Win a FREE BULLY Educator DVD!
Thank you to everyone who has already entered our contest. If you haven't entered yet, you still have a chance to win a BULLY Educator DVD & Toolkit, which features 2 NIOS Films and our Quick Start Guide! Here's How to Enter:
1) LIKE our Facebook page
2) Leave a Facebook comment telling us how you will use the Bully Educator DVD
3) Fill out our contest entry form here
4) THREE posts will win a BULLY Educator DVD!
The contest ends Wednesday, March 6. You can also pre-order a copy of the DVD here.
Sparta, WI Implements Districtwide Not In Our School Campaign 
We are very excited that Sparta, WI has launched a Not In Our School Campaign! The campaign will incorporate participation from every school in the district and the entire community. They have created laminated signs so local businesses can show their support, placemats and tray liners for local participating restaurants, yard signs for homes, balls and T-shirts for athletic events, and wristbands for the students.
They are also planning to air a student-produced video over closed circuit television, host school assemblies, and anti-bullying activities. We are impressed by the size and scope of the program, and we are excited to hear more about the campaign as it develops.
NIOS USD Course Alum Starts Elementary School Campaign
Evelyn Montgomery, who has recently taken a NIOS University Course for professional development, has started her own NIOS campaign! As a result of the program’s guidance, she tailored and launched a NIOS campaign at Wilson Elementary School. Her program will be implemented systemwide, and teaches students to be upstanders as well as inspiring them to educate their peers. Students are already excited about the program. “Nobody deserves to be bullied—nobody wants to be bullied. And I think if we do the program in our school I think we could show kids that without bullying… they can be happier,” said 5th grader Gabrianna Haywood.
Use of Native American Mascots Harms Student Achievement 
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education to discontinue the use of Native American mascots in schools. The MDCR points to the latest research that shows stereotyped caricatures of Native Americans hurts student achievement in school. The MDCR wants all use of Native American imagery to cease, claiming that “continued use of American Indian mascots, names, nicknames, logos, slogans, chants and/or other imagery creates a hostile environment and denies equal rights to all current and future American Indian students.”
Police Investigate Swastika Graffiti at a High School
A swastika was spray painted at Kings Park High School in Suffolk County, New York. Suffolk County police are currently investigating the incident with the hate crimes unit. No arrests have been made so far.
At NIOS, we hope this town comes together to speak out against hate crimes in the community, and take this incident as an opportunity to show solidarity with each other.
Comments
Bully Educator DVD Contest
I serve as the advisor for a college multicultural and social justice student organization called One Tribe. Within the org is a group of 10 students specially selected to serve as leaders and ambassadors for diversity and social justice to the entire campus. The students in this group are a fascinating bunch to work with. They care deeply about justice, especially for young people, on our campus, in Chicago, and around the world. Every year since its inception in 2010, the group has addressed bullying in some way. In their first year, they held an event called Speak Out, Reach Out, which they created in response to the string of LGBTQ youth suicides that had suddenly become front-page news. At the event, students were given the opportunity to speak out about their own experiences with bullying and work together to develop solutions to the problem. In the last two years, One Tribe has also run an event called Tunnel of Oppression, an interactive experience that portrays various types of oppression people face around the world. Both times they included scenes related to bullying, based on body image, race, gender, sexuality, and online personas. It is a topic that is clearly still at the forefront of their minds, and I think this DVD and toolkit would be an extremely useful tool for them to further the conversation. As a student affairs professional, I would love to use it elsewhere on our campus as well. Thanks!
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