SAAVI organizes new student support group
Using her experiences from a group at Snow College, a USU student has organized a student group on campus.
The group, Empowerment, is a place for students to learn about healthy communication, healthy boundaries and acceptance.
Currently an intern at Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information, Codie Thurgood said she worked closely with members of the SAAVI staff throughout the planning process of the new group.
Prior to attending USU, Thurgood said she attended Snow College and was involved in BAAD – Badgers Against Alcohol and Drugs.
“I felt there was a need on campus to have place for students to come to have positive influences and experiences in their lives,” Thurgood said. “The group will be a positive outlet.”
Open to all students, Empowerment meets Wednesday nights from 4-5 p.m., beginning Feb. 8. The group will meet every other Wednesday, until the end of April, in the Living Learning Center’s multipurpose room.
“SAAVI is really excited for the Empowerment group,” said Monica Bailey, SAAVI program coordinator. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, so it’s cool that Codie wanted to take it on. Codie is the moderator, she’s developed the curriculum. It’s patterned after something she was involved with at a different college. I’m mostly the overseer while Codie is the implementer.”
Bailey said Empowerment should be a safe place where students can discuss opinions and feelings and where they can form healthy relationships as friends and classmates.
“It should be a relaxed atmosphere,” Bailey said. “I think it’s a nonthreatening way for people to talk about things they need — healthy communication and relationships. We cycle through a lot of students at this university, and there’s always going to be people who need it.”
Thurgood said she hopes 20-25 students come to each meeting.
“I think it’s just an awesome opportunity for students to get involved and to meet new people and gain new insight, because it changed my life,” Thurgood said. “I really want to give students at USU an opportunity to gain new tools and outlook.”
Thurgood said the group won’t just be discussion-based, she has planned activities and role-playing exercises to make the sessions more interactive.
“I’ve already laid out lesson plans. We really just wanted to have examples of healthy relationships, so we’re going to discuss healthy communication,” Thurgood said. “I would love guest speakers, but, since it’s so new, I haven’t really looked.”
The group is focuses on aspects of relationships that are really important — not necessarily just violence, she said.
“There’s a difference between a dangerous relationship, an OK relationship and a healthy relationship,” Bailey said. “We don’t want to freak students out by making them think they’re more likely to be in a dangerous relationship. We want them to feel like there’s a safe place if they need it.”
In addition to discussing healthy relationships, Bailey said the purpose of the group is to focus on the individual.
“It’s less about relationships and more about your personal assertiveness,” Bailey said. People assume that assertiveness and aggressiveness are the same thing. But they are two different things.”
Bailey said she hopes the communication lessons will help students communicate better with their professors, in groups and communicating their expectations of other people.
USU falls below the national average for dating violence, Bailey said. Last semester, SAAVI assisted 13 students for various reasons — fewer than in past years.
“Statistically, we’re lower. But that’s because not everything goes reported,” she said. “I feel like we don’t need to have a huge problem to be proactive.
“Because college is such an interesting atmosphere, just talking about dating violence isn’t helpful. You have to be pre-emptive. In college, you’re interacting with so many different people that students have a hard time talking about personal experiences.”
SAAVI is publicizing the event with fliers on campus and in the counseling center.
“We talked to the volunteers about it because they seemed most interested,” Bailey said. “Then we hoped it would grow through word of mouth.”
Both Thurgood and Bailey said they hope Empowerment is successful and continues next year. Thurgood said she organized her information in preparation for the next intern to take over.
“I’ve designed it so that the next intern can just pick it up and start it again, so that it can become a regular service provided by SAAVI,” Thurgood said.
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