Building a Culture of Consent and Community Care: Orientation Programs and First Year Learning Scaffold

Program Overview

According to the American College Health Association, sexual violence prevention programs on college campuses should take a holistic approach incorporating all levels of the socioecological system. BWell uses a public health framework to provide orientation programming on both the individual and community levels.

BWell’s Orientation programs, Culture of Consent and Community Care,  takes a holistic approach with multiple opportunities for students to engage in content, with each component building upon the previous interventions and interactions.  This scaffolding approach allows students to interact with the material as they are ready and develop knowledge and skills over time. 

All BWell Orientation components are designed with the following core principles:

  • Research based and evidence informed with utilization of best practices in the field of Health Promotion that maximize the potential for knowledge gain, attitude shift and behavior change.
  • Recognizes social justice and the social determinants of health as foundational to individual and community wellbeing.
  • Honors students' lived experiences, making space for incorporating these into Orientation programming and empowering them to change Brown for the better.

Online Courses: Alcohol Edu

Students complete two online courses before they arrive at Brown. The courses introduce students to the global concepts of consent, sexual violence prevention, and health and safety and substance use. About 30 days after students arrive on campus, they are invited to complete Part 2 of each course. 

Alcohol Edu Course Objectives. First year students will be able to:

  1. Recognize the impact of relationships and choices on personal goals and overall health.
  2. Develop self-reflection skills through journaling.
  3. Recognize how personal choices align with values and goals.
  4. Define and understand the multiple dimensions of well-being.
  5. Describe alcohol and its basic biological effects on the body, including: 
    • BAC levels and measurement
    • Standard drink measurements 
    • Long-term health impacts 
  6. Identify warning signs of problematic alcohol use 
  7. Develop strategies for maintaining healthy boundaries.
  8. Identify support resources and strategies for maintaining sobriety (Recovery Path).
  9. Recognize signs of unhealthy stress and anxiety.
  10. Identify healthy coping mechanisms for stress management. 
  11. Access appropriate campus and community support resources.
  12. Identify when and how to access appropriate campus and community support resources.
  13. Recognize the importance of support systems in managing stress and substance use. 
  14. Recognize signs of social isolation and its impact on well-being. 
  15. Identify healthy alternatives to using alcohol for social connection.
  16. Understand the relationship between identity and social choices.
  17. Create personal strategies for maintaining social well-being.
  18. Identify signs of substance misuse and alcohol overdose.
  19. Apply the 5 D's of bystander intervention in various situations. 
  20. Acknowledge the legal implications of substance use. 
  21. Demonstrate appropriate emergency response procedures.
  22. Access appropriate support resources for themselves and others.
  23. Identify their "why" - their purpose for maintaining long-term well-being.
  24. Access appropriate campus and community support services.
  25. Develop personal intentions for healthy choices.
     

Online Courses: Respect Edu

Students complete two online courses before they arrive at Brown. The courses introduce students to the global concepts of consent, sexual violence prevention, and health and safety and substance use.  About 30 days after students arrive on campus, they are invited to complete Part 2 of each course. 

Respect Edu Course Objectives. First year students will be able to:

  1. Identify and apply the four key components of the social toolkit while recognizing how they interconnect in relationship building. 
  2. Demonstrate understanding of both personal boundaries and social awareness in sexual and interpersonal contexts. 
  3. Practice active listening and clear communication techniques for expressing needs and preferences in relationships.
  4. Define and recognize the key characteristics of valid sexual consent.
  5. Demonstrate understanding of bodily agency and its relationship to consent.
  6. Apply clear communication techniques for obtaining, giving, and maintaining ongoing consent.
  7. Identify and challenge common assumptions that can compromise valid consent. 
  8. Recognize specific situations where consent cannot be given or assumed. 
  9. Apply strategies to avoid coercive behaviors and maintain clear communication about consent.
  10. Develop healthy coping strategies for managing rejection and disappointment in romantic contexts.
  11. Apply self-regulation techniques and emotional intelligence concepts to challenging situations.
  12. Demonstrate understanding of perspective-taking and healthy emotional processing.
  13. Apply bystander intervention techniques in various scenarios 
  14. Identify and overcome common barriers to intervention. 
  15. Recognize enabling behaviors and develop strategies to prevent harmful situations.
  16. Identify and utilize available support resources both on and off-campus. 
  17. Demonstrate understanding of the reporting process and available options for seeking help. 
  18. Develop effective strategies for supporting friends who have experienced sexual assault while maintaining appropriate boundaries. 

Class Meeting

The Culture of Consent and Community Care Class Meeting is held a day or two after students arrive on campus. Through personal narratives and a series of videos, returning students orient the incoming class to Brown's commitments and values and the expectations of them as the newest members of Brown's community.

Objectives. First year students will be able to:

  1. Describe 2 ways that consent and bodily autonomy are cultural norms for the Brown community in everyday interactions.
  2. Describe 2 ways to articulate, recognize, and respect boundaries within sexual interactions. 
  3. Identify 2 resources for interpersonal violence response on campus.
  4. Describe 2 ways that help-seeking behaviors are valued within the Brown community.
  5. Identify 2 resources for seeking help with substance abuse.
  6. Articulate 2 ways to make informed decisions around Alcohol and Other Drug use.  
  7. Describe 2 ways that alcohol and other drug use may positively and/or negatively contribute to social wellbeing (sense of belonging and making connections).
  8. Identify 2 ways to support and demonstrate respect for students who choose to be substance free.

Structure + Methodology

The class meeting is presented as a live webinar which includes content delivered through student testimonials and videos of consent scenarios and campus resources. A cast of 5-7 returning students write and deliver testimonials about personal experiences that illustrate the class meeting’s objectives, discuss and frame the videos, and welcome the new class.  

It is structured as follows:

  • Opening 
  • Sophomore - Importance of Meeting Testimonial (Objectives 1, 4)
  • Consent Videos and Debrief (Objectives 1, 2) 
  • Culture of Consent Testimonial (Objectives 1, 2, 4)
  • Resources Video (Objectives 3 + 5)
  • Alcohol and Being True to Self Testimonial (Objectives 6, 7)
  • Sub Free at Brown Testimonial (Objectives 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
  • Alcohol and Community Care Testimonial (Objectives 6, 7)
  • Closing
     

Community Meeting: Consent, Bystander Intervention, Supporting Survivors

Community meetings are held a day or two after the Class Meeting in Bruno Leader communities. The small group meetings build students' skills - around consent, bystander intervention and support for survivors - for application in their residential communities, friend groups, and in their intimate relationships. 

Objectives. First year students will be able to:

  1. Identify the following five elements of consent: that consent is: 1)freely given, 2) reversible, 3) informed, 4) engaged, and 5) specific.
  2. Identify language for clear communication about consent during a sexual interaction.
  3. Discuss indicators of harmful situations that require intervention and brainstorm safe and effective methods to intervene.
  4. Name four best practices for supporting a survivor of sexual violence.

Structure + Methodology

During Orientation, and following the Class Meeting, Bruno Leader groups gather and are led in activities and discussion by a facilitation team of one Bruno Leader (student orientation leader) and one BWell student leader. The facilitation teams are trained by BWell professional staff to deliver the 1 hour curriculum.

The neighborhood meetings are structured as follows, with interactive learning activities and guided discussion for each section:

  • Communication and Consent (Objectives 1, 2)
  • Bystander Intervention (Objective 3)
  • Supporting Survivors (Objective 4)

Community Meeting: Substance Use and Community Care

A second set of community meetings are held in late September, once again in small Bruno Leader groups. These community meetings build students' skills and knowledge around safer substance use, being substance free, and related campus support resources, as well as offering some reminders of the consent and sexual violence prevention messaging from the Class Meeting and earlier Community Meeting. 

Objectives. First year students will be able to:

  1. Learn strategies for reducing risk.
  2. Learn the signs and symptoms of severe intoxication and how to respond.
  3. Identify 2 resources for seeking help with substance abuse.
  4. Recall information from the Culture of Consent neighborhood and class meetings: resources, consent FRIES and bystander intervention

Structure + Methodology
During late September, Bruno Leader communities gather and are led in activities and discussion by their Bruno Leader. The Bruno Leaders are each provided with a meeting script and all program materials. The program has been designed so that the Bruno Leaders do not need additional training in order to facilitate the workshop.
 

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