BRODY JEWISH CENTER - HILLEL AT UVA
  • About Us
    • Community Partners
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Impact Report
    • FAQ
  • Student Life
    • Sign up Student eNewsletter
    • Story Showcase
    • Student Leaders
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Our Space
    • Passover
    • Jewish Studies Program
    • High Holidays
    • Jewish Resources
    • Incoming Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Blog
    • Calendar
  • Community
    • Community Newsletter
    • Parents >
      • Parent to Parent >
        • Chanukah Basketball Watch Parties
    • Young Alumni
    • Rent our space
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Give through UVA
    • Commonwealth Kiddush Cup
    • Capital Campaign
    • Jefferson Society
    • Eleventh Annual Brody Jewish Center Raffle

Students learn Green Dot strategy to reduce violence on Grounds

2/27/2015

 
Picture
This week the BJC hosted an Overview Talk of the new UVA initiative Green Dot. two third-year student leaders and Nicole Thomas, the new Prevention Coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Students introduced the new program and facilitated the discussion. The Green Dot awareness program aims to encourage bystander intervention in order reduce acts of violence on Grounds, often referred to as "Red Dot" situations. Nearly a dozen students attended the talk, which focused on identifying the importance of creating new norms that “violence is not okay and will not be tolerated” on our Grounds. 
In addition, we discussed how “checking in” or monitoring a situation while out on a Friday night does not suggest a negative assumption regarding the personality of the participants – rather, this intervention represents our responsibility to create a Community of Care, in addition to upholding the Community of Trust we all value so highly. We learned that the three D’s of intervention are: (1) Direct: check on individuals involved; (2) Delegate: get someone else to step in; (3) Distract: create a diversion to diffuse the situation.

The Overview Talk was personal for me, as I am active in the sexual assault advocacy community through Take Back the Night, and one of my undergraduate majors, Women’s Studies. The main objective of Green Dot is to encourage students to proactively, and retroactively as needed, diffuse Red Dot situations and eliminate the social acceptance of Red Dot behaviors.


Looking at a map of Grounds filled with green dots superimposed onto red dots, I found myself feeling thankful for the positive, safe environment provided by Hillel staff at the Brody Jewish Center. Next steps include extending this feeling of community and safety to all of Grounds. I realize now, as a fourth year, how integral the wonderful, secure community of Hillel has been for me throughout college.

Moving forward, I hope you will keep an eye out – we will host a separate Ask Big Questions discussion on the intersection of Judaism, communal responsibility, and bystander intervention on Grounds later this semester!

Haley Swartz
Class of 2015

UVa Greets Israeli Visitors

2/23/2015

 
Picture
This past Monday a group of Israeli university students came to visit Charlottesville and speak with UVa students at the BJC. Now, university students in Israel are not like college students here. The main difference being that they are in their mid to late twenties and just getting to their undergraduate degree after leaving their mandatory IDF service. When I spoke with a few of them on the topic of the army, they shared similar sentiments that while the army is a daunting commitment at the age of 18, they understand and respect the relationship that the citizens and government share. They see their service as their way to protect the country they love, as well as show other countries how united they are.
Before the speeches and activities began, we sat down for lunch, and I was able to meet a few of the Israelis. This winter I traveled to Israel on Birthright with Hillel at UVa, and we were able to bond about the experience- we even had mutual friends on Facebook (insert Jewish geography joke)! I’ve always been impressed with the way Israelis carry themselves, specifically in their levels of maturity. I spoke with one of the Israelis named Or, who is also a brother of AEPi at IDC Herzliya. We came to the conclusion that because of the lifestyle they live in Israel – with the army and the type of people – there is an emphasis on independence and early learning. He said that in the army you learn things that cannot be taught in school like meaningful lessons in accountability and responsibility.  


Later, I sat down with two Israelis, Dor and Avi, for an activity that involved depicting America or Israel through the others’ eyes. Dor and Avi spoke about what they thought America meant to them, their parents, their friends and to Americans, and I did the same for Israel. They shared the typical stereotypes of college parties and big business, but they also pointed out some more interesting complexities of American culture. Seeing that they do not see every piece of American news, they focused on the bigger, controversial stories as thematic of American culture. Things like race, the two party system and safety. I went on to describe my sentiments toward Israel and how much it means to my family living in America and in Israel. Dor, Avi and I really bonded over our shared passion for Israel, and it made me remember the great times I had this winter on Birthright. Overall, I was so excited to help host this group of Israelis and I hope they come back soon!

Zach Gelfand
Class of 2017

    The Brody Jewish Center, Hillel at the University of Virginia, is the focal point in a renaissance of Jewish life for the 1,000 Jewish students on Grounds. ​

    Archives

    September 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    AIPAC
    Alternative Break
    Ben Edgar
    Birthright
    BJC
    Brazilian
    Brody Jewish Center
    Bystander Intervention
    Charlottesville
    Engagement Interns
    Environmentalism
    Etai Pinkas
    Fall Fest
    First Year Connection
    Freedom Seder
    Golan Heights
    Green Dot
    High Holidays
    High Holiday Services
    Hillel At UVa
    Holocaust
    Hoos For Israel
    Hug And Wrestle
    Humpback Hike
    Israel
    JEI
    Jewish Conversation
    Jewish Leadership Council
    Jewish Women's Group
    Jiu Jitsu
    JSJC
    J Street UVa
    Krav Maga
    Leadership
    Leadership Retreat
    Mark Strauss
    Mississippi Delta
    Passover
    Peer Network Engagement Intern
    PNEI
    Pro-Israel
    Rosh Chodesh
    Self-defense
    Shabbat300
    Shabbat Around Grounds
    SHAG
    Sleepout For The Homeless
    Social Justice
    Spoken Word
    Sukkot
    Sunrise
    Sustainability
    Taglit-Birthright Israel
    University Of Virginia
    WaJewWa
    Whitney Perlen

    RSS Feed

The Brody Jewish Center
Hillel at the University of Virginia
1824 University Circle
Charlottesville, Va - 22903 

(434) 295-4963     -     info@brodyjewishcenter.org

Connect with us on social media!

Get the most up-to-date news, photos, and information.
The Brody Jewish Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ​ 
 
© 2019 Hillel at the University of Virginia
  • About Us
    • Community Partners
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Impact Report
    • FAQ
  • Student Life
    • Sign up Student eNewsletter
    • Story Showcase
    • Student Leaders
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Our Space
    • Passover
    • Jewish Studies Program
    • High Holidays
    • Jewish Resources
    • Incoming Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Blog
    • Calendar
  • Community
    • Community Newsletter
    • Parents >
      • Parent to Parent >
        • Chanukah Basketball Watch Parties
    • Young Alumni
    • Rent our space
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Give through UVA
    • Commonwealth Kiddush Cup
    • Capital Campaign
    • Jefferson Society
    • Eleventh Annual Brody Jewish Center Raffle