Step Up Bystander Intervention Program Begins on Tuesday At UM

Wednesday, Oct. 7: &#xA0;7:30-8:30 p.m., Dell Brown Room
Thursday, Oct. 8: &#xA0;7-8 p.m., &#x201C;Light Up The Night,&#x201D; UM Oval
Tuesday, Oct. 13: &#xA0;7:30-8:30 p.m., Urey Lecture Hall
Wednesday, Oct. 14: &#xA0;6:30-7:30 p.m., University Center Rooms 330-331
Thursday, Oct. 15: &#xA0;7:30-8:30 p.m., Urey Lecture Hall
Tuesday, Oct. 20: &#xA0;6:30-7:30 p.m., Urey Lecture Hall
Wednesday, Oct. 21: &#xA0;7:30-8:30 p.m., University Center Theater
Thursday, Oct. 22: &#xA0;6:30-7:30 p.m., Urey Lecture Hall

Step Up! – a bystander intervention program that educates students to be proactive in helping others – will begin a three-week series of training sessions at the University of Montana on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The Step Up! Be a Leader, Make a Difference program was developed to encourage students leading students to live safely and responsibly in their communities.Students who attend the training will learn information about how to Step Up! when someone else is in need, offer support and call for help.

Assistant Director of Residence Life at UM, Kelly Magnuson, said the Step Up program is more than just about intervening in sexual assault situations.

"Obviously, we do a lot around the issue of sexual assault with our bystander portion of the program, but we heard from students last year that there are a lot of other things going on," Magnuson said. "It could be from people having a fight to issues in our apartment community, to traffic issues, to just being aware of your surroundings and if something doesn't seem right, to be empowered to say something."

The schedule of presentations is:

Tuesday, Oct. 6: 6:30-7:30 p.m., Urey Lecture Hall