Walking through the halls of North Junior High School, you’ll see some students with an extra badge attached to their lanyard. These students are setting themselves apart. They are members of the FAB [Friends Against Bullying] Crew.
The idea stemmed when two students, Chiel Mach and Nyamal Jang, then eighth grade students, set the club in motion. Diane Olson was the counselor they approached with their idea.
Olson explains how thrilled she was that Mach and Jang wanted to make a difference at North.
“We met a few times over the summer and decided to make a video,” says Olson.
With the help of a couple of other students, the group started to form, a name was chosen and the video produced.
“The club has grown exponentially,” says Olson. “Today’s training class marks the 300th member to the club. That’s a third of our school.”
Three new members sit through the training during their homeroom time. The training starts with Olson asking each student why they want to be a FAB Crew member.
Kaleb Trautwein, a sixth-grader, responds, “Some of the younger, smaller kids need someone to help them and they need someone to stick up for them.”
Paris Hoel, a seventh-grade student, adds, “Several of my friends are FAB Crew members and they thought I should do it too.”
“So what is bullying?” asks Olson. “If someone is saying something mean, is that bullying?”
The three students share experiences like name-calling, eye-rolling and general negative comments to discuss what bullying means.
Olson explains that the difference between rude behavior and bullying is that bullying is targeted at someone and is frequent.
She goes on to explain that each scenario is different and that each situation should be measured on a “meanness scale” of 1-10. Students razzing or teasing each other and having fun would rate a one on the scale. It’s mutual, but could go too far. When that happens, the number on the scale goes up.
The students learn to use the “Stop, Walk and Talk” phrase and “to let go” when discussing situations that are at the bottom of the scale and weren’t intentional.
“If a student rolls their eyes at you walking down the hall, is that a time that needs to be reported? No. That’s a time when you just have to let it go,” explains Olson.
If the number is on the higher end of the scale, then the student must evaluate whether the incident should be reported.
Maverick Hofegre asks, “What if it is not a bully, but something at home?”
Olson replies, “Come talk to a counselor or adult because that is a lot for you to take on.”
Olson shares a story from another FAB Crew member, “One morning a FAB member saw a girl that was sitting by herself on the bleachers and was crying. She didn’t know the girl, but walked up to her and asked if she was OK and how she could help.”
She shares this story with the students to show that being a member isn’t just about stopping or preventing bullying, but to follow the FAB Crew motto: Be the change, be a friend.
Each person, when training is complete, receives a badge that is worn with their school ID to show they belong to the FAB Crew.
The FAB Crew’s goal is to get everyone in the school to become a member. The training sessions are held once a week and they are never empty.
“The kids want to be a part of something bigger and positive,” says Olson. “They want to make the decision to come to school each day and be their best self, show kindness and help each other.”