Sponsored by the Women and Gender Center, the Red Flag Campaign aims to spread awareness and information on student resources throughout campus.

“This is a national campaign that helps bring awareness to the warning signs around relationship violence,” Claire Synder, program coordinator of the Women and Gender center, said. “The idea is that if you see a red flag you should reach out to potentially help someone in a vulnerable position.”

Starting Sept. 17, the center will be planting small red flags all over Marshall University to ensure students come across them while on campus.

“[The office] generally does this campaign through the fall to start off the year by bringing attention to safety issues,” Synder said. “The period between freshman move-in and fall break can be a prevalent time for violence on campus.”

In addition to spreading awareness, Synder said the center would also like to destigmatize conversations surrounding various warning signs.

“Young women ages 18-24 experience the highest rates of interpersonal violence,” Synder said. “It’s important that students are able to recognize warning signs and reach out to each other.”

If faced with an experience connected to relationship violence, Kailey Rigdon, graduate student and assistant to the Women and Gender Center, said students should be vocal and find campus resources.

“Be sure to help their friends find the right resources,” Rigdon said. “Being there and being supportive of someone is the best thing you can do.”

In addition to the red flags, the Women and Gender Center will also be running a series of posters across campus to help raise awareness.

Flags will be on display until Sept. 28 and will tie into the Women and Gender Center’s ‘Let’s Talk Title IX’ event Sept. 25 on the Memorial Student Center plaza from 11 to 2 p.m.

Joelle Gates can be contacted at [email protected].