Peer Education
CARE Peer Educators are students dedicated to supporting the mission of the CARE Office by helping to create a campus that is safe, inclusive, and free from sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Participation in one of the three peer education groups offers students the opportunity to develop leadership, communication, and advocacy skills, while empowering their peers by providing information about violence prevention and active bystander intervention.
CARE Peer Education Offerings
The VIP Program (Violence, Intervention and Prevention),
Right to Know and Champs.
VIP Program
Violence Intervention and Prevention
The VIP Program was founded on the idea that Greeks can come together in their community to educate themselves on these topics and provide support to their chapter members. Representatives from each fraternity and sorority (VIP Chairs) facilitate various awareness programs for their chapter’s members and for the UCI Greek Community as a whole.
As a VIP Chair, you receive:
- Training by campus and community professionals
- Practical experience in counseling and educational programming
- Opportunities to serve as a central resource for your chapter and the Greek community as a whole
- Important knowledge and skills valued by top graduate school programs
- Public speaking and leadership opportunities
- Personal growth and empowerment
- 1.3 academic units each quarter
VIP Chair Responsibilities include:
- A commitment to membership for the full academic year (Fall, Winter & Spring)
- Attendance at the Fall quarter Retreat
- Attendance/Participation at weekly trainings
- Assist with and support campuswide events
- Attendance/Participation in Take Back the Night Planning Committee meetings
- Serve as a point of contact for chapter members who have been impacted by sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking
- Help facilitate referrals to the CARE office as appropriate
- Provide education regarding resources and options to respective chapter members, including a commitment to:
- coordinate one collaborative workshop/program per quarter
- provide brief educational tips at chapter meetings after each training
- coordinate an educational station at “Take Back the Night” during Spring quarter
Quotes from some of our VIP Chairs
…And that’s the beauty of the VIP program: it allows a small group of people to speak up for others and be the force that drives change in the community. Knowledge and awareness spread like wildfire. Once one person has the ability to spread knowledge, it will continue to spread through networks of people until awareness is global. It starts with us, and that makes me so immensely proud to be VIP Chair and be able to pass this knowledge on to everyone I know.
I have grown attached to my fellow VIP Chairs, and they are like a family away from home. This connection is what keeps us united and takes us one step further to accomplishing our goals.
I truly believe that the collective efforts of the VIP Chairs will leave a lasting legacy, both at UCI and various other campuses, for future generations to come.
I felt really good being able to go up in front of all my sisters and feel confident in the information I shared. It’s really important to me that I expressed to my sisters that I am here and I am a resource they can come to if they need help.
For more information on The VIP Program, please contact Joan Rich, Assistant Director, via email at joanbr@uci.edu.
Right to KNOW and CHAMPS
Right to KNOW peers raise awareness throughout the UCI community about the widespread occurrence of sexual assault and promote activities and attitudes that contribute to the elimination of sexual violence.
CHAMPS is dedicated to addressing the issues of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking in our communities. The CHAMPS peer program is based on the belief that men play a necessary role in helping to end sexual and relationship violence.
RIGHT to KNOW's Mission
The mission of the Right to KNOW peer program is to raise awareness throughout the UCI community about the widespread occurrence of sexual assault, relationship abuse and stalking, and to promote activities and attitudes that will contribute to the elimination of these acts of violence. Central to the group’s purpose is the examination of factors that contribute to interpersonal violence.
To fulfill the group’s mission, Right to KNOW peer educators present educational programming throughout the campus. This includes small workshops on campuses and in the community as well as large outreach projects such as Green Dot, Clothesline Project and Take Back the Night. Right to KNOW members serve a fundamental role in educating incoming students about safety issues and in providing support to survivors of sexual violence on campus.
The Right to KNOW peers present on a variety of topics, and each workshop is tailored to meet the needs of your group. To schedule a Right to KNOW workshop, please fill out a Workshop Request Form on the CARE website!
CHAMPS' Mission
The mission of CHAMPS is to promote campus awareness and provide education about sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. This group is committed to providing the UCI community with resources, support, and proactive suggestions for eliminating sexual violence through educational programs, workshops, and campus events.
Students who are selected to be CHAMPS peer educators will receive training from campus and community professionals, improve their public speaking and leadership development skills, and gain practical experiences and knowledge valued by top graduate school programs and employers. Additionally, as part of CHAMPS, students will have the opportunity to build strong relationships with administrators and faculty who identify as men through the CHAMPS Mentorship Program. CHAMPS engages in joint programming and social events with other CARE peer education groups.
Being a CHAMPS Member provides an opportunity to develop invaluable leadership skills. This position offers the opportunity to learn about issues related to sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking as well as be an important resource and leader for the UCI community.
Program Requirements
Participants are selected during the Spring Quarter for the following academic year. The individuals that are selected must attend 15 hours of training during the Fall quarter. This training takes a holistic approach in exploring dynamics, root causes, and personal and community impacts and responses to power-based personal violence. Acquiring this knowledge allows students to have a broad-based understanding of the issues related to power-based personal violence and to challenge beliefs and attitudes that support its continuation. Students receive training on designing and implementing educational programming for their peers and engage in intentional outreach and community engagement to raise awareness and encourage prevention.
Students that are selected for Right to KNOW or CHAMPS are required to commit their full participation to the entire academic year.
Participation will include:
- Attend a two day Fall Retreat
- Attend weekly meetings (Fridays from 10:00 am – 11:20 am)
- Present at least 3 educational workshops, one per Quarter
- Attend weekly (1 hour) Take Back The Night planning meetings during Winter and
- Spring Quarters
- Participate in Spring Quarter’s Clothesline Project and Take Back the Night
- Complete 5 hours of tabling for the CARE Office every Quarter
Your commitment to Right to KNOW or CHAMPS will benefit you by providing:
- 1.3 units of academic credit for each quarter of the academic year
- Training by mental health professionals
- Practical experience in counseling and educational programming
- Opportunities to help others
- Important knowledge and skills valued by top graduate school programs
- Public speaking opportunities
- Personal growth and empowerment
Quotes
“Right to KNOW gave me a voice on campus. The freedom to make change, stand up, speak out and build unity was only a fragment of what we accomplished.”
– Noreen, former RTK Peer Educator and Coordinator
“I have been looking for a way to make a difference for folks in my community, and I’m proud to be able to tell people that I’m involved in a space where many men don’t step into. That matters to me. I know that in order to make change on a large scale, it takes someone to initiate said changes, and myself along with the other peer educators are some of the folks who are willing to take that initiative to help and inform others.”
– Homer, current RTK/CHAMPS Peer Educator
After Hours Resources
UCI Counseling Center (Available 24 hours):
Waymakers' 24-hour hotline resources & referrals for survivors of sexual assault:
Human Options 24-hour hotline resources, safety and support for individuals experiencing relationship abuse:
Suicide Prevention Hotline:
The UCI Police Department (Available 24 hours):
Please call 911 if there is an immediate threat to safety.