StepUP! Bystander Intervention Program
StepUP! is our bystander intervention program to educate students about how to be proactive in helping others. It provides opportunities to think inclusively in how we respond to concerns and interrupt unwelcome actions in our community. It also teaches students how to train their peers to be active members of our community.
Want to learn more about being a bystander and what stops us stepping up in situations where we see something that isn't right? Learn some tools and skills to help step up more regularly with StepUP!
Training opportunities
Want to get involved? Then sign up for one of our Step UP! Bystander Programs . You can request to host an informational or a StepUP! training session for your organization, team, group, or in your class by contacting the Coordinator for Gender + Sexualities at escriver01@hamline.edu. We have additional regular on-campus training sessions throughout the year. To learn to be a StepUP! Trainer, join the team during our next training session. Sign up and learn more here.
About StepUP!
The University of Arizona C.A.T.S. Life Skills Program, along with national leading experts, has developed an initiative for students called Step UP! Be a Leader, Make a Difference. Step UP! is a prosocial behavior and bystander intervention program that educates students to be proactive in helping others. Teaching people about the determinants of prosocial behavior makes them more aware of why they sometimes don’t help. As a result they are more likely to help in the future.
The goals of Step UP! are to:
- Raise awareness of helping behaviors
- Increase motivation to help others
- Develop skills and confidence when responding to problems or concerns
- Ensure one's own well-being and the well-being of others
Most problematic behaviors on college campuses involve bystanders. Step UP! training provides a framework explaining the bystander effect, reviews relevant research and teaches skills for intervening successfully using the five D's, decision-making steps, and the S.E.E.K. Model (Safe; Early; Effective; Kind). A survey at three universities (University of Arizona, University of California, Riverside and University of Virginia) revealed that students and athletes are encountering multiple situations where bystander intervention would be appropriate including, among other things, alcohol abuse, hazing, sexual assault/relationship abuse and discrimination. Almost 90% stated a problem could have been avoided with intervention and up to 85% indicated they would like to learn skills to intervene.
Visit the national Step UP! website to learn more.
