Upstander Carnival teaches kids about anti-bullying
PHOTO: Elementary students learning about how to recognize and speak up about bullying at the Upstander Carnival.
By Calissa Levy,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
The fifth annual Upstander Carnival for bullying prevention was held on Oct. 23 in Central Park. The carnival is organized by the Davis Phoenix Coalition every year.
The coalition was founded as a non-profit in 2013 by Davis resident and current mayor Gloria Partida after her son was the victim of a hate crime because of his sexuality.
“I don’t want Davis to be known as the city that would just sweep [the incident in which Mikey Partida was attacked for his sexuality] under the rug,” said Alex Lee-Jobe, one of the founding members of the Davis Phoenix Coalition.
The aim of the carnival was to educate elementary students about fairness and anti-bullying through games. There were four booths: dissolving stereotypes, equity jeopardy, stop bullying ring toss and bullying vs. joking.
“Children are learning to include others in games and to stand up to bullying,” Lee-Jobe said.
After the kids are done going to all the stations they get to go to a fun zone dedicated to the late Eva Dopico, an elementary school teacher and member of the coalition.
Dopico had a passion for origami as well as equality and inclusion. In honor of her memory, Upstander presented an origami station for kids to learn origami while learning to treat others with kindness.
