Students at Shepherd University had the opportunity to learn a little more about cyberbullying and ways that they can get help if they know someone who is a victim of cyberbullying.
The Common Reading committee, Civility Response Team, and Counseling Services at Shepherd University co-sponsored an informational event on Feb. 9 about cyber bullying.
The civility response team is a group of faculty and staff at Shepherd who make themselves available for talking about bullying and abuse issues, and have made it clear that everything remains confidential. The members in attendance included Rhonda Jackson, a counselor with the counseling services on campus, Heidi Hanrahan, a professor in the English department, Richard Stevens, a professor in the psychology department, and Shannon Holliday, the coordinator for common reading.
Hanrahan discussed types of abuse, assault, violence, stalking, and how to be wary of possible threats. Hanrahan said the response team can be contacted online at http://www.shepherd.edu/crt
“Technology can be very useful,” Stevens said. He explained that it is the abuse of technology that makes things like cyberbullying and cyberstalking an epidemic.
Jackson noted that while technology can be useful, it can also be dangerous.
“It’s the technology that can play such a role in interpersonal violence,” she said. Jackson added the most common form of abuse on college campuses involved people who are violent toward one another. The second most common form of cyberbullying, Jackson said, is women being aggressive toward men, and the third most common form of interpersonal violence on college campuses is men being aggressive toward women.
Rhonda Jackson, a counselor at Shepherd, shared a few slides with the audience on what constitutes as abuse.
Pizza was provided for students and faculty who attended the event.
Students are encouraged to contact the health center, counseling services, the civility response team, or victim advocates if they have questions or concerns. To take advantage of these services, call the Shepherd University health center at 304-876-5161.
For more information about Common Reading events or to learn more about this year’s selection, Alone Together, visit http://www.shepherd.edu/commonreading. You can also follow the common reading twitter page @commonreading.
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