Bullying is next topic for Kitsap Aware series

September 30, 2018 8:30 am
Bullying is next topic for Kitsap Aware series

Kitsap Aware, a forum series on justice and citizenship, continues in early October with an examination of bullying behavior.

The next session will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7 at Suquamish United Church of Christ, 18732 Division Ave. NE, Suquamish. The forum is titled “Bullying! What it is and how does it affect Kitsap County Youth?”

Organizers of the forum note that one in four children in the U.S. is affected by bullying according, to a 2016 YouthTruth survey.

In the 2016 Kitsap Healthy Youth Survey, however, about three in 10 Kitsap County eighth-graders reported being bullied in the past 30 days, making the Kitsap rate higher than the Washington state or national average.

And while hard drug and alcohol use has decreased slightly in this county and Washington state (according to the survey), bullying, particularly cyber-bullying, is on the increase.

A panel of four experts will address a number of issues, including the statute in Washington state that mandates a Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying policy in all school districts; personal experiences with bullying behavior; legal issues; help for a victim in dealing with a bully; how to address and modify bullying behavior.

The forum will also have a trio of students from North Kitsap High School performing a skit on this topic and will conclude with an opportunity to present written questions to individual panel members.

Featured speakers and performers include:

• Todd L. Dowell Sr., Kitsap County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Juvenile Division supervisor;

• Sue Ann Miglino, Dispute Resolution Center, Youth Services and Restorative Justice coordinator;

• Jane Chapin, retired principal of Cottonwood Elementary School, and one of the founders and a continuing board member of Kitsap Safe Schools Network;

• Kirsten Hytopoulos, a Bainbridge Island attorney with experience in family law, mediation and collaborative law; and

• North Kitsap High School seniors in Lifesavers for past three years, who will perform an anti-bullying skit.

The Kitsap Aware forum series is open to the public. Admission is free.

The series is sponsored by North Kitsap Indivisible, Indivisible Kingston, Resisterhood360, Indivisible Bainbridge, and the Kitsap Progressive Action Network.