Topic Area: Student Success
Presented by: Melissa Wagner, Lemoine Joseph, Elliott Daniels
Abstract:
Student success in a university setting is often conceptualized as strictly academic success, but there are many other factors that impact a student’s ability to thrive, one of which is feeling safe from violence. The MSU Prevention, Outreach and Education Department and the MSU Athletics Department have collaborated to consider and address how student-athletes are uniquely situated to prevent gender-based violence on campus.
Student-athletes face unique experiences as college students that impact their ability to engage in gender-based violence prevention programs and initiatives. They are also often encouraged to be leaders on campus, providing different opportunities than the non-student-athlete to engage in violence prevention. The “Spartans Against Violence” program was created from this collaboration to educate and empower Spartan student-athletes to prevent sexual misconduct, relationship violence, and stalking. This session will discuss how we define success, how past program data has shown success, and how the program is continually changing to maximize student success. We will also discuss how we have broken down barriers and siloes between university units to benefit both staff and students, and lessons we have learned and their potential application to other cross-campus efforts.