CJ Day
The Wellness Center will host another session of Step Up Bystander Intervention training on Nov. 12, continuing their effort to help students learn how to defuse and react to tense situations. These trainings occur monthly, but some the Wellness Center employees said it has been difficult to attract new participants.
“We definitely haven’t been getting the sort of turnout we’d like,” said Elyssa Robbins, a graduate assistant for the Wellness Center who helps to facilitate the sessions.
Robbins said the lack of attendance could be because many students have already done some form of this training, due to recent curriculum changes for freshmen. However, many students missed out on this training, such as transfer students, or upperclassmen that started college before the requirement.
For those students, and also for students that just forgot what they learned about bystander prevention, the class is a great way to learn the basics, said Robbins.
“A majority of UW students, they want to help other people in these sorts of situations,” said Robbins. “So then the question is, why don’t people get involved?”
There does not seem to be any one answer to this question. Robbins gave many reasons why people choose not to involve themselves in tense scenarios. Some people decide that it is not their problem, while others might be too socially anxious to involve themselves. Regardless of the underlying reason, the Step Up sessions aim to give students the skills necessary to properly intervene.
“Every situation is specific, so it’s not useful to teach people how to deal with only a couple situations,” said Robbins. “It’s a lot more focused on teaching skills that can help people deal with a bunch of situations.”
In addition, the possibility of alcohol use adds another dimension to many of the situations that students find themselves in. While it is easy enough to know how to handle tense situations while sober in a classroom, knowing what to do after a couple drinks at a party can be difficult. In the moment, proper decision-making can be impaired, meaning that well-intentioned bystanders can make a bad situation worse. Robbins stressed the importance of teaching fundamentals, so they can be easily remembered, even while drunk.
For those interested, the next Step Up training will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Wellness Center, located in the Half Acre gym. The training is completely free for students.
