An intentional decision to intervene in a situation that is or has the potential to become risky, dangerous, harmful, hurtful, unhealthy, or an emergency.
WHAT IS EagleCHECK?
An EagleCHECK is an intentional decision that an individual or group makes to intervene in a situation that has the potential to be risky, dangerous, harmful, hurtful, unhealthy or an emergency.
THE EAGLECHECK PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO:
- Instill a sense of responsibility and confidence for helping to solve problems and support others
- Develop skills related to intervening in risky, dangerous or unjust situations
- Empower people to act individually and collectively
CREATING A HEALTHY AND SAFE COMMUNITY AT SUNY BROCKPORT
A bystander is anyone who is aware of or observes situations or interactions that could be risky or dangerous. Creating a community of proactive bystanders is integral to developing a healthy and safe environment at SUNY Brockport
Barriers To Action
PERSONAL:
- shy
- fearful
- uncertain
- don’t want to be embarrassed
- not sure if the situation is high risk
RELATIONSHIP:
- don’t want friends to be upset
- don’t want to be a snitch or party-police
- don’t want to break an unwritten code in my group
- feel peer pressure to go along
GENERAL:
- there are lots of other people around, they’ll take care of it
- afraid of being embarrassed or making a scene if you do something wrong
- if no one else is concerned about it, it’s probably not a big deal
3 D’s
We want you to think about EagleCHECKs that would be REALISTIC for you, even WITH your barriers.The 3 Ds are a quick way to remember options you have to intervene.
DIRECT
Do something yourself (ask someone to stop what they are doing, or check on someone you might be worried about).
DELEGATE
If you can’t do something yourself because of your barriers, ask their friends to help; talk to a trusted RA, a coach, a faculty or staff member, or a trusted peer. Tell the bartender or ask a family friend to check in.
DISTRACT
If you don’t want to address the situation directly or even acknowledge you see it, try to think of a distraction that will defuse the situation or calm things down in the moment. A distraction might be “accidentally” spilling a drink, asking to borrow the phone of someone who is in a risky situation, or asking for a ride or starting an unrelated conversation.
It doesn’t matter which type of EagleCHECK you do. The most important thing is that you think of EagleCHECKs that feel realistic for you.