Harnessing youth voice on bullying

"Who all wanted to be here today?" asks a voice from the front of the auditorium. A few meek hands slowly rise up into the air. 

"Okay. Who here was forced to come?" A nervous silence, and then dozens of hands shoot up and giggles waft through the room.

"That's what we're here to work on."

Each year, schools and youth groups across the country hold countless assemblies and conferences in attempts to combat our ever-present problem with bullying. These meetings generally begin with a monotone lecture from an old man in a suit and end with hundreds of bored teenagers checking Facebook on their iPhones. 

Last Friday, a new kind of bullying prevention conference was born at the Athenaeum. 

Dubbed "Make Some Noise! Upstanders Unite Against Bullying," the conference aimed to help teenagers connect and discover ways to combat bullying in their own lives. 

"These kids already know the right thing to do. We hope to help build the courage for them to do it," said John McShane, Director of Community Programs at the Peace Learning Center. "By the end of this, we want to release 150 upstanders into the community." 

According to McShane, an "upstander" is anyone who stands up for themselves and for others, refusing to tolerate bullying and peer mistreatment.

The free event, conceived only a few weeks prior, saw Indiana's Department of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) reaching out to the PLC in order to create a conference that invites teenagers to share their thoughts and solutions on bullying in their own lives. The PLC's mission to promote a peaceful community shows in this event and countless prior, as they provide services teaching conflict resolution throughout all facets of the community.

"The DMHA acted as sponsor, and we are more of the facilitators," clarifies McShane.

The event began as a customary assembly, with various speakers explaining the bullying problem in today's youth and hoping to inspire the teenagers to take charge. This, however, is when the traditional conference took an untraditional turn. 

An interactive survey with real time results persuaded the teenagers to answer various questions about the bullying they witness in daily life.

"It's called social norming," explained Kristina Hulvershorn, Youth Programs Director at the PLC. "Based on the survey, the vast majority see it happening everyday and vast majority think it's wrong."

By showing the results to the participants, Hulvershorn hoped to create an understanding and camaraderie, encouraging them to make a difference. 

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