Bisons Against Bullying

Bisons Against Bullying program visits 200th local school in 13th year of delivering anti-bullying message

Started in February 2006, Bison student-athletes have delivered the impactful program to classrooms and over 14,500 students have heard the message

In the 13th year of a very important and impactful Bisons Against Bullying program, the program will mark another milestone with a visit to the 200th local school when the Bison student-athletes travel to Gladstone School (500 Gertrude Ave) in Winnipeg on Monday, November 27, 2017 from 1-2 p.m. CT.

Started in February 2006, Bison Sports, in conjunction with University of Manitoba Athletes Council (UMAC), embarked on an anti-bullying campaign called Bisons Against Bullying. The campaign consists of attending a classroom of grade 4, 5 and 6 and Bison student-athletes visit a school and lead students through a 1 hour presentation on the issue of bullying. Throughout the presentation bullying will be defined, and strategies for victims and bystanders will be addressed in an interactive format. These presentations are provided free of charge.

The co-chairs for Bisons Against Bullying for the 2017-2018 season are Karissa Kirkup (women's hockey) and Drew Cochrane (men's swimming). Both commented, "We are proud to be part of this program and already had several visits in 2017 and will continue to spread the anti-bullying message in the 13th year of Bisons Against Bullying."

In the 2017 edition, five different schools around the City of Winnipeg including Principal Sparling School, Greenway School (2), Weston School and Earl Grey School have been visited prior to Gladstone.

Bisons Against Bullying volunteers so far in 2017-18 year:
- Jenai Buchanan (women's hockey)
- Brielle Dacquay-Neveux (women's hockey)
- Brandon Oxley (men's track and field)
- Jonah Wasylak (men's hockey)
- Devan Johnson (women's hockey)
- Kelsey Wog, (women's swimming)
- Alana Serhan (women's hockey)
- Nicole Carswell (women's hockey)
- Alanna Sharman (women's hockey)
- Justin Augert (men's hockey)
- Quinton Lisoway (men's hockey)
- Karissa Kirkup (women's hockey)
- Drew Cochrane (men's swimming)

Facts from Bisons Against Bullying program:
• Started Feb. 2006: 25 Bison student-athletes went on nine school visits and presented to approximately 300 students.
• '06-07: 60 athletes went on 46 school visits and presented to over 2000 students.
• '07-08: 65 athletes went on 30 school visits and presented to over 1800 students.
• '08-09: 50 athletes went on 15 school visits and presented to over 1400 students.
• '09-10: 40 athletes went on 10 school visits and presented to over 1000 students.
• '10-11: 30 athletes went on 12 school visits and presented to over 1200 students.
• '11-12: 35 athletes went on 15 school visits and presented to over 1400 students.
• '12-13: 40 athletes went on 17 school visits and presented to over 1600 students.
• '13-14: 20 athletes went on nine school visits and presented to over 800 students.
• '14-15: 25 athletes went on 12 school visits and presented to over 1200 students.
• '15-16: 20 athletes went on nine school visits and presented to over 600 students.
• '16-17: 20 athletes went on 10 school visits and presented to over 800 students.
• '17-18 so far counting 200th school: 13 athletes went to six school visits and presented to over 400 students.
• Over 14,500 classroom students have been part of program throughout the last ten editions.
• Former Bison and Making the Cut hockey star Jordan Little conceived of the idea to deliver an anti-bullying message. Little drove the University of Manitoba Athletes Council to take on this issue and deliver a positive message throughout the community. After hard work by Bison Sports and the Athletes Council, a plan to carry out Little's vision was set up and implemented starting in February 2006.
• Bisons Against Bullying received a $6500 grant from The Winnipeg Foundation in Sept. 2007 to be used over two years, which was used in several areas including the establishment of a student coordinator position.
• During the tenth edition in the 2014-15 season, there were new changes to the script and presentation. The new script and presentation talks more about all aspects of bullying and the solutions on how people can resolve the problem. Some of the topics include: What is bullying? Who gets bullied? Why do some people bully? What can you do if you are being bullied? What can you do if you see someone else is being bullied?
• The Bison Athletes Council is made up of representatives from each of our teams and it serves as the voice of the Bison athletes at the University of Manitoba. These athletes attend a workshop using materials from the Department of Education and other sources on bullying. Cheryl Collins, a retired teacher, took on the task of training and preparing the athletes for their school sessions at start of program.
• During school visits, Bison athletes work in teams of 2-4 depending on class sizes. The sessions are usually an hour in length, but can be modified to work within the normally scheduled class time.
• The focus of the program is streamlined to be presented to Grade 4, 5 and 6