As students and faculty return back to campus, this is a good time to remind the Northwest Vista College community on the importance of being an Active Bystander.
For the last few years, NVC’s Student Success Director Elladean Moreno and Alamo Colleges Police Dept. Sgt. Jill Sprowls partnered to present information on Campus Safety and the Student Code of Conduct. This second training now includes Faculty Fellow Kazia Estrada and representatives from the NVC Black Lives Matter-Association.
The purpose of the training is to teach students, faculty and staff how to recognize bias and identify uncomfortable situations that can escalate and safely step up to intervene and /or get help.
The training involves interactive scenarios to help give students, faculty and staff critical thinking questions to assess different situations.
ACPD Sgt. Jill Sprowls, who’s also NVC’s campus coordinator, said it’s important for students and employees to see police officers included in and participating in this training to break down barriers.
“I had a student who was with her parents on campus recently and she recognized me and said, ‘You were the one who gave that training.’ She made a point to share with me how much she learned,” added Sgt. Sprowls.
If you would like to schedule the training for your class or area, please email Student Success Director Elladean Moreno at elopez65@alamo.edu
Here are some highlights of the training:
Why it Matters:
- 30% of adult Americans are bullied at work (taken from a 2021 survey by Workplace Bullying Institute)
- 1 in 5 women and 1 in 33 mens have experiences an attempted or completed sexual assault
- Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk for inmate partner violence
- Hate crimes are on the rise. There were 10,528 victims in 2020
Bias Can Keep you from being an Active Bystander
- Unconscious Bias – Attitudes or stereotypes that affect our views, actions, and decision-making ability
- Sources of Bias – Anti-Black/Cultural, Education, Media, Experiences, Community
The Four D’s:
- Distract – Creative and subtle way to intervene
- Delegate – Get help from an authority (faculty, staff or police)
- Direct – Call out the behavior. Tell the person to stop or ask the victim if they are okay.
- Delay – If situation is too dangerous and you can’t intervene, check in with the victim later.
Note: If weapons are present, ALWAYS call the police. The Emergency number is 210-485-0911 or the non-emergency number is 210-485-0099. See the Four D’s chart below as examples on how to use District, Delegate, Direct and Delay.
