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Upstander Carnival teaches anti-bullying tools

UpstanderPost(From press release) Upstander Carnival, a free event for elementary-age children, will return to Davis’ Central Park on Saturday, Oct. 21. As part of National Bullying Prevention Month, the annual fair teaches youngsters to identify and stand up to bullying.

The Davis Phoenix Coalition launched the carnival in 2015. This year, it’s from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the sycamore grove of Davis’ Central Park, Fourth and C streets. The popular event draws hundreds every year.

Participants go through six stations of brief, interactive lessons, where they practice inclusion, deal with cyberbullying and learn helpful skills. After getting a stamp at each station, students get to enter the fun zone, where they may play in a bounce house, get snacks like popcorn or cotton candy, play games, and get their face painted.

Davis Phoenix Coalition founder Gloria Partida, who serves on the Davis City Council, said she hopes the event sparks conversations among students and parents, and leads to more bystanders becoming upstanders.

“The main focus is to give kids and families resources for what to do if they experience or witness bullying,” Partida said. Children leave with four concrete responses that work in various situations.

These are valuable lessons that prevent and address bullying. With these tools available, youths can help diffuse situations in a respectful way, thwarting violence then and eliminating troubles in the future. These skills stick with pupils as they move on to junior high and high school.

Partida said, “Oftentimes, kids in bullying situations have problems later with the law, and with domestic violence. Providing them some support when they are young is one of the ways to prevent negative outcomes in adulthood.”

The event runs concurrently with the Davis Farmers Market, which is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in Central Park. It’s a great chance for families to participate in both events. Partida advised saving at least an hour for the carnival.

Parents or guardians must sign a waiver for their child to participate. Partida encourages parents to walk the stations with their kids. Mom or Dad can learn too, and can chat with volunteers about local resources.

The Upstander Carnival is coordinated by an all-volunteer community formed by the Davis Phoenix Coalition, a nonprofit that works to foster diversity, eliminate intolerance, prevent hate-motivated violence, and support LGBTQ+ youths in Davis and surrounding communities. The coalition was founded in the aftermath of a 2013 anti-gay attack on Davis resident “Mikey” Partida. Proceeds from events support the coalition’s anti-racism and anti-bullying campaigns, support to LGBTQ+ youths and their families, and outreach with area police departments, churches and schools. To donate, go to https://davisphoenixco.org/donate.

For more information about the event or becoming a sponsor, visit https://davisphoenixco.org. Volunteers may sign up at https://forms.gle/xQPjfh7eJZ1RF4iq5.

To learn details as they unfold, follow the Davis Phoenix Coalition on Facebook and Instagram.

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Comments

18 responses to “Upstander Carnival teaches anti-bullying tools”

  1. Alan C. Miller

    Is Anti-Bullying like Anti-Racism ?
    Asking for a friend . . . 😐

    Reply
  2. South of Davis

    Despite my telling them since they were born to try and fit in and not ever let a Davis teacher know they disagree with a single DNC talking point my kids have been “bullied” by teachers and other students for not being “anti-racist” enough and bullied for not speaking out “enough” for for trans rights (since “silence is violence”). My kids tell me that as non-religious non-political libertarian kids with plenty of black, gay and trans friends they just get bullied a little but things are really bad for anyone that openly disagrees with the party line and says something “racist” like “all lives matter” (the people that “bully” others in Davis that have views even slightly to the right of Bill Clinton don’t seem to consider it “bullying” so I’m not expecting it will be addressed at the carnival this weekend). P.S. It would be funny if the Moms for Liberty brought some of their Kids for Liberty to the carnival and they were all “bullied” until they left…

    Reply
  3. Alan C. Miller

    SOD say: “(the people that “bully” others in Davis that have views even slightly to the right of Bill Clinton don’t seem to consider it “bullying” so I’m not expecting it will be addressed at the carnival this weekend).”
    It won’t be. This fries my goat, the fact that ‘diversity’ does not include ‘diversity of opinion’. It god damn well should.
    “P.S. It would be funny if the Moms for Liberty brought some of their Kids for Liberty to the carnival and they were all “bullied” until they left…”
    That would not be funny, and I doubt that kids of Moms for Liberty are known by Kids for Liberty by anyone, nor do said kids necessarily follow their parent’s beliefs.

    Reply
  4. Roberta L. Millstein

    Alan, agreed. There is nothing funny about any child being bullied.

    Reply
  5. Alan C. Miller

    Even a conservative child ? Even a libertarian child ? Even a MAGA child ? A KKK child ? A Nazi child ? A child of God ? A Child for Liberty ? A Proud Boy who is literally a boy ? A Flinstone kid ? A million strong and growing!
    Should those children with beliefs that do not fit the “Davis Way” be ostracized or bullied for their beliefs ?
    Diversity includes diversity of ideas 🙂

    Reply
  6. Roberta L. Millstein

    No child should be bullied. And much as I don’t always agree with the Phoenix Coalition, I seriously doubt that they would disagree with me on this.

    Reply
  7. Ron O

    I consider what the librarian and protesters did at the library to be “bullying”, and an attempt to shut down the Constitutional rights of others.
    Is there a connection between the protestors and the Phoenix Coalition? In other words, are some of the protestors also members of the Phoenix Coalition?
    And are these same people the ones who are now presenting a “carnival” regarding bullying? (And would it consist of a “how to”?)

    Reply
  8. Roberta L. Millstein

    The Phoenix Coalition links to the following government webpage:
    https://www.stopbullying.gov/
    There may be other things that people want to call bullying, but that is not what the Upstander Carnival is about. They are using bullying in the following sense (see https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying )
    What Is Bullying
    Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.
    In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:
    * An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
    * Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
    Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

    Reply
  9. South of Davis

    The quote RM posted:

    Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged
    children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
    The Davis schools use “Restorative Justice” and as a default say that “whites are in Power” so only white kids can bully others.
    If a white kid in Davis is bullied by a POC and complains he will be bullied more by the DJUSD since there is a “power imbalance” and he needs to be punished for not acknowledging his white privilege.
    I think that part of the reason that less and less college educated white kids are getting married and having kids is that they don’t want to put their kids through 12 years of teachers telling them are racist like they had to go through.

    Reply
  10. Alan C. Miller

    SOD say: “The Davis schools use “Restorative Justice” and as a default say that “whites are in Power” so only white kids can bully others.”
    In what context do they say this? I’m not doubting you, I’d just like a source or context or quote. This is a shocking accusation.

    Reply
  11. South of Davis

    https://www.djusd.net/departments/climate_services/anti-bias___racial_justice_resources
    in 2020 a wise man wrote:
    “Seriously, the progressive belief mantra is, “There is no such thing as reverse racism”. The group seen as ‘in power’ cannot possibly be a victim of racism, because ‘they’ are the victimizers.”
    https://www.davisvanguard.org/2020/07/guest-commentary-in-defense-of-diversity/
    Since I don’t want to get run out of town Nancy Peterson and don’t want my kids bullied anymore than necessary (some DSH kids went nuts when my son just tried to make a joke by saying “that dude don’t look like a lady” in earshot of a member of “thought police”).
    https://www.google.com/search?q=dude+look+like+a+lady&rlz=1C1UEAD_enUS1055US1055&oq=dude+look+like+a+lady&aqs=chrome..69i57j46i10i512j0i10i512l7.5736j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

    Reply
  12. K Smith

    The concept of “restorative justice” has zip to do with race or ethnicity a practiced in the DJUSD. This is a load of bogus misinformation.
    Here is a link to their restorative practices, of which my daughter participated when she was bullied in school.
    https://www.djusd.net/departments/climate_services/restorative_practices
    Restorative justice can, indeed, be used wrt race and ethnicity imbalances, but not all restorative justice practices do so or are even predicated on that notion.
    But, sure. The poor whites. eyeroll

    Reply
  13. Ron O

    I see quite a few definitions of “bullying” from online sources – many (probably most) of which don’t limit the definition to behavior among juveniles.
    One might conclude that the creation of the Davisite itself was a “reaction” to bullying allowed on the Vanguard.
    Adults engage in bullying against each other all the time. Again, on blogs, social media, physical threats (e.g., road rage), protestors engaging in actions intended to intimidate – e.g., road blockages in which anyone is “dared” to “disobey”, etc.
    Occurs in the workplace, as well. Occurs throughout society, in various forms and in various levels of severity.
    I’ve “heard” that it occurs within prisons (among prisoners), as well. (Purposeful “understatement”.)
    As well as that inflicted by those who are entrusted with authority.
    I’d argue that by backing-down from the use of the word “men”, the group making a presentation at the library acquiesced to bullying from a library official and others.
    Interrupting a presentation is bullying in the first place.
    In my opinion, anyone associated with the protestors at the library are not qualified to recognize bullying, and are engaging in an example of it themselves.

    Reply
  14. Roberta L. Millstein

    Ron, yes, as I said: “There may be other things that people want to call bullying, but that is not what the Upstander Carnival is about.”

    Reply
  15. Ron O

    If those who are conducting the “Upstander Carnival” can’t recognize bullying beyond a narrow definition (which may include ignoring their own behavior), they’re not qualified to weigh-in on the subject.
    One of the best ways to “teach” something (to kids in particular) is “by example”. And this group has not demonstrated that they’re doing so, themselves.
    In this case, it seems likely that they would be teaching kids to be on guard for bullying that is committed by “others”, rather than themselves (or by those presenting this event).
    Kids, in some ways, are not “stupid” – though they tend to mirror the views of their parents – at least when they’re young.

    Reply
  16. Roberta L. Millstein

    I venture to say that if you think that what happened at the library bears more than a passing resemblance to what kids experience at schools, then you have little experience with bullying at schools.

    Reply
  17. Roberta L. Millstein

    K Smith writes, “Restorative justice can, indeed, be used wrt race and ethnicity imbalances, but not all restorative justice practices do so or are even predicated on that notion.”
    Thank you for this clarification and this first-hand information.

    Reply
  18. Ron O

    “I venture to say that if you think that what happened at the library bears more than a passing resemblance to what kids experience at schools, then you have little experience with bullying at schools.”
    Seems like you’re not familiar with my experience.
    (My original comment was apparently lost during the Davisite shutdown/disruption.)

    Reply

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