Savant Peer Educators
Office for Women’s Affairs (OWA) Empowerment Project
The Savants are a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students, trained by faculty and community experts to raise awareness about sexual assault and other forms of violence against women, empowerment, gender equity, ethical living, and social justice. Savants strive to equip their peers with the knowledge of recognizing, intervening in, and preventing incivility, relationship violence, and sexual assault in the university community and beyond.
Using an interactive format that encourages exploration, dialogue and debate, Savant presentations emphasize the latest relevant research in ways that are accessible to students. Each presentation includes an opportunity for anonymous feedback so that OWA can assess the quality and impact of our educational programming. The programs are targeted broadly to reach undergraduate as well as graduate students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Savant has workshops catered for Indiana University residence halls, Greek houses, student and other social organizations, and classroom settings as guest lecturers for AIs and professors.
Application to become a Savant
The Office for Women’s Affairs is looking for a diverse group of male and female students who are willing and able to raise campus awareness about building healthy relationships, sexual assault prevention, bystander intervention and ethical living.
There are three stages in the application process to becoming a Savant Peer Educator. Stage one is the Paper application stage where prospective Savants are asked basic question about themselves. This information is reviewed by the Director of the Savants and the Dean. Based on the responses, applicants will be invited back for the second stage, which includes a brief interview with the Dean and Director of Savants. Students who make it successfully through the first two stages will be invited to complete the training process, which is stage Three. The training process, some of which students will receive compensation for, takes place in three phases: 1) Observations, 2) Reading and Response, 3) Formal Training Day. These three phases add up to roughly 30 hours of training that Savant Peer Educators must undergo before they can begin conducting workshops.
Stage One: Paper Application
Question Response
Name:
E-mail Address:
Cell Phone Number:
Mailing Address:
Questions (continued)
Responses (continued)
Mailing Address:
Classification:
Major:
Minor:
Race and Ethnicity:
Gender:
Department
GPA
Please answer this question.
1) Where did you first hear of the Savant peer educator program: Information Tabling; Dorm; Friend; Class Presentation; Other__________________
Please answer the following questions, each one, in 150 words or less.
2) What are some of the reasons programs like the Savant peer educators exist on campus, and why do you want to be Savant?
3) What student organizations or community organizations are you involved in and what is your role in these organizations?
4) What skills, abilities, experience, or training do you have that might be relevant to your work as a Savant peer educator?
5) How do you define relationship violence? What are some examples of relationship violence? What do you think is the root cause of relationships violence on college campuses?
6) If a student approaches you and disclosed she/he believes in the purity program, how would you respond? What campus resources might you give?
For questions 7-10, please rate your answers on a 1-5 scale.
7) How confident do you feel in your public speaking abilities? 1-not at all confident 2 3 4 5- very confident
8) How much do you want to improve your public speaking abilities? 1-do not wish to improve 2 3 4 5-very strongly wish to improve
9) How confident do you feel in your knowledge of campus sexual assault? 1-not at all confident 2 3 4 5-extremely confident
10) How much do you want to grow in your understanding of building healthy relationships on campus? 1-do not wish to learn more 2 3 4 5-very strongly want to learn more
Please use the space below to provide additional comments about your responses to questions 7-10:
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11) The Savants have a biweekly meeting for professional development on Fridays at 5 p.m. Can you commit to these meetings? Yes; No
Please send your responses to the above questions, via email, to savant@indiana.edu.
Stage Two: We will notify you via email about the status of your application and a possible interview with the Director and Dean.
