Teen Summit Targets Bullying

Bullying and its repercussions are now recognized as a tremendous problem in the educational system. On Saturday, the city of Fontana attempted to bring the issue to light and address the needs of students.

The Teen Summit on Anti-Bullying was sponsored by the city of Fontana -- with other agencies assisting -- and was held Saturday.

Also taking part in the summit were the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, WeTip, the Fontana Unified School District,Healthy Fontana, the Fontana Community Coalition, South Coast Community Services and the Fontana Police Department.

Bullying statistics released for the year 2010 indicate that one in seven students from kindergarten through grade 12 are either victims or perpetrators of bullying.

Fifteen percent of absentee students report fear of bullying as the cause of their skipping school.

Seventy-one percent of students consider bullying an ongoing, unaddressed problem and a tenth of all students drop out or change schools as a result of being bullied.

Bullying and its repercussions are now recognized as a tremendous problem in the educational system. On Saturday, the city of Fontana attempted to bring the issue to light and address the needs of students.

On Satuday, Mayor Acquanetta Warren welcomed participants via a video feed and BarBara Chavez, FUSD Board President, greeted all in person.

Guest speakers included state Sen. Gloria Negrete McCloud, Congressman Joe Baca, WeTip President Dan Mayfield, Caitlin Carson from South Coast Community Services, Los Angeles Dodgers Alumnus Derrel Thomas, Shannon O’Brien of Children’s Resources-Cyberbullying, and San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, Kathy Estes.

All the speakers interacted with the audience, sharing their own experiences as victims of bullying and eliciting responses from the audience.

Most of the children in the audience said they were victims of bullying and a few admitted to being the bullies. Most of the audience members admitted having bullied younger siblings at some point. 

Much of the emphasis was placed on telling an adult about instances of bullying and the importance of reporting the incidents.

WeTip's Mayfield stressed the anonymity of the hotline. However, another point of view was also represented by one of the participants who staffed a booth but did not speak. That was the Department of Peace.

The Inland Empire Chapter, led by Bobbi Jo Chavarria, emphasizes the importance of education on bullying and other types of violence, as well as finding solutions short of incarceration and actively handling conflict through peaceful means.

“Once we shift the focus to healing rather than retribution, society as a whole benefits. Education rather than incarceration must be our aim,” Chavarria said.