New book by a SigEp teaches kids about bullying, diversity

The Shelbyville News > Archives > News > New book teaches kids about bullying, diversity:

New book teaches kids about bullying, diversity

By Andy Proffet, Staff writer
Published: Monday, January 13, 2014 8:05 AM US/eastern

Andy Proffet photo Bob Kelly has written and illustrated 

a book, "11 fish friends," to help kids see how to deal 

with bullying.

Bob Kelly learned a lot about diversity during his time at Vincennes University.

Thirty-eight years later, he's using those experiences in an effort to address bullying.

Kelly, a graphic artist, has written and illustrated a children's book, "11 fish friends," based on his experience in a fraternity at Vincennes University.

The Seymour native, who moved to Shelbyville after living in Cincinnati for 25 years, was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon at Vincennes in the mid-70s.

* "We never met before, different nationalities, different ethnicities, short, tall, good-looking, ugly," Kelly joked about his fraternity brothers. "Thirty-eight years later, we still see each other.

"It really taught me about never passing up the opportunity to make a friend. We were the most diverse population you can imagine ... we learned you accept everyone for who they are."

That mentality was reflected in Kelly's thinking as he saw news reports about bullying while living in Cincinnati. He began to ponder how to use his own story.

"When I was running that by a few people, teachers, they said, 'Bob, what you've got there is the beginning of an anti-bullying book.'"

Once the book was finished, he sent out PDFs to promote it to gauge interest. When it was time to actually publish the book, the first print run was paid for by his fraternity brothers.

Kelly said the book is being used in the Dugger school system here in Indiana and in the Rocky Mount school system in North Carolina. He's also sold about 75 books to parents and grandparents through his Facebook page, facebook.com/HoobieBooks.

The book is also available on Amazon.com. Cost is $8.

Andy Proffet is a staff writer for The Shelbyville News. He can be reached at aproffet@shelbynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndyProffetTSN.

'via Blog this'

Miami Chapter of "Nu Phi Lambda" in trouble for Hazing

One member leaves after being hazed, another suspended.

Nearly everyone has seen this story by now. Jonathan Martin left the Miami Dolphins after the bullying got to be too much and one Richie Incognito has been suspended because of his over-the-top actions toward Martin. The  actions included nasty texts, the lunchroom snubs, the "rookie tax" that got out of all proportion, and we can only speculate what is being left unreported.

But doesn't this story read very much like all the fraternity hazing stories we see on a regular basis? One big difference, though. There is no hue and cry for NFL football to be banned, or a team dissolved. In fact, most of the articles imply that a "reasonable amount" of rookie hazing is to be expected and even accepted. It's just the 'bad stuff" that is too much.

If this level of hazing had taken place in any of the fraternity chapters I have volunteered with over the years, there would have been serious consequences, not just from me but from the other volunteers and the Headquarters staff.

The argument can be made that "these men are grown-up professionals" and as such do not need supervision. I reject that. Hazing is wrong. Period. The fact that sports teams still engage in it shows the need for oversight and direction.

Sources: 'Rookie Tax' at the Heart of Miami Dolphins' Jonathan Martin Hazing | Bleacher Report:

This comes from a Miami Dolphins player in a brief interview with Bleacher Report:

"Some of the criticism is unfair. Some of it fair. No one has been physically bullied. I haven't seen it. Where things went too far was with the money."

Everything tastes better when rookies pay for it 

This comes from an NFL agent who represents several Dolphins players: "The hazing thing is about the money. It's gone way too far."

The Miami locker room has been a mess. So many reports. Some are true; others are wrong. The Dolphins and the issue of hazing became a national story when offensive lineman Jonathan Martin suddenly left the team last week. He has yet to return.
[...]
Teammate Richie Incognito has been identified as the alleged ringleader of Martin bullies. Incognito denies this and has demanded an apology from several news organizations. Sunday night, the Dolphins announced Incognito was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.

FoxSports.com reported that Incognito left texts and voice messages that were racially insensitive and threatening in nature. The site also reported that financial demands from veterans to rookies were an issue. In one instance, rookies were forced to pay for a strip club outing.
'via Blog this'