What is #UIGreenFlag Campaign?

#UIGreenFlag logo and pin created by Alexa Kort

The #UIGreenFlagCampaign aims to promote healthy relationships by engaging with students to explore positive characteristics, signs, and behaviors of healthy relationships—romantic, or otherwise. This campaign was started by RVAP, Prevention Educators, Alexa and Shalisa. They wanted to counter and take a positive spin on the common narrative of relationship “red flags” or warning signs by instead focusing on healthy relationship characteristics or “green flags.”  The bulk of the campaign took place during Valentine’s week, from February 10^th through the 14^th of 2020 and some events happened later in February 2020. It included two tabling events, a month-long visual display in the IMU, workshops with students who hold underrepresented identities, and a daily social media campaign. 

Goals of #UIGreenFlag Campaign

• Empower students to recognize and develop healthy relationship behaviors
• Provide students with the tools to build and maintain relationships that are safe, happy and fulfilling
• Create a space to have dialogue about common dating myths and social norms
• Reimagine and redefine healthy relationships individually
• Identify and address what one wants in a relationship

Events

1. Green Flag Fair – Burge Residence Hall 

The Green Flag Fair is a tabling event that takes place during the lunch hour (11am-1pm) Many campus and community organizations were invited to table and share their expertise. Organizers planned a scavenger hunt for students to engage with these organizations. The scavenger hunt had a question for each organization. To complete it, students needed to stop by at least 5 tables, play the different games/activities at each, and collect candy and swag along the way. Those who completed the scavenger hunt were entered for a raffle prize and able to get some “green flag swag.” The goal was to provide information—and spark discussion!—about different aspects of healthy relationships. 

2. Interactive Green Flag Display – IMU, Kendall Gallery 

This tabling event took place at the Iowa Memorial Union during a lunch hour later in the week. For this event, volunteers engaged with students who stopped by the table and asked them to write a “green flag” that was meaningful to them on a green paper heart. This could be an example from their own life, a friend’s, or general ideas about healthy relationships. These hearts (and those from the other tabling events and the workshops) were displayed in the Kendall Gallery, a large display case. Before the event, Marketing &Design created a large printed background to accompany the hearts in the display, which showed two student leaders with their green hearts as well as a description of the campaign. Students offered who wrote their green flag some candy and green flag swag (buttons, cups, and totes!).  

3. Workshops

• Black Love Series, Parts I, II, & III

A 3-part series in collaboration with the African American Cultural Center (Afro House) and UI Black History Month planning committee.

Part I: #UIGreenFlag Campaign workshop hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha, Incorporated.

Part II: Guided discussion about the intersections of Black Love, Black Diaspora, being an immigrant or first gen, inclusion and expectations from family, parents and society hosted by African Student Association.

Part III: A discussion about Queer Black Love host by the Afro House and MISSE. 

• Center for Diversity and Enrichment
  • #UIGreenFlag Campaign workshop
• Association of Latinos Moving Ahead (ALMA)
  • #UIGreenFlag Campaign workshop
• Associated Residence Halls (ARH)
  • #UIGreenFlag Campaign workshop
• Healthy Relationship
  • #UIGreenFlag Campaign workshop
  • Collaboration with The Graduate Hotel Iowa City

4. Social Media

• Social media channels: Facebook, IG
• Daily post used to promote events and messaging for #UIGreenFlag Campaign.
  • Monday:  Introduction + aspect of healthy relationships
  • Tuesday: Green Flag Fair + aspect of healthy relationships
  • Wednesday: aspect of healthy relationships
  • Thursday: Kendall Gallery Display + aspect of healthy relationships
  • Friday: Conclusion + aspect of healthy relationships

Impact 

Current swipe counts indicates about 300 students directly interacted with the campaign at the tabling event in Burge and the student workshops. More than 75 students participated directly with the Kendall Gallery tabling event. This number doesn’t include the folks who got saw the campaign but didn’t swipe in (est. 125), saw the gallery display, or engaged in other ways (i.e. social media channels, articles, word of mouth). Though social media, about 6500 people were reached, almost 500 actively engaged with the content and the post were shared nearly 50 times.  Total: +/- 7550 people

Feedback/comments/interactions: 

From workshops:

• “Amazing presentation!”
• “I loved this! It was definately a workshop needed for all”
• “Perfect presentation, no feedback needed!”
• “this was really good! I really enjoyed how interactive it was.”
• “I enjoyed the workshop. It taught me how to view relationships differently.”
• “This was very educational and well presented!”
• “I enjoyed learning the cultural differences in ways Africans and African Americans express love and how colonization has impacted the way we love”
• “Do more of this!”
• “Thank you for the information. This campaign matters!”
  • From staff and faculty:
• “Shalisa and her teammate came into an ARH senate meeting to complete the Green Flag Campaign workshop and it was awesome! They did a great job of setting boundaries and opening the floor for people to be honest and engaged. The stage setting was great but the engagement they facilitated and dialogue that came from it was even better. Students later told me they felt empowered and positive rather than confused or put down like other presentations around the topic. This was definitely a 10/10 and I would recommend everyone participate in this workshop!”
• “I really appreciated the opportunity to help out with the Green Flag Campaign--you and Alexa did such an amazing job!”
• “Your team got a shout out for the GreenFlag campaign during on common ground! Just reminded me of all of your great work!”
• “I am writing because my mom, who works at Iowa, actually sent me the Daily Iowan article about your Green Flag Campaign and I love the idea! I am hoping to implement something similar here at Northwest in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.”

Recognition

• Alexa received the DEI Change Agent Award for the #UIGreenFlag Campaign in April 2020.
• Received request by Prevention Educators to implement #UIGreenFlag Campaign on other campus:
• Cornell College, Northwest Missouri, Southern tier RVAP, local high schools
• Daily Iowan Article
• Alexa and Shalisa interviewed for article. Picture on cover page. 

Collaborators 

• Organizations who tabled: WRAC, NISAA, Monsoon, Johnson County Public Health, DVIP, Student Wellness, UCS, UISG. 
• MISSE and the Cultural Houses: Afro House, LNACC, APACC, PAC 

Sponsors 

• OSMRC, ARH, Council on the Status of Women (CSW), WRAC, CSIL Grant Funding, African American Council (AAC).