Subject: BVC Bullying Prevention Conference

Dear Faculty and Staff:

Since October is Bullying Prevention Month The Bridging Voices in Our Community (BVC) Bullying Prevention Project will host its 4th Annual Bullying Prevention Conference on Friday October 17, 2014 from 8:00-4:30 p.m. for all students, educators, administrators and community members on the campus of EIU!   You are invited to join in the dialogue around the conference theme: “Renewing Hope in Education: A Time for Prevention and Intervention.” A discussion of prevention from a “holistic” approach around various topics such as:  suicide prevention, sexual assault and violence prevention, Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS), using tradebooks to address bullying, bullying prevention, navigating girl world, cultural competency, breaking the bystander cycle, bullying and victimization, and many more. Topics on how to integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) with the common core will also be discussed.

As a prelude to the conference, Nel Shuman from Catfish will be speaking about the negative effects of cyberbullying on Thursday at 7:00p.m. in McAfee Gym.  Tickets for EIU students will be $5.00 and $8.00 for the general public. The University Board agreed that this would be a great lead in into the conference because although the conference is held on fall break, many of our students do not go home; therefore we are asking if you would make the announcement to your classes and consider attending these events.  You may even consider providing extra credit to those who may attend the BVC Bullying Prevention conference. Students will receive a certificate of attendance.

A listing of the conference speakers is available at https://www.eiu.edu/apps/registration/register.php?id=798.  We have our very own EIU colleagues as well as guests from Illinois State, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and University of Illinois-Champaign just to mention a few. Dr. Allan Beane will be our keynote speaker.  He is an internationally recognized expert and author on "bullying prevention."  He has published six anti-bullying books since the Columbine shooting and been featured in national publications such as: USA Today, Newsweek for teens, and many other national magazines and journals.  He has also been featured on Fox News, CNN-Nancy Grace Show and assisted Oprah Winfrey staff in a creating a skit for a bullying awareness show.  Dr. Beane will share two keynotes.

Morning address will be at 9:00
Title of Keynote: Be an Instrument of Hope! 
Description of Keynote: Dr. Beane will discuss his son’s experiences as a target of bullying and how it led to hopelessness.  He will also briefly address the psychology of hope, the path from hurt to hopelessness, and how we can be instruments of hope for bullied students.

Afternoon address will be held at 1:00:
Title of Keynote:  Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies that Instill Hope Description of Keynote:  Dr. Beane has been an expert consultant in seven lawsuits and four criminal cases involving bullying.  He will discuss mistakes that rob bullied students of hope and a sampling of specific school-wide, classroom, parent, child-centered, and community-based strategies that reduce bullying and instill hope.

To register, please click on the link below:
https://www.eiu.edu/apps/registration/register.php?id=798

Thanks,
BVC Team