vogel says, but the play meets the ‘s educational goals. 鈥淭heater for Young Audiences (TYA) is a hugely important genre of theater that our students should have experience performing and producing. Children are a different audience than adults.鈥�

The cast will perform three additional matinees for students from six local schools and three home school groups, says Turner, who made study packets accessible for K-5 grades.

鈥淎dults are much more well-behaved, but I find performing for children is a much more interactive experience,鈥� says actor Josh Helmuth, a music composition major who performed for elementary students while in high school.

Helmuth portrays four animals, including a showy bird and a straight and narrow lizard. 鈥淵eah, I don鈥檛 get a break,鈥� he says, smiling.

Playing animals has never been a favorite role for English and theater double-major Makayla Baker. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like when people portray animals. It鈥檚 so weird. But here I am鈥擨鈥檓 a turtle,鈥� she deadpans. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 been great.鈥�

Baker鈥檚 turtle is a laundry woman carrying a basket on her back and a scrub board around her neck.

Myriam Aziz, a graduate student in the master鈥檚 conflict transformation program, was cast as Frog. 鈥淎 female playing a part for a male, I think that鈥檚 really funny,鈥� says Aziz, who is active in theater in Lebanon. But having a male as a pal, she says, 鈥渞eminds me of my friend back home. We鈥檝e been friends for 13 years.鈥�

The cast and crew agree that even though 鈥淎 Year With Frog and Toad鈥� is based on a children鈥檚 book series, adults will also appreciate the cheerful upbeat musical.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of comedic effect in it,鈥� Helmuth says.

鈥淚t is funny,鈥� says Baker, noting that the 91短视频 community is inviting younger family members and people from their church to the show. 鈥淎 lot of 91短视频 students were raised on these books.鈥�

Cast

Myriam Aziz, Christian Parks, Ezrionna Prioleau, Bianica Baker, Esther Ajayi, Josh Helmuth, Makayla Baker, Zoe Parakuo, Hailey Holcomb

Crew

Director 鈥� Heidi Winters Vogel
Choreographer and Costume Designer –
Accompanist 鈥� Jim Clemens
Stage Manager – Caitlin Randazzo
Assistant Stage Managers – Lydia Hales and Belen Fernandez
Props Designers – Alex Rosenberg and Kevin Clark
Assistant Lighting Designer – Sierra Comer
Assistant Director and Dramaturg – Derrick Turner
Music Director –
Set Designer –
Lighting Designer –

“,” an a cappella ensemble, will present a concert of music that spans centuries and continents but remains relevant to today at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3, at Park View Mennonite Church, N. College Ave.

Five of the seven group members are 91短视频 alumni – Matt Hunsberger, Aaron Kauffman, Adam Sensamaust, Clay Showalter and Jon Leichty; Stephen Horst and Jared Stoltzfus are currently students at 91短视频.

Admission to the concert is $7 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, and $3 for students and children. Light refreshments are served after the program.

For more information, visit the group’s website at www.sonsoftheday.com or contact Matthew Hunsberger, 540-437-6434 or or Clay Showalter, 540-833-8349 or .