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RE students, parents learn about healthy relationships and consent

Ransom Everglades upper school students learned tools for developing healthy relationships and keeping those around them safe from sexual assault during a highly interactive and engaging presentation at the Lewis Family Auditorium on Oct. 25. Led by The Center for Respect President Mike Domitrz, the program urged students to make decisions that showed respect for themselves and others, and it focused on four core topics: intervening, supporting survivors, asking for consent and accepting the answer.
Domitrz challenged students to imagine how they would respond in a variety of scenarios, and students participated from the audience and on stage. He explained how behavior often dismissed as "boys will be boys" can lead to sexual assault, and he encouraged students to recognize it, call it what it is and step in if they see someone in danger. "When we don't take action, we are making a choice," he said. "It doesn't happen accidentally."

He also encouraged students to think about their own personal interactions. He explained that any physical touching requires consent, and let students know that "Saying 'no,' is never mean."

Domitrz also met with parents in Swenson Hall in an evening session on Oct. 24, and he spent additional time with seniors addressing mature topics in more depth. The sessions with Domitrz, which were organized by RE Director of Counseling Isis Perez-Gonzalez, represent a core piece of RE's commitment to students' health and wellness; the goal is to equip students with information and the right mindset to make good decisions, and to help parents better assist their children.
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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.