Last week, the third of 11 “Be a B.O.S.S.” posters appeared on campus, advertising a new social marketing campaign emphasizing bystander intervention to prevent sexual assault and relationship violence. The campaign is sponsored by the Center for Advocacy, Prevention, and Empowerment (CAPE), which is part of the Health and Counseling Center (HCC).

According to the website, “To be a DU B.O.S.S. is to: Be aware, Observe your situation, Size up your options, Speak up and act.”

“We were looking at trying to get students engaged around these issues in a positive way,” said CAPE Program Director Gillian Kaag. “We believe that in order to effectively prevent any kind of violence on campus, the community needs to come together to take action.”

Kaag said the campaign is something she has wanted to do since last spring, following CAPE’s Consent is Sexy campaign. Last quarter, CAPE started working on the Be a B.O.S.S. campaign, taking time to photograph posters and put everything together.

One new poster will appear on campus every Wednesday during winter quarter, each featuring a student leader and a two-part saying. According to Kaag, the beginnings of the sayings are supposed to buy into some of the myths surrounding sexual assault and the ends are supposed to be a surprise.

“We wanted something that would grab attention and rally people around these issues,” she said.

The most recent poster features Katrina Yoshida, vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), and says, “We wanted to leave the party and some dude said he’d take care of her…but friends stick together and there was no way we were leaving without her. Better safe than sorry.”

Other students featured on the posters include Jesse Daniels, Angela Ianniello, Kathryn Avedon, Ryan Cook, Nermina Mujkanovic, Vy Pham, Salvador Ramirez, Mike Schutte, Lori Scott and Alex Shefrin. The organizations they represent include Housing, USG, Greek Life, Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), Men as Allies and Women’s Council.

“We were trying to get a diverse group of students with leadership and social influence on campus,” said Kaag. “We also wanted to make sure they were people that other students respected and that engage in behaviors that support the campaign.”

In addition to the posters, the Be a B.O.S.S. campaign has a website with information on “Tips for Intervening like a B.O.S.S.” and “What Prevents People from being a B.O.S.S.?” The website also says student groups can request a workshop on how to Be a B.O.S.S. This workshop is a 90-minute training session based on multimedia interaction and discussion.

According to Kaag, there have been four unofficial trainings to receive feedback, and one official training with the Be a B.O.S.S. student leaders. CAPE is currently organizing further trainings with Nelson staff and Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT). The first 500 people who participate in these trainings will receive a Be a B.O.S.S. trucker hat.

“In order to ensure good attendance at the workshops, we decided to offer the training to organized groups on campus,” said Kaag. “However, if individuals expressed an interest, we would also be happy to organize a separate workshop that those individuals could sign up for.”

Chancellor Robert Coombe endorsed the Be a B.O.S.S. campaign in a university-wide email sent out on Tuesday, Jan. 7, in which he urged members of the DU community to stand up for a safe and welcoming campus.

Coombe said there were a number of incidents fall quarter that were a cause of great concern to the university, including substance abuse, sexual predation and discrimination. However, he also discussed the positive student reactions following the incidents.

“We have recently seen examples of our students standing up for those harmed by hurtful language, and are proud of the way those involved took action for an inclusive campus and against behaviors that threaten openness and safety,” said Coombe in the email.

Kaag also emphasized the power of the community to prevent these threatening behaviors.

“When a person is assaulted, it doesn’t just affect them. It affects their family and friends and community. But if we work together as a community we can stop these things from happening.”
For questions or comments about the Be a B.O.S.S. campaign, students are encouraged to email Gillian.Kaag@hcc.du.edu or cape@hcc.du.edu.

Students are reminded that if they are worried about the safety of a situation, they should call Campus Safety at 303-871-3000 or call 911. If they want to leave an anonymous tip about a situation they can call 303-871-3130.