Gilboa-Conesville students stress value of individuality

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February 10, 2012

By Shirley O'Shea Contributing Writer The Daily Star Fri Feb 10, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

Tuesday was Mismatched Day at Gilboa-Conesville Central School, when students were invited to dress a bit crazily to display individuality.

It was the second day of the school's anti-bullying awareness week, which ends today.

Claire Chapman, 14, a freshman at GCCS, came up with the idea for the anti-bullying week and its events, she said last Friday.

"For Mismatched Day, students are encouraged to wear mismatched clothing to show that each person is unique in their own special way and they do not need to be like anybody else to fit in," Chapman wrote in an email Friday.

Chapman is a member of the school's chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, a nonprofit organization for students in Family and Consumer Sciences education. She became interested in anti-bullying intervention when she attended the FCCLA State Leadership Conference in the spring of 2011, according to Chapman's FCCLA adviser and GCCS social studies teacher Michelle Fleischman.

At the conference, Chapman saw a student character-education presentation, "Show of Love," by Joe Trionfero of Baldwinsville. Claire said she was impressed by Trionfero's message of respect and kindness among students. Trionfero talks to students about "being in other people's shoes," she said.

Chapman said she developed and implemented the GCCS anti-bullying week as her project for FCCLA's Students Taking Action and Recognition (STAR) competition, which takes place in March.

"We have a lot of bullying and behavioral problems (at GCCS), and that's not what I wanted to see," Chapman said. "I like to see people cooperating with each other and getting along."

Trionfero's presentation took place Monday, with students wearing the school's colors, purple and gold, to show "school spirit," Chapman said. On Wednesday, students wore red to symbolize the need to put a stop to bullying.

"There was a huge turn-out" for STOP! Bullying Day, with more than half of students wearing red, Chapman said.

Students wore pajamas Thursday for Put Bullying to Rest Day, and today students are encouraged to wear orange as "the color of anti-bullying awareness," Chapman wrote in an email.

Before the events, Chapman distributed a survey, she said, which asked students what they think bullying is and whether they have witnessed it. She said she and Fleischman were reviewing survey results Thursday.

Chapman said she did not expect all of the students to have responded "seriously" to the survey, although some would "answer truthfully."

Chapman said she would distribute a post-event survey to gauge the impact of the week on students.

"(Students) don't have to be a bystander anymore" to bullying, Chapman said.