PSU athletes present anti-bullying program

CENTRE HALL — Members of Penn State Athletes Take Action visited second-grade classes at the Centre Hall Elementary School on April 13 to address the dangers of bullying.

PSATA was formed by Gizelle Studevent, a former Lady Lion basketball player who was bullied when she was in middle school. As a standout athlete, she sought to combine her athletic career with her passion for anti-bullying. She worked with Centre County Women’s Resource Center personnel to devise a program to work with middle school students and bring awareness to bullying prevention.

In Amy Smith’s second-grade class, Jessica Spellman, Megan Schafer, Jessie Radonovich and Kevin Montminy presented an interactive program to the kids.

Montminy, a 2011 graduate of Penns Valley High School, had attended Centre Hall Elementary School as a youngster. He began the presentation by asking the kids how they felt when someone bullied them, eliciting replies such as, “It hurts,” “I didn’t like it” and “I felt bad.”

“We’re here to make sure that, moving forward, all of us in this room can make sure that we’re nice to each other and not bully each other as well,” Montminy said, explaining the purpose of his group’s visit.

The young students were divided into groups seated around classroom tables. Each group was given a paper outline of a person, and asked to write mean things bullies might say about that person. The second-graders wrote terms like “dumb,” ugly,” “stupid” and “weirdo” on the outlines.

Next, each group was asked to crinkle the paper figure into a ball without tearing it, then told to smooth it out. None of the figures came out perfectly smooth, which illustrated how bullying leaves permanent marks on people. “Whenever you hear those mean words, you can’t get it out of your head,” said Montminy. “And you can’t take those words back.”

One student likened saying mean words to squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. “If you take too much out, you can’t put it back in,” he said.

“That might be the best analogy I’ve ever heard,” said Montminy.

The kids then wrote nice things on a second paper figure, with the results including positive phrases such as, “You’re nice” and “I like you.”

“You can say nice things to people and that will stick with them as well,” said PSATA member Spellman.

The students and athletes discussed what to do when you are bullied or see others being bullied. Subtle bullying tactics of exclusion were also discussed, with the kids being advised to invite kids into their group if they are being excluded from other groups.

Finally, students adjourned to the hallway, where they pasted their crinkled figures to a poster, “Down With Bullying,” and their smooth figures to one called “Up With Compliments.”

Montminy said that the PSATA program was originally tailored to fifth- and sixth-graders, and had been presented at Park Forest and Mount Nittany middle schools. The group adjusted the presentation to fit a second-grade level, and this was the first time it had been presented to that age group. He was pleased with how well the presentation was received, and teacher Smith described it as “fantastic.”