UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Gender Equity Center is now accepting applications from students who are interested in becoming peer educators. Students can submit an application online through April 30.
Penn State’s Gender Equity Center supports students who have been impacted by sexual violence, relationship violence, stalking, harassment and other campus climate issues. The office also provides education and programming around gender and climate issues to the Penn State community.
The center has two peer educator groups: Men Against Violence (MAV) and Peers Helping Reaffirm Education and Empower (PHREE).
Men Against Violence seeks to oppose interpersonal violence in all of its manifestations and to promote healthy masculinity. PHREE members help raise awareness about issues such as sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, body image and gender stereotypes.
Peer educators are trained to provide educational programming on topics, such as sexual assault, bystander intervention, consent, healthy versus toxic relationships, body image, and more through requested workshops and tabling events. To learn more about these individual groups, students can visit the Gender Equity website.
Peer educators must be able to commit to one to three hours per week and will be expected to attend a facilitation skills workshop and a program workshop at the beginning of the academic year.
In addition to creating and supporting positive change on campus, becoming a peer educator can provide leadership experience; build skills in facilitation, public speaking and programming; and help students connect with like-minded individuals invested in positively influencing campus culture.
For more information or questions, interested students can contact the Gender Equity Center at genderequity@psu.edu.