Camp: a perfect place to address bullying

Camping Magazine, May-June, 2004 by Jewel E. Hairston, Barry Garst

During the summer of 2003, the words "4-H Camp Fight Club" were commonly seen on national television news or in major newspapers and national magazines. Perhaps you first read about the incident in Newsweek or saw a report on Inside Edition. Although Virginia's 4-H camp program is American Camping Association accredited, and "camp safety" is annually rated by campers and counselors as one of the best aspects of the Virginia 4-H camp program (Garst 2003), on July 4, 2003, issues of camp-related violence made this program a news headline.

The news reports were shocking to parents, camp staff, camp volunteers, and camp administrators. In short, the resulting investigation determined that three 4-H camp teen volunteer counselors--ages fifteen to sixteen years old--had encouraged youth campers to fight and/or had failed to stop campers from fighting. Yes, these 4-H camp teen volunteer counselors had been trained in policies related to child abuse, youth supervision, risk management, and the importance of treating youth with respect. In fact, they had received multiple years of training. The teen volunteer counselors had also signed a camp code-of-conduct form that clearly identified that "aggressive, abusive, vulgar, or violent language and behavior towards others" is not tolerated. Nonetheless, these camp volunteer counselors chose to break these policies and quickly became involved in a situation in which they were abusing their power and their responsibility to keep campers safe and happy.

The occurrence at the Virginia 4-H camp was an isolated event that brought to light several prevalent youth issues that exist not only in the camp environment but also in school and other organized youth settings. Primary among those issues is the need to address a serious youth issue that exists among all kids today ... bullying. Bullying has become such a national concern that in early December 2003 the federal government declared it a public health issue warranting a $3.4 million campaign to combat the problem. The campaign will draw support from more than seventy education, law enforcement, civic, and religious groups and include tools such as Web sites, animated Web episodes, commercials, and a network of nonprofit groups to help raise awareness and offer tips (CNN Associated Press 2003). There is some encouraging news. Although negative events can occur at camp, as they can in many other youth settings, the camp environment may be one of the most ideal settings for addressing issues of bullying among campers and teen volunteer counselors.

Bullying is now being understood as a group phenomenon, as opposed to an event or exchange that happens between two or three kids. Bullying is a social problem where the whole bullying incident is supported by the bystander (Espelage 2003; Craig & Pepler 1997; Salmivalli et al. 1996). This is important because in most cases the symptoms of bullying are the focus of treatment while the overall problem remains untreated. To address the problem, intervention should be directed toward the participants and the witnesses (Salmivalli 1999). A "one-shot" training session for campers and teen volunteer counselors that focuses on tips for handling bullying situations, for example, may not be sufficient to reduce the overall presence of bullying. This type of training may be helpful in developing an awareness of the presence of bullying and providing tips on what to do if a specific incident occurs. However, it may not be very effective reducing the presence of bullying. Ultimately, it is the entire environment that must be changed if bullying is to decrease (Lumsden 2003 and Olweus 1993).

Camp, the Place for Change

Recent articles in Camping Magazine regarding the many aspects of "camp culture" recognize that the camp environment is a complex social world. To change behavior at camp requires managing different aspects of this environment. What better place to create positive change over time and work as a group to develop a bully-free environment, than at camp? Here's why ....

* Bullying peaks during middle school years between the ages of ten and fourteen (Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Morton, & Scheidt 2001 and Olweus 1993). It is during these years when many kids attend camp. Camp holds a captive audience of youth who are at the age where they may truly be dealing with issues of bullying.

* Camp creates environments where kids can succeed. By enhancing different aspects of the self (e.g., confidence, competence, esteem) (Marsh 2001), campers have the potential to leave camp with more positive feelings about themselves.

* Youth are particularly attentive to their personal and social worlds while at camp, and camp creates opportunities for positive social interaction. Away from their home environments and neighborhoods, youth are free from many of the stigmas and stereotypes that might be a part of their everyday lives. Thus, campers can recreate their identity at camp, showing their best selves to others. In this way, camp is often a microcosm of the type of environment that many kids would like to see exist at home or at school.