<head><style>body{font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,sans-serif;background-color:#ffffff;color:black;}p{margin:0px;}</style></head><body><zzzhead><style>body{font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,sans-serif;background-color:#ffffff;color:black;}p{margin:0px;}</style></zzzhead>Cambridge Forum<br>3 Church Street ● Cambridge, MA 02138<br>617-495-2727<br>email: director@cambridgeforum.org<br>cambridgeforum.org<br><blockquote style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">
<camforum@earthlink.net><director@cambridgeforum.org><zzzbody><font color="#000000"><font size="2"><font face="arial,sans-serif"><br>Release September 14, 2011<br> <br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">BULLIES AND CYBER-BULLIES: Victims, Victimizers, and Communities</span><br><br>On Wednesday, September 21 at 7 p.m., Cambridge Forum hosts a panel discussion on the phenomenon of bullying and cyber-bullying among today’s young people. Discussion will focus on the impact of bullying on the bullies themselves, as well as their victims and their communities and on strategies to avert or change bullying behavior. The panel, led by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dr. Sasha Helper</span>, includes neuroscientist <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tracy Vaillancour</span>t, psychologist <span style="font-weight: bold;">Elizabeth Englander</span>, and story-teller <span style="font-weight: bold;">Odds Bodkin</span>.<br> <br>Schoolyard bullies have been with us since Hercules in ancient Greece. But now a new 21st century form of bullying has appeared: cyber-bullying. Although it doesn't use physical force, it has proved just as damaging. Following recent suicides of student victims of bullies and cyber-bullies, most notably Phoebe Prince, attitudes toward bullying have changed. Massachusetts school districts are now required to develop plans to address bullying behavior. Panelists examine the phenomenon of bullying today through the lenses of psychology, neuroscience, and culture to broaden our understanding of the dangers this behavior poses and the effectiveness of the proposed responses to it. How is bullying different today? What can we learn from the accumulated wisdom of our culture and from the modern discoveries of neuroscience about the impact of bullying on both victims and victimizers? How can we change this destructive behavior? There will be ample time for audience discussion after the panel presentation.<br><br>Cambridge Forum is recorded and edited for public radio broadcast. Edited CDs are available to the public by contacting 617-495-2727. Selected forums can be viewed in their entirety on demand by visiting our website at cambridgeforum.org and clicking on the Forum Network at WGBH. <br><br><br>ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:<br><br>Dr. Elizabeth Englander is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University. Her major area of interest is in the childhood causes of abusive and violent behavior, and her research examines bullying and cyber-bullying behaviors during the school years. MARC works with BSU students in bringing bullying and cyber-bullying research and programs to K-12 schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She helped author and pass state legislation, and has trained thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of students in the Commonwealth. <br><br>Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt is a Canada Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health and Violence Prevention at the University of Ottawa in the Faculty of Education and the School of Psychology. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University and a core member of the Offord Centre for Child Studies. Dr. Vaillancourt’s research examines the links between aggression and bio-psychosocial functioning and mental health, with particular focus on bully-victim relations. Dr. Vaillancourt is currently leading a Community-University Research Alliance on the prevention and intervention of bullying which is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.<br><br>Odds Bodkin’s character-voice and music-filled storytelling style has been mesmerizing listeners for twenty-four years. Mr. Bodkin taught at Antioch New England Graduate School. He has been a featured teller at The National Storytelling Festival, and performed twice at The White House. Accompanying himself on 12 string guitars, Celtic harp, grand piano and other instruments, he has produced seventeen award-winning audio recordings. He has recently developed an anti-bullying curriculum entitled The Rage of Hercules.<br><br>Sasha Helper, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice with interests in using arts and literature to help children with emotional issues. She previously curated and moderated a Cambridge <br>Forum series on Creativity.</font></font></font></zzzbody>
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Cambridge Forum
3 Church Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617-495-2727
email: mailto:director@cambridgeforum.org
website: http://www.cambridgeforum.org
"Bringing People together to talk again . . ."
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