{"id":57817,"date":"2015-12-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-activist-for-sexual-assault-prevention-selected-for-training-at-national-center-for-campus-public-safety\/"},"modified":"2015-12-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T00:00:00","slug":"uri-activist-for-sexual-assault-prevention-selected-for-training-at-national-center-for-campus-public-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/12\/uri-activist-for-sexual-assault-prevention-selected-for-training-at-national-center-for-campus-public-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 activist for sexual assault prevention selected for training at National Center for Campus Public Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKeith Labelle\u2019s Bystander Intervention Program is part of 溏心vlog免费B站 Office of Community, Equity and Diversity<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I., Dec. 4, 2015 \u2013 For nearly two decades, Keith Labelle has been educating students at the 溏心vlog免费B站 about sexual assault and domestic violence.<\/p>\n


\nAs assistant director of the Bystander Intervention Program and 溏心vlog免费B站-STANDers internship group, Labelle has trained hundreds of young men and women on campus about relationship violence \u2013 and how to prevent it.<\/p>\n


\nHis work has been recognized on campus and beyond, and now the 37-year-old Narragansett resident has another honor to add to his accomplishments.<\/p>\n


\nLabelle was one of 30 people selected throughout the country to be trained as a faculty member for the National Center for Campus Public Safety. <\/p>\n


\nHe\u2019ll spend Dec. 7 through 11 in Scottsdale, Arizona learning even more about sexual aggression, and that training will allow him to train others at colleges throughout the country.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI\u2019m humbled,\u201d says Labelle, whose program is an integral part of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Office of Community, Equity and Diversity. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 has always been a leader in campus sexual assault prevention and response. Now, we\u2019ll be at the forefront of training other schools about how to prevent and handle sexual assault cases.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe\u2019ll take classes on correcting misperceptions about sexual assaults, including blaming the victim for any type of behavior. He\u2019ll also take seminars about gender violence, signs of sexual abuse, how to sensitively ask questions to victims during judicial hearings and more.<\/p>\n


\nFor years, Labelle has been speaking to national groups, including the NFL. With the additional training, he\u2019ll give even more talks as a representative of the center, which was created two years ago by a White House task force charged with combating sexual assault on college campuses. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cCollaborating with the center takes my work \u2013 and passion for preventing gender violence \u2013 to the national level on a larger scale,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m thankful for this opportunity and very proud to represent 溏心vlog免费B站.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nNaomi R. Thompson, associate vice president and chief diversity officer of the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, says Labelle\u2019s work on campus is greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n


\n“Keith Labelle demonstrates a sincere passion and commitment to educating 溏心vlog免费B站 students towards actively intervening and defusing volatile situations,\u201d Thompson says. \u201cHis unwavering efforts are informing and transforming student interactions.”<\/p>\n


\nLabelle grew up on a farm in South Dartmouth, Mass., with pigs, cattle and corn. He excelled at baseball in high school, jumping at the opportunity to play third base for the 溏心vlog免费B站 Rams.<\/p>\n


\nAs the team\u2019s captain his senior year, he joined \u201cRAM Choices,\u201d a student group that talked about alcohol abuse, sexual assault and nutrition. The faculty advisor was so impressed with Labelle\u2019s public speaking and writing skills he encouraged him to stay on at 溏心vlog免费B站 after he graduated in 2000 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communications.<\/p>\n


\nWhile working on his master\u2019s degree, also in communications, Labelle taught 溏心vlog免费B站 101 classes about sexual assault prevention. He was stunned by what he heard from some students.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cSo many people came up to me later and said their sister had been assaulted, or their mom stalked \u2013 and it just clicked for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI could make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe started working at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Women\u2019s Center, providing education and awareness about sexual assault, and also founded an all-female student mentoring group called We\u2019re Offering Women Wisdom, or WOWW. His Peer Advocates program morphed into the Bystander Intervention Program.<\/p>\n

The program sends \u201cI-Standers\u201d \u2013 students who\u2019ve been trained by Labelle \u2013 throughout campus to talk to other students about relationship violence, domestic violence and stalking. The \u201cI-Standers\u201d are women and men, including athletes and members of sororities and fraternities. Students are encouraged to speak up if they see something inappropriate.<\/p>\n


\nLabelle says one of the reasons he believes his program works is that he\u2019s a man serving as role model for other men. \u201cAs a male, my work resonates with other guys,\u201d he says. \u201cThey see what I\u2019m doing and think that sexual assault prevention is their responsibility too.\u201d He also credits the support of Thompson and the 250 students who have interned with him over the years for the program\u2019s success.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cNaomi Thompson is a fabulous ally and supporter,\u201d says Labelle. \u201cThanks to her, we\u2019re doing great things for the 溏心vlog免费B站 community.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAccording to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about 1 in 5 women experience sexual assault during their college years. Labelle says he wouldn\u2019t want the women in his life to be among that statistic.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe all have women in our lives we want to protect,\u201d he says. \u201cI have a wife, a mom, two sisters, eight aunts, dozens of female cousins and two grandmothers. I would never want to see them get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe says he\u2019s learned over the years that sexual assault and violence can happen to \u201canybody.\u201d \u201cIt does not occur in a certain socio-economic class \u2013 that\u2019s a myth,\u201d he says. During his talks and classes, he implores students to \u201cDo right.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe all know what that means,\u201d he says. \u201cDeep down, we all know right from wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhat does his future hold? He might get his doctorate, possibly in education. One thing is certain: He\u2019ll continue to spread the word about gender violence. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cFifteen years ago, I was playing third base at 溏心vlog免费B站, dreaming about making it to the big leagues. Now I\u2019m traveling all over the country talking to student-athletes about preventing sexual violence. I feel like I’ve made it to the majors in something that matters much more than hitting a baseball. And I could not be more proud to be a member of the National Center for Public Safety’s team. 溏心vlog免费B站 is a leader in the fight to eradicate the epidemic of sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThorr Bjorn, 溏心vlog免费B站 director of athletics, says he appreciates Keith\u2019s work and is proud of his latest accomplishment: \u201cWe\u2019re extremely lucky to not only have Keith working with our student-athletes, but also have him housed in athletics. He brings incredible knowledge and insight to a very serious issue on college campuses. 溏心vlog免费B站 athletics wants to serve in a leadership capacity in preventing sexual assault and having Keith work so closely with our student-athletes and staff allows us to do just that.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tPictured above:

\n Keith Labelle, assistant director of the Bystander Intervention Program at the 溏心vlog免费B站. The program is part of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Office of Community, Equity and Diversity.

\nPhoto courtesy of Keith Labelle.\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keith Labelle\u2019s Bystander Intervention Program is part of 溏心vlog免费B站 Office of Community, Equity and Diversity KINGSTON, R.I., Dec. 4, 2015 \u2013 For nearly two decades, Keith Labelle has been educating students at the 溏心vlog免费B站 about sexual assault and domestic violence. As assistant director of the Bystander Intervention Program and 溏心vlog免费B站-STANDers internship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}