During the month of February, Moravian’s Counseling and Psychology Services (CAPS) department ran its first Red Flag Campaign, made to raise awareness of the “red flags” that warn of possible abusive behaviors in relationships.
Spearheaded by Rosemarie Williams, director of operations & outreach, the CAPS office held tabling events in PPHAC on Feb. 20 and 26 with Peers & Wellness (PAWS) students to facilitate discussions and distribute informational materials.
At the table, students wrote signs of unhealthy and abusive relationships on red lawn flags that were displayed near the 1742 Splotch. Alongside these smaller flags were two signs reading, “When you see a red flag in a relationship, say something.”
“It was a visual display to hopefully get people thinking about health relationships on our campus,” Williams said.
While students wrote, they were engaged in discussions about signs of unhealthy relationships and actions to take if you or someone you know is in a relationship with a partner who is displaying abusive behavior.
“It was rewarding to be able to interact with students on the topic. Some students were talking about their personal stories and we were able to give them a safe place to share those things,” Williams said.
Williams also shared that the PAW students workers were able to provide another outlet for students to share their experiences, as some were more comfortable speaking with people close to their own age.
Williams chose to run the campaign in February because she wanted it to take place around Valentine’s Day, when people are already thinking about relationships.
Moravian’s Campus Police have had incidents of harassment and other inappropriate/toxic behaviors reported to them in the last two years.
In 2024, Campus Police logged two incidents of “fondling” and an incident of stalking by an ex-boyfriend, to whom they issued a restraining order.
In Jan. 2025, two incidents of “harassment” were reported involving non-students. One of the students was called 45 times and the other received harassing messages on Tinder. The suspect was given a warning to have no contact with the student.
Funding for the Red Flag Campaign at Moravian comes from the It’sOnUs PA Grant and is part of a larger list of programming being organized by the CAPS office. Read more about the grant and other programming here.
“Everyone in our community has been or will be in a relationship, or knows someone in a relationship,” Williams said. “So everyone is affected by relationships in general.”
Initially called the Commonwealth Campus Campaign, the Red Flag Campaign originated in 2005 by the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance, which received funding from the Verizon Foundation.
The campaign has reached over 500 college campuses and 49 states, as well as Canada and the UK.
CAPS will rerun the campaign in the fall ‘25 semester during the month of October and will continue holding the event twice per academic year.
