Gorloks Aware: Changing Culture Through Violence Prevention

A group in the University Center holds their Start by Believing Pledges after completing Green Dot Training.

Power-based violence prevention and awareness efforts are rapidly becoming an integral part of campus culture at Webster and the momentum isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Gorloks Aware is a dating and domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking prevention campus program funded through a federal grant from the Department of Justice. Through visible prevention efforts, Gorloks Aware is shaping culture at Webster to be one of support and knowledge.

Gorloks Aware aims to start the conversation around power-based violence. One of the ways it commonly does is through Green Dot Trainings. Green Dot is a research-supported curriculum that teaches people of all ages how to recognize and reduce power-based violence through the lens of a bystander.

“Green Dot training helped me to feel much more confident in standing up for others when they may be uncomfortable or unable to express themselves,” said Justin McCoy, a Webster undergraduate student. “I also feel like it made me a better listener. Green Dot training makes you feel confident that you are a member of society willing and ready to help prevent sexual and dating violence.”

Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, Webster held 24 Green Dot trainings — incorporating them into freshman seminars, for sports teams, student organizations and more. The goal was to reach as many students as possible.

“I took part in the training last fall with students in my global cornerstone class,” said Bruce Umbaugh, a professor of philosophy at Webster University. “It was well organized, engaging and informative. People in the training had varied backgrounds and awareness. I felt like the training gave everyone things to work from and space to process. I was impressed and would encourage my faculty colleagues to make it available to their students too.”

The 2023-24 Women’s Basketball Team poses for a group photo after completing Green Dot Training.

This upcoming semester, 10 Green Dot training sessions are already scheduled as a part of freshman cornerstone courses. 
“We recognize that everybody has the capacity to build a positive climate on our campus,” said Brokaw. "Green Dot is rooted in the hope that we all have the power to create the type of society we want to live in. After completing Green Dot training, many Webster students continue to be actively involved in violence prevention efforts on campus, commonly through the Start By Believing campaign.”

Gorloks Aware brought the Start By Believing campaign to campus as an additional way to shift culture and reshape norms. The campaign, created by End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI), encourages students to pledge to “start by believing” when a sexual assault survivor chooses to share their story.

Hundreds of students from Webster University campuses have already taken part in this global campaign. Participants take a pledge and receive a poster showing that they’ve promised to start by believing. The poster can then be hung in a space they inhabit, such as a dorm room or an office.

“When you hang a poster on your wall that says, ‘I start by believing,’ that’s a culture setting action which shows that we support survivors and don’t tolerate violence,” shared Brokaw. “We hand pledges out at every involvement fair or resource fair and incorporate as part of Green Dot training. RAs and peer mentors are also given the posters and opportunity to take the pledge so they can put them on their doors. We’ve even had faculty and staff pledge and hang their posters on their doors.”

Stephanie Mahfood, interim dean of the School of Education, smiles next to her Start By Believing Pledge on display in her office.

Staff from The Webster University Library pose with their Green Dot and Start By Believing pledges.

“Seeing the Start By Believing pledges on campus makes the Webster community stand out as an environment that shows we are here for survivors,” said McCoy, who took the pledge. “With the pledges around campus, I feel more comfortable talking to people about Green Dot and sexual assault prevention. The culture here not only shows how supportive we are to survivors, but Ali and her team do an amazing job of teaching students, faculty and staff to become more aware of what is around them. If I were to ever experience an act of sexual assault or violence, I would feel comfortable sharing my story with the support base we have.”

Justin McCoy holds his “Start by Believing” pledge.

Gorloks Aware featured many of Webster’s campaign participants in an Instagram reel, which prompted EVAWI to reach out. EVAWI spotlighted Webster University on the national level via their email newsletters and social media, showcasing how Gorloks Aware incorporated the Start By Believing campaign into Green Dot trainings.

EVAWI isn’t the only organization to recognize Webster’s violence prevention efforts. Gorloks Aware recently collaborated with Futures Without Violence (FWV) to highlight what Webster is doing to engage men as violence prevention allies. Webster’s efforts also earned features on FWV’s TikTok and Facebook platforms.

“Gorloks Aware collaborates with the campus organization Brothers Empowered to host The Gentleman’s Club,” explained Brokaw. “The Gentleman’s Club is a programming series that aims to create a sense of community for men at Webster while encouraging conversation about preventing dating and sexual violence. Anti-violence work is often considered a women’s issue. Men have been shut out of the conversation. We want to change that.”

“All of us are potential bystanders to this sort of violence,” shared Umbaugh. “While it’s good to educate individuals about sexual violence, addressing power-based violence means working for cultural and systemic changes.”

Green Dot and EVAWI recently provided Gorloks Aware with a grant to support the continuation of violence prevention efforts on Webster’s campus. As the semester kicks off, Brokaw plans to use the funds to fuel the momentum and continue to spread awareness.

“We want to use a portion of this to give back to the community, especially the students — to encourage them to come to our events, show that we support them, and thank them for how they’ve engaged so far,” said Brokaw. “Our community cares. When connected with the skills and knowledge of what to do, they are personally invested in making the campus a safer place. We want to keep that going.”

For more information on Webster University's Gorloks Aware program and its efforts to prevent power-based violence on campus, follow @GorloksAware on Instagram.