More than 250 central Iowa high school students attended a day-long summit at Drake designed to help them identify, prevent, and advocate against sexual assault and gender-based violence. Participants will leave the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Leadership Summit with developmentally appropriate skills for preventing verbal, physical, and emotionally harmful behaviors, including bullying, domestic abuse, and sexual assault. They’ll also be equipped with the ability to pass their knowledge on to classmates.

The Summit, which is the first such summit to be held in central Iowa, was co-hosted by Drake and University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Violence Prevention. Drake offers MVP training for its own students as part of a robust set of services aimed at reducing gender violence and sex-based discrimination, and the University is proud to take a leadership role in extending that training to local high school students. The event will take place throughout Olmsted Center today.

Many students start dating, or start thinking about dating and sex, in middle school or high school. Therefore, it’s important to begin providing bystander training and education on violence prevention, especially in the context of dating and interpersonal relationships, long before students arrive to college.

Drake students and staff members joined other community members to facilitate breakout sessions on topics, including:

• Gender stereotypes
• Healthy relationships
• Sexting vs. sexual exploitation
• Sports, leadership, and respect
• Becoming a master facilitator
• Joining the fight against human trafficking

For more information about the MVP Summit, or if you are interested in joining Drake’s MVP team, contact Tess Cody at 515-271-4141 or tess.cody@drake.edu.

—Tess Cody, Violence Prevention Coordinator