UW-Platteville’s Students Promoting Respect is a group of UW-P males who wants to promote respect, consideration and compassionate behavior to all students. The group started in February 2008 to increase awareness to the issues of sexual assault against women, violence towards others and hate-based behavior.

Deirdre Dalsing, counselor for UW-P’s Student Health Services and co-adviser for SPR, and Vicki Dreessens, administrative director of student health services and co-adviser for SPR, said that they would previously offer presentations during April to students.

The two women would only see women attend this event. They wanted men to be more aware of the issues surrounding sexual assault and abuse of women.

Photograph by Lacey Vandermeer
Members of the group made posters last year that promoted the group without stating the name of the group.

Dalsing said that she and Dreessens started the group based on the ideas of the White Ribbon Campaign, the largest effort in the world of men working to end violence against women. Dalsing had read information about the WRC, which started in 1991 in Canada with only a handful of men to get information out about sexual assault.

“The purpose of this group is to have men stand up against sexual assault,” Dalsing said. “We read up on this event and thought it was interesting.”

Men in this group were nominated by faculty, staff, coaches and administrators who believed these individual would be interested in this types of group. There were 20 individuals who were nominated for the group but only 10 that wanted to join after hearing the group’s main goal.

While the group’s main goal is to promote the awareness of sexual assault against women, they want to promote respect for all people.

“It is important for the community to know about this group so that it shows we are trying hard to keep this the safest and learning-friendly campus as possible,” Corey Digman, health promotion major and member of SPR, said. “Having leaders like us that stand out on campus gives others a chance to see that we care about issues.”

Digman, who was selected to take part in SPR last March, believes that the group helps people to continually make healthy choices and mature in the world.

“Many of the situations that arise here on campus are not only linked to college life,” Derek Dietmeier, senior business administration and member of SPR, said. “I will be dealing with many of the situations and experiences for the rest of my life. I can take what I have learned in being a part of SPR and apply it in the future to hopefully better myself and those around me.”

SPR does not receive funding through the Segregated University Fee Allocation Commission. They recently received $4,000 from the Chancellor’s Opportunity Grant and they are using the money to help make public service announcements, posters and a video, which they hope to show during summer registration, new freshman orientation and introduction to college life classes.

Dalsing said that targeting incoming freshmen was the group’s idea because they found it important to get rid of any myth they might have about college life, especially the drinking aspect.

For more information on this group, contact Dalsing at 342-1865 or Dreessens at 342-1891.