Grandville fights bullying problem with ‘Be Nice Day’ – The Grand Rapids Press
26 Feb
Published: Friday, February 25, 2011, 8:50 PM Updated: Friday, February 25, 2011, 8:55 PM
By
Matt Vande Bunte | The Grand Rapids Press
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Grand Valley State University students Friday ask Century Park Elementary students in Grandville to close their eyes and raise their hands if they’ve ever bullied someone. From left, Liz Tanis, Katie Botting, Chris Posthumus, and Danny Patterson.
GRANDVILLE — Like a lot of schools, Century Park Learning Center has a problem with bullying. So, at an assembly Friday, Christy Buck urged students to fight back by being nice.
And when the director of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan asked for examples of kindness, one student offered a fitting compliment: “I like your shirt.”
Buck and more than 900 people in Grandville schools and businesses wore “Be Nice” T-shirts Friday as part of the Grand Rapids nonprofit’s inaugural Be Nice Day, designed to put a positive spin on anti-bullying.
“It’s taking the message of being nice and doing it,” Buck said. “Be nice, period. That’s it.”
Buck estimated sales of T-shirts and buttons raised about $5,000 for the foundation’s Live, Laugh, Love program taught by mental health professionals at several area schools. The foundation also was the scheduled beneficiary of a “Throw for Dough” promotion at Friday’s Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game.
Employees at Grand River Bank raised money for the foundation all month by paying a fee to wear jeans on Fridays. The bank also displayed “Be Nice” posters, and staff wore “Be Nice” buttons and T-shirts, said Marcia Borowka, senior vice president of retail banking.
“It’s kind of hard not to be nice when you’re wearing a ‘Be Nice’ T-shirt and a ‘Be Nice’ button,” she said. “It’s a reminder that we all need to be nice to each other.”
Being bullied
– 32 percent, students who reported being bullied (33 percent of girls and 30 percent of boys)
– 7 percent, U.S. students who reported being bullied daily
– 36 percent, bullied students who told a teacher or other adult at school about it
– 4 percent, students who reported being cyber-bullied (5 percent of girls and 2 percent of boys)
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2007 survey of U.S. students ages 12-18
THE LIST
– 21 percent, students who were made fun of
– 18 percent, students who were the subject of a rumor
– 11 percent, students who were pushed, shoved, tripped or spit on
– 6 percent, students who were threatened with harm
– 5 percent, students who were excluded from activities on purpose
– 4 percent, students who said someone tried to make them do things they did not want to do
– 4 percent, students whose property was destroyed on purpose
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2007 survey of U.S. students ages 12-18
Several area schools also got involved, with about 400 Grandville Middle School students and staff buying T-shirts. The school also gave out tickets for an ice cream raffle to students who were caught doing something nice Friday.
“It’s cool that the kids are wearing their shirts,” said Dan Young, a paraprofessional and head of the student council. “It just reminds them of how simple it is to be a leader, to be nice and do the right things.”
At Century Park, six Grand Valley State University graduate students performed a skit about a group of girls leaving a classmate out of their sleepover party. Fourth-grader Alex Hawley said students made an effort this week to stop name calling and include everybody on the playground.
“We built a (snow) fort, and whoever wanted to play, we said ‘Sure,’” said Alex, 10. “We made a lot of progress on it.
“I’m going to stand up for people (from now on).”
Tonia Shoup, school principal, said students are sensitive about where they stand with classmates, and some kids don’t understand how powerful their words — both bullying words and nice words — can be.
“There’s a lot of emphasis on anti-bullying and, for kids, I don’t think they always know exactly what that means,” Shoup said. “This is a good opportunity to reinforce those good old-fashioned values.”
With the students’ eyes closed, Britney Newell asked who had ever been bullied. Then, the kids opened their eyes and saw almost every hand raised.
“It’s easy to see that everyone has been affected by bullying,” said Newell, 25, a GVSU student who helped for a class assignment. “Today is ‘Be Nice Day,’ but the important message is ‘Be nice today’ and ‘Be nice everyday.’”
At the close of the assembly, wearing his “Be Nice” shirt, one of Newell’s classmates asked the students how they plan to behave tomorrow and the next day.
“How about next Thursday?” Danny Patterson asked.
The students roared back: “Be nice!”
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