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Upcoming Events
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Alberti Center Events
2012 Annual Conference
"Understanding and Addressing Cyberbullying"
September 19, 2012
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Millennium Hotel Buffalo
Cheektowaga, NY
Invitations to be sent in August
Colloquium Series
"Peer Sexual Harassment Among High School Students: A Common and Complex Problem"
September 20, 2012
11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
120 Clemens Hall | UB North Campus
Buffalo, NY
Invitations to be sent in August
Other Presentations
Newman Center at UB Bridge Lecture Series
"The Facts About Bullying"
July 18, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Newman Center |495 Skinnersville Rd
Buffalo, NY
2012 Buffalo Niagara Summer Institute
"Bullying Prevention and Intervention: A Focus on Positive Youth Development and Resilience"
July 19, 2012
8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Center for Tomorrow | UB North Campus
Buffalo, NY
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Featured Alberti Center Project
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School Climate and Prevention and Intervention Efforts Regarding Bullying
This purpose of this study, which is led by Amanda Nickerson, Ph.D., and Heather Cosgrove, is to gather input from New York State educators, administrators, and school-based mental health professionals about perceptions of school climate, concerns about bullying abuse, and curent prevention and intervention approaches schools use related to bullying and harassment. In addition to the survey, this study will also include a review of participating school districts' policies regarding bullying and harassment.
The two phases of the study (Spring 2012 and Spring 2013) will serve as a pre- and post-test of NY State's Dignity for All Students Act and be used to evaluate the impact of anti-bullying and anti-harassment legislation. Over 1,600 NY State educators participated in the first phase of the study, providing a strong baseline for comparison with the post-Dignity Act phase.
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Featured Resources
| New York State's
Dignity for All Students Act
Education.com Special Edition "Bullying at School and Online"
Alberti Center's
Guide to to School-Wide Bullying Prevention Programs |
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Born This Way Foundation Launch
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Earlier this spring, Lady Gaga went to Harvard University to launch her new Born This Way Foundation, co-led with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. She has described the foundation as a youth empowerment movement with three pillars: safety, skills, and opportunity. According to the Born This Way Foundation website, the mission of the foundation is "to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated."
Also heading to Harvard University for this exciting launch were two "friends" of the Alberti Center: Susan Swearer, Ph.D., professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Alberti Center Advisory Council member, and Vance Stinson, a senior at DaVinci High School in Buffalo, New York, where he is also president of the Gay-Straight Alliance.
Dr. Swearer was invited to share her expertise in the field of bullying prevention and intervention by participating in a panel discussion at the foundation kick-off event. She has been studying bullying for over 15 years and is a licensed psychologist and co-founder of the Bullying Research Network. Dr. Swearer said that she was honored to be involved in the launch of the Born This Way Foundation and complimented Lady Gaga and her mother on the hard work they put into creating the foundation. "The (Born This Way) Foundation is all about youth empowerment and bravery, and I think it's great that Lady Gaga has chosen to bring more attention to the problem of bullying and intolerance in our society," Dr. Swearer said about the foundation.
Vance's journey to the launch was a little different; he entered a national contest sponsored by Oprah and was selected to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to attend. Once there, he participated in the kick-off activities and met Lady Gaga, her mother, and Oprah. Of this experience, Vance said, "You could feel the energy in the air. The youth in the room were empowered and ready to make a difference. They were ready to stop being a bystander and take a stand for what was right." Vance returned home inspired to foster local interest and passion for this movement and has reached out to the Alberti Center and local community and government leaders to share his experience and explore ways to involve and engage with the WNY community. In addition, he has created a Born This Way Movement - Buffalo, NY Facebook page.
For more information about the Born This Way Foundation, visit their website or official Facebook page. Also, check out the winning design from the Born This Way Foundation poster contest.
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Alberti Center Early Career Award
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The Alberti Center is pleased to announce an early career award competition in support of its mission to reduce bullying abuse in schools and in the community by contributing knowledge and providing evidence-based tools to effectively change the language, attitudes, and behaviors of educators, parents, students, and society. This award will recognize an individual who has made exemplary scholarly contributions to the field of bullying abuse prevention and conducted research that has the potential to influence practice and policy.
Application Deadline: July 15, 2012, 11:59 p.m. EST
Click here for additional details and to submit an entry.
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Alberti Center Needs Assessment
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One of the first tasks of the Alberti Center was to engage in a needs assessment. Through a quantitative survey, focus groups, and numerous individual meetings, details were collected about the current perceptions of bullying and harassment in schools, areas of weaknesses and strengths, challenges faced, and greatest areas of need in Western New York. Data and input were collected from students, educators, community organization professionals, researchers, and leaders of similar centers.
The findings of this needs assessment have already guided the direction of the center. The Guide to School-Wide Bullying Prevention Programs, included in this issue's Featured Resources section, was developed in response to the needs assessment. In addition, the theme for the Alberti Center's 2012 Annual Conference, cyberbullying, was selected based on the feedback received. Numerous other action items have been identified as priorities for the future direction of the Alberti Center.
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Featured F.A.Q.
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Question: It seems that being perceived as different can make a student an easy target for bullying. Should we teach youth to conform and suppress their real selves in order to be safe and have a positive school experience?
Answer: Being perceived as different because of appearance, special needs, perceived or actual sexual orientation can make students a target if it leads to having less power and difficulty defending against bullying. Teaching conformity is not the solution. Comprehensive efforts to educate, support, and advocate are the better approach. Education about diversity and differences needs to happen at the kitchen table, in our schools, and in our communities. Resources such as those from GLSEN, Teaching Tolerance, or Ability Path may help.
Support is also critical, and can include having and enforcing clear expectations for treating others, listening, empathizing, problem-solving, and teaching explicit skills to stop bullying. Finally, advocacy is necessary to ensure that bullying is taken seriously and that responsible adults protect students from this type of abuse.
The U.S. Department of Education is also clear that schools may be violating civil rights if peer harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability that creates a hostile environment is encouraged, tolerated, or ignored by school employees (more information). The Dignity for All Students Act includes these protected classes, but also prohibits harassment based on weight, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, sexual orientation, and gender identity. More information about the Dignity for All Students Act.
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