Issue # 18– January 31, 2011
Student’s Take Response Ability
by: Kathleen Schreier, Area Director - Residence Life Apartment Area
The recent death of a student at the University of Rochester weighs heavily on the minds of students and staff here at RIT. Given the circumstances of the death, I have wondered if there were other people present when the incident occurred. Could this tragedy have been prevented if someone had stepped up and broke up the fight? As of right now, no one knows for sure. However, situations occur every day on this campus that could easily be prevented if someone stopped being a “bystander” and just spoke up. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, bystander is defined as “one present but not taking part in a situation or event: a chance spectator”. How many times in our lives do we hear, see, or experience something we perceive as wrong but do nothing about? Sometimes the situation seems minor, but other times the situation could be life changing. Mike spoke extensively about what being a bystander means and gave attendees three tools they could use in their everyday lives if they recognized their power. The first tool is the ability to interpret what’s happening as a problem. As human’s we often make justifications. Mike states that if your gut instinct tells you something is wrong then it probably is. The second tool is to be responsible for dealing with the problem. If you won’t be the person responsible for stopping the situation, who will be? We say to ourselves, “other people can see this and they aren’t doing anything so it must not be that bad”. These are barriers that prevent someone from intervening. The final tool is to recognize these barriers, find a way around them, and do something about it. Mike states that all people have the power to stop being a bystander and take action. He stated that this takes practice and that no one will be able to do it all the time. He stated that occasionally he is still a bystander as well; however he intervenes more often than not now that he knows he has the power to make changes. Being a bystander is not confined to being present at actual acts of hazing, sexual violence, alcohol /drug abuse and assault, discrimination, or bullying. Sometimes all it takes is hearing/seeing your friend crack a joke about someone’s ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc. to cause damage to the person who is the butt of the joke. Taking the opportunity to speak up and say, “What do you mean by that?” could mean all the difference in the world. These can be life changing incidents to the victim. And can be prevented if someone just stepped up and decided they were not going to be a bystander any more.
The RIT Bader Alcohol Task Force sponsored a guest speaker on Tuesday, January 18th who spoke about bystander behavior and power. Mike Dilbeck, from CAMPUSPEAKS, was the founding member of his fraternity at his college. He witnessed and participated in hazing acts that as a leader he knew were wrong. Afraid of losing his status as a popular figure on campus, Mike did nothing. After fifteen years, the fraternity Mike helped found closed due to ongoing hazing issues. Today, Mike travels to college campuses across the country to speak about his experience and the power of bystander intervention.
To read more about bystander intervention and to access some of the resources used in Mike Dilbeck's presentation, click on http://www.raproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=31
For more articles from this issue, click here