Red flags with K9 Jules and VPAS

By Lexi White

Features Editor 

Flags have populated the Residence Quad; green flags to share positive experiences in relationships and red to shed light on negative relationship experiences. 

The Violence Prevention, Victim Advocacy and Support Center, VPAS, hosted this red flag campaign on Thursday, Sept. 26 to help students gain awareness of what is harmful in romantic connections. 

VPAS is a resource that students can utilize concerning sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking. 

Since the beginning of the fall semester until Thanksgiving is considered the ‘red zone,’ where there is an increase in assault cases on college campuses, VPAS wanted to make sure that their message was heard during this time.  

Police Sgt. Cynthia Torres attended the event with K9 Jules. Torres said that relationship misconduct is important to discuss on college campuses due to the number of cases she has seen each semester.  

“Jules and I predominantly work with survivors of violence, so teaching students about what healthy relationships are supposed to look like is our main mission,” Torres said. 

Some think that they are immune to the unhealthy behaviors that can be presented in relationships, but it can happen to anyone at any age. 

“I myself am a survivor of domestic violence, and I didn’t talk about it much when it happened 30 years ago in my first big relationship,” Torres said, “but I do believe that it has helped me in my career to have extra empathy for survivors and to support them by truly hearing their stories.” 

One of the student workers for VPAS who assisted with this event was special education major Taylor Wasilewski, a senior. She said that she uses their yearly event as a form of therapy and writing down the things she has experienced has helped her significantly.  

“We do this event so students can realize what they have gone through and to cope with it in a healthy way,” Wasilewski said. “Even if the rates of sexual assault and violence don’t come down, at least people will learn how to be a good bystander by stepping in and helping their friends.” 

Another VPAS student worker running the event was nursing major Gabriella Jordan, a junior. She said that her favorite part of the event was helping spread awareness about unhealthy relationships and educating people on the signs of mistreatment. 

Jordan said, “People don’t realize the healthy and unhealthy signs in relationships, and a lot of times they think that what they’re going through is normal, but we want to change that.” 

The mission Jordan and the other VPAS workers had was to enlighten others about what is not acceptable in any kind of personal connection. 

“You may think your relationship is healthy and normal, but I promise you, it’s not normal to feel like that in your relationship, and you can go out there and find better,” Jordan said. 

Psychology major Myesha Mapp, a senior, was one of the students to stop by the VPAS table. She said that this event is great in terms of learning to build boundaries. 

“The red flags help people to learn more about their boundaries and just enlighten them a little bit more on the dangers of certain aspects in relationships,” Mapp said.  

VPAS has a club called Peer Educators Advocating for Campus Empowerment that is open for all students to join. 

They offer workshops that inform students about the skills that can be used in interpersonal violence situations. Students can learn more information about their meetings on OwlConnect. 

VOL. 64-ISSUE 4