Demand for BIT rises among student groups

Bystander Intervention Training (BIT), a program run by the Center for Health Education and Wellness (CHEW) to inform students about sexual assault, abusive relationships and rape culture, has become mandatory for many students, including varsity athletes, members of Greek organizations and all Resident Advisors (RAs).

CHEW began hosting BIT programs, which are taught by trained student facilitators, in the fall of 2013. The full program consists of two sessions that last two and a half hours each and are usually spaced a week apart. An abridged version lasts about three hours in a single session.

According to Barbara Schubert, the associate director of CHEW, the BIT programs held at Hopkins are adapted from the University of New Hampshire’s Bringing in the Bystander program, which has expanded to more than 13 college campuses across the country.

“The program we’re using was adapted and enhanced by Duke University,” Schubert said. “Duke was able to get permission to enhance it with more information around consent and alcohol and put in more interactive pieces into the training, which is something we really liked about their model.”

Schubert said that the interactive nature of the program has had a lasting impact on participants.

“The success that Duke has seen is what is happening to us here now,” Schubert said.

This year, several varsity sports teams, all RAs and all Freshman Orientation First Year Mentors have participated in the BIT program.

Issy Berkey, a member of the varsity women’s soccer team and the Panhellenic Council vice president, encouraged the Panhellenic Council to offer BIT training for sorority members after participating with her team.

“[BIT] empowers participants to recognize, intervene and deter inappropriate behaviors,” Berkey said.

The council contacted Alyse Campbell, CHEW’s Sexual Violence Prevention, Education & Response coordinator to arrange four sessions for 50 sorority members each.

“We thought it was a great opportunity to get involved,” Nieto said.

Berkey said that she has heard positive responses from participants.

“While we do not have official feedback, sorority members have attested to a greater awareness while on campus and at social events,” Berkey said.

The Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) voted Tuesday to mandate BIT participation for all new members and all executive board members of fraternities. Additionally, each fraternity is now required to have at least 50 percent of their current members complete the program.

Over the course of 2014, six fraternities have also mandated BIT participation for their members; two additional fraternities are scheduled to be trained in the spring semester. All of these trainings were requested by the fraternities themselves.

Tom Laughlin, president of the IFC, said he hopes fraternity participation in the BIT program will help create a community of students who look out for one another.

“By educating every new member, we can ensure a future where every fraternity member on campus has completed Bystander Intervention Training and is prepared to prevent sexual assault,” Laughlin said.

Nieto said that the Panhellenic Council is also considering mandating BIT for all new members. She said that limited resources and time have prevented the Panhellenic Council from getting all current sorority women to participate.

Campbell said that CHEW struggles to meet the new training demand.

“Our limitation this semester was that we had such a great response from the groups we trained this semester that we did not have the resources or the manpower to reach out to other groups,” Campbell said.

Schubert said that she hopes BIT will eventually become mandatory for all incoming freshmen.

“We’re hoping... to get all of the incoming freshmen every year,” Schubert said.

Campbell said that the BIT program can dramatically change a participant’s viewpoint on sexual assault and rape culture.

“It’s such a culture-changing program,” Campbell said.

Berkey sees great value in the program.

“If a young lady has even one takeaway that keeps them or their friend safe, then the training has been met with success,” Berkey said.