Have you been bullied or are you the bully?
Two questions asked at the presentation on bullying and cyber bullying hosted by the LBCC Gay Straight alliance (GSA) on National Coming Out Day (also National Indigenous Peoples Day), Monday, Oct. 11th.
As these questions were asked to the 82 students in attendance, an anonymous poll was taken via electronic tally, and the results were surprising. 84% said that they had been previously bullied, however, in an unexpected twist 82% said that they had actually been a bully themselves at some point in time. Participants met to discuss what bullying is, how to identify it in personal behavior, and what to do to stop it from happening in the future.
Karelia Stetz-Waters and Greg Mulder, faculty advisors for the GSA, defined bullying as "repeated acts of physical, emotional or social behavior that are intentional, controlling or hurtful" to another individual or group of individuals. They went on to discuss different types of direct and indirect bullying, and how people, much like chickens, often begin to exhibit bullying behaviors at an early age, subconciously attempting to establish a "pecking order."
The discussion gave way to allow audience members the opportunity to express instances where they had themselves been the bully, and offer explanations regarding what had caused them to behave the way they had. It was emphasized that in all cases bullying behavior involves a "real or perceived imbalance of power," and the fact that even teachers and employers can be in a position to be bullied by students and employees, given the right set of circumstances.
Continuing the discussion, the presentation then turned to the guest speaker, Poet and retired OSU professor Roger Weaver, who has spent some time recently lobbying for passage of anti-bullying legislation here in Oregon. Mr. Weaver continued to talk about identifying reasons why bullying continues to go unreported in schools and emphasized how much change can be made by simply standing in solidarity alongside someone who is being bullied.
Before the presentation wrapped up, staff at the Diversity Achievement Center (DAC) made sure to point out that the DAC is a campus 'safe space,' and are there to assist anyone who is feeling intimidated or harassed, as well as counselor Mark Weiss noted being available for anyone who needed to talk.
After the presentation, I asked Lynne Cox (Associate Dean of Students) to provide some statistical data showing how well LBCC is doing in terms of reducing the instances of bullying on campus. She feels that LBCC seems to be doing relatively well considering there are more than 8,000 full-time students on campus and the school typically handles less than 10 instances a year (including summer) that would be considered bullying or harassment. She also offered this bit of advice:
"No student at LBCC deserves to be treated with anything but respect.
If I were to offer students advice, my first advice would be to people who are interested in asking someone out on a date or who get asked out. Ask once. Be clear. Is "No," meant to be no, not today or no never? As a courtesy, when we ask someone out, we need to know if they welcome us asking another time, or if we should not ask again. If we are the person on the side of saying, "No thanks," it helps to be very clear. Do not leave people guessing. Don't be ambiguous. When someone asks a person out repeatedly, it eventually becomes harassment. Our college code says, "We each need to try to resolve our own confllcts."
My next advice would be to those who see people at LBCC whom they don't like or are different than them. LBCC is committed to diversity. We welcome everyone. Each person contributes to the college, and we are stronger for our differences. Please learn about those who are not like you. The fact that someone else or their behaviors make you uncomfortable does not mean you are unsafe. If we learn about one another, we will not be tempted to bully others."
Two questions asked at the presentation on bullying and cyber bullying hosted by the LBCC Gay Straight alliance (GSA) on National Coming Out Day (also National Indigenous Peoples Day), Monday, Oct. 11th.
As these questions were asked to the 82 students in attendance, an anonymous poll was taken via electronic tally, and the results were surprising. 84% said that they had been previously bullied, however, in an unexpected twist 82% said that they had actually been a bully themselves at some point in time. Participants met to discuss what bullying is, how to identify it in personal behavior, and what to do to stop it from happening in the future.
Karelia Stetz-Waters and Greg Mulder, faculty advisors for the GSA, defined bullying as "repeated acts of physical, emotional or social behavior that are intentional, controlling or hurtful" to another individual or group of individuals. They went on to discuss different types of direct and indirect bullying, and how people, much like chickens, often begin to exhibit bullying behaviors at an early age, subconciously attempting to establish a "pecking order."
The discussion gave way to allow audience members the opportunity to express instances where they had themselves been the bully, and offer explanations regarding what had caused them to behave the way they had. It was emphasized that in all cases bullying behavior involves a "real or perceived imbalance of power," and the fact that even teachers and employers can be in a position to be bullied by students and employees, given the right set of circumstances.
Continuing the discussion, the presentation then turned to the guest speaker, Poet and retired OSU professor Roger Weaver, who has spent some time recently lobbying for passage of anti-bullying legislation here in Oregon. Mr. Weaver continued to talk about identifying reasons why bullying continues to go unreported in schools and emphasized how much change can be made by simply standing in solidarity alongside someone who is being bullied.
Before the presentation wrapped up, staff at the Diversity Achievement Center (DAC) made sure to point out that the DAC is a campus 'safe space,' and are there to assist anyone who is feeling intimidated or harassed, as well as counselor Mark Weiss noted being available for anyone who needed to talk.
After the presentation, I asked Lynne Cox (Associate Dean of Students) to provide some statistical data showing how well LBCC is doing in terms of reducing the instances of bullying on campus. She feels that LBCC seems to be doing relatively well considering there are more than 8,000 full-time students on campus and the school typically handles less than 10 instances a year (including summer) that would be considered bullying or harassment. She also offered this bit of advice:
"No student at LBCC deserves to be treated with anything but respect.
If I were to offer students advice, my first advice would be to people who are interested in asking someone out on a date or who get asked out. Ask once. Be clear. Is "No," meant to be no, not today or no never? As a courtesy, when we ask someone out, we need to know if they welcome us asking another time, or if we should not ask again. If we are the person on the side of saying, "No thanks," it helps to be very clear. Do not leave people guessing. Don't be ambiguous. When someone asks a person out repeatedly, it eventually becomes harassment. Our college code says, "We each need to try to resolve our own confllcts."
My next advice would be to those who see people at LBCC whom they don't like or are different than them. LBCC is committed to diversity. We welcome everyone. Each person contributes to the college, and we are stronger for our differences. Please learn about those who are not like you. The fact that someone else or their behaviors make you uncomfortable does not mean you are unsafe. If we learn about one another, we will not be tempted to bully others."
Additional information about bullying can be found at the HRSA website, the U.S. Dept. of Justice website, and at the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network website.
At a glance:
Who: Hosted by the Gay Straight Alliance
What: Presentation on bullies and bullying
Why: To discuss strategies to identify and prevent bullying behavior on campus
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