Lakehead Students Make an Impact with Unconventional Approach to Bullying
June 11, 2014 – Orillia, ON
What started out as a project focusing on the issue of bullying within post-secondary settings has turned into an inspiring new movement embraced by the entire Lakehead Orillia community, which is having a remarkable effect on the campus culture.
The “Audacity Movement” (AM) is an initiative born of two Lakehead Orillia social work students who are completing their work placements with the University’s department of Student Affairs.
The students, Quentin Evans and Laura East, who are enrolled in the University’s one-year post-graduate Honours Bachelor of Social Work (HBSW) program, began working with the Student Affairs team in the fall of 2013. This week the pair will discuss their project as part of a workshop session at the Canadian Association of College & University Student Services (CACUSS) conferencein Halifax.
This is the first time that social work students have been assigned placements within the University.
The idea for the students’ placements came about when Lakehead University’s Associate Vice-Provost, Frank Cappadocia, was sharing with colleagues the challenges he faced with student code of conduct cases, often involving incidents of bullying or cyberbullying. The Social Work department was in a position to offer help. It turned out to be a win-win situation – two students gained placements, while Student Affairs was able to benefit from the training and skill of advanced Social Work students.
Quentin and Evan set out, along with support and guidance from Cappadocia, to tackle the issues, as presented.
“Once we began researching the situation, we quickly realized that the answer was not to say “no” to bullying, but to say “yes” to positive interaction,” explained Evans. “Our research into the campus culture led us to the need for action related to the root causes of bullying, instead of action against the symptoms,” added East.
The AM movement is based on the definition of ‘audacity’ – the courage to do or say something – and focuses on acts of kindness that are rewarded with an ‘AM’ token. The small wooden tokens, distributed in creative ways throughout the campus community, can be traded in for coffee or tea in the cafeteria and then recycled and shared continuously.
“Quentin and Laura have done something remarkable for the campus with the AM project,” said Cappadocia. “They have managed to involve the entire campus community in its creation; it is owned collectively.”
Cappadocia adds that the impact is evident from the comments received:
“It’s amazing to see that the Audacity Movement has become so successful in such a short period of time. We forget to incorporate kindness into our busy lives. AM is the seed planted here that reminds us that when we embrace the culture of charity, life gets less stressful and more enjoyable.” — Cody Carvalho, Lakehead student
“I love the concept… it promotes conversation and makes people feel as though they are part of the community, which is especially important for new, young students who may feel intimidated. — Matt Keating, Manager, Lakehead Orillia Food Services
“The Audacity Movement is fabulous because it enables people to be who they really do want to be, in an environment we all want to be part of… In recent times, it seems we’ve lost the ability to make natural connections with the people we share our world with… we’re so busy ‘liking’ things on Facebook, that we miss opportunities to like things in real life.” — Dr. Linda Rodenburg, Lakehead Orillia faculty member
Evans and East have been invited to attend the Canadian Association of College & University Student Services (CACUSS) conference, taking place this week in Halifax, to share the Audacity Movement with delegates. This year's conference is hosted by St. Mary's University and takes place at the World Trade Convention Centre in downtown Halifax.
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Students at Lakehead University’s Orillia campus share “Audacity Movement” (AM) tokens as a gesture of kindness, all part of a new strategy to target bullying on campus. (photo by Mark Wanzel)
Media: For more information, please contact Kathy Hunt, Communications Officer, at 705-330-4008 ext. 2014, or kjhunt3@lakeheadu.ca.
In 2015, Lakehead University will celebrate 50 years of exceptional education. Guided by a new Strategic Plan (2013-2018), our University is known for providing an education focused on independent thinking, unconventional scholarship, and a close sense of community. About 9,700 students and 2,000 faculty and staff learn and work in ten faculties at two campuses, in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Home to Ontario’s first new Faculty of Law in 44 years (Fall 2013) and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine's West Campus, Lakehead is among Canada’s Top 10 undergraduate universities (2014 Maclean’s University Rankings), as well as 1st in Ontario and 2nd in Canada for its innovative research (Re$earch Infosource). Our Orillia campus is the first in North America to be built entirely to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) standards. Share your Lakehead story as it relates to our Strategic Plan at www.lakeheadu.ca/presidents-office/nurturing-passion, and learn more about Lakehead at www.lakeheadu.ca.