The renowned social justice troupe interACT will perform at Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday, Oct. 11, to teach students how, even as bystanders, they can proactively intervene to prevent sexual violence.
The interactive performance, which is free and open to the public, will be from noon to 2 p.m. in the Santos Manuel Student Union Events Center. The event is sponsored by the CSUSB Women’s Resource Center, Title IX & Gender Equity and the DREAM Team (Dare to Research, Empower, And Make the world better), a research team led by Manijeh Badiee, an assistant professor in the CSUSB Department of Psychology. The troupe’s performance will also count toward CSUSB students' yearly mandatory End Sexual Violence Training requirement. Students should bring their Coyote IDs.
Since its birth in 2000, interACT, which is based at Cal State Long Beach, has reached thousands of audience members through its “proactive” (highest level of audience involvement) shows. During performances, audience members are invited on stage to become active participants rather than just passive bystanders. The performance allows audience members a safe space to rehearse assertive communication strategies and inspire social and political change.
The troupe will also work with CSUSB students interested in creating a similar group on the campus at a later date.
Several studies have shown that the troupe’s programs have been effective in in communicating its message of intervening to prevent sexual violence. It has performed throughout the country on college campuses, naval bases and academic conferences.
According to one study, people who participated in interACT reported that they were more likely to intervene when witnessing sexual violence in post-tests, said Badiee.
Patricia Rozee, a rape prevention expert and a CSULB professor of psychology, referred to the performance as 'unfailingly excellent,' and said it provides students with the opportunity to 'actually be part of ‘solving’ the problems of rape, thereby causing them to really think about what they would do and even try out their ideas with the cast.'
Several years ago, a White House task force recommended ways to reduce rape and relationship violence on college campuses, pointing to, among other things, programs designed to teach students to intervene before an assault happens. One of the programs, known as 'bystander intervention,' is based on the idea that both men and women can interrupt behaviors to prevent sexual violence.
For more information about interACT, contact: marc.rich@csulb.edu.
For more information, visit the following websites:
- the CSUSB Title IX & Gender Equity office,
- the CSUSB Women’s Resource Center, and
- the CSUSB Psychology Department.
For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the CSUSB Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.