Lynn Tech hosts domestic violence, sexual harassment workshop

LYNN – With hazing and sexual harassment seemingly always in the news, faculty at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute are hosting a series of harassment, domestic violence and hazing workshops to try and reverse students’ lax attitude toward the issues.The school hosted the first of three workshops Thursday morning, focusing on sexual harassment and how it can be avoided, along with looking at cases of hazing and domestic violence.Organized by faculty and designed and facilitated by teacher Molly Cohen as part as an internship she is participating in through Salem State, the workshop provided facts on the three issues and examined current events such as R&B artists Chris Brown and Rhianna, who were involved in a highly publicized domestic altercation earlier this year.”This year, the guidance counselors and teachers have been talking about all the hype over Chris Brown and Rhianna and the light attitude our students had toward the incident,” Cohen said in an email. “The school’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about sexual harassment and hazing. These two dangerous issues don’t only arise in school settings and college campuses, but on the job as well.”Along with a PowerPoint presentation, the workshop featured a pre- and post-test for students to make sure that they actually took something away from the experience.”We are hopeful that by the time the students graduate and enter the workforce or college they will know how to recognize what sexual harassment and hazing are and what steps can be taken to protect themselves and others from such infringements on personal rights,” said Cohen. “The purpose of this interactive workshop is to make the students part of the process of developing problem-solving strategies.”Cohen also solicited the help of Harvard Consultant Jeff Perroti, who was at the school working with the guidance office on a separate program. Perroti advised Cohen on features and activities that contribute to student participation.Cohen solicited the aid of upperclassmen to facilitate peer leadership sessions so that students can communicate with one another about the issues.”The purpose of peer leadership is to make the workshop more intimate and real by discussing the material in a student forum setting,”said Cohen. “I believe people are much more likely to listen to their peers and real experiences of people who have been there than an unfamiliar adult.”The timing of the workshop is strategic on the part of the faculty, as prom season approaches and spring sports – where hazing can be commonplace – are underway.”We chose to run the workshop in the two weeks preceding April vacation because of the nature of the spring season,” said Cohen. “As the weather changes, proms approach, kids tend to go out more in groups. There is more socializing, dating and congregating than any other time during the school year. We are hoping the added level of maturity, familiarity with the school and class cohesiveness will benefit the atmosphere of the workshop.”