Students at Brooklyn Friends School took action for safer relationships—will your school be next?

A Valentine’s Day Focused on Healthy Relationships

On Valentine’s Day, while many were celebrating love, SafeBAE was at Brooklyn Friends School, engaging students in an important conversation about consent, healthy relationships, and recognizing red flags. As part of their Healthy Relationships Week for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, we had the opportunity to present to their upper school students (grades 9-12)—a crucial age for discussions about boundaries, communication, and relationship safety.

This event wasn’t just another presentation—it was a continuation of an important student-led movement. The event itself was organized by students we originally met at the Georgetown Day School Sexual Assault Prevention Summit, showing how young people are taking the lead in prevention education and advocacy.

Why These Conversations Matter

One of the most powerful activities we led was the Red Flags Exercise, which helped students think critically about the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships. In this interactive activity, students wrote down relationship scenarios on sticky notes, crumpled them up, and threw them onto the stage. We picked out a few at random, read them aloud, and asked the group to vote: Was this a red flag, green flag, or yellow flag?

The discussion that followed was eye-opening. Many students recognized behaviors they had seen or experienced but hadn’t been taught to identify as harmful. This activity made it clear just how common and normalized certain red flags are in teen relationships—and why education is essential in helping young people navigate these situations safely.

Conversations like these are often missing from traditional sex education, leaving students without the tools to recognize warning signs, set boundaries, or advocate for themselves and their peers. By creating a space for open dialogue, SafeBAE empowers students to not only understand these issues but also become leaders in their own communities.

Continuing the Movement

Beyond the presentation, we also met with students interested in bringing SafeBAE’s mission to their school. Several students expressed excitement about starting a SafeBAE club and registering for our Peer Educator Training Program, ensuring that these conversations continue beyond just one presentation.

We are incredibly grateful for the students and staff at Brooklyn Friends School for welcoming us into their community and showing such enthusiasm for prevention education. If you’re interested in bringing SafeBAE to your school, starting a club, or getting trained as a peer educator, visit safebae.org to get involved.