At the start of a workshop on creating harassment free zones in school, Bhati Ansari tells how she got involved after an incident with her son at a middle school. She told those who attended the Saturday workshop at McAuley Hall in North Bend that they must start the process to stop bullying, harassment and racism in middle and high schools. World Photo by Lou Sennick

North Bend resident Kris Iveans was beside herself with anger and concern when her 15-year-old daughter, Kyla, came home from a volleyball tournament to describe how she had been treated on the bus by a couple of teammates.

That incident was followed by two more before the irate redhead stormed into the principal's office demanding her daughter be protected and that the perpetrators be punished.

Kyla's face had been written on with permanent marker while she slept on the way to a game and she was not being allowed to play until it was removed; French fries and salt were rubbed in her hair and more marker was applied, also while she slept.

When Kris reported the incidents, Kyla was ostracized by her teammates, who wouldn't talk to or practice with her. They accused her of lying, but worst of all - of telling.

Kris doesn't feel the situation was handled well by school officials or that the girls were held accountable for their actions.

A straight-A student with intense dark eyes, Kyla said the incidents eventually blew over and she now is friends with one of the girls she said harassed her. Kyla loves sports and plays year-round, but would have quit if the teasing hadn't stopped, she said.

"I think the school needs to have a more clear policy," Kris said. "I don't think anything has changed since this incident and if I hadn't spoken up, it would have continued. All I wanted was for my child to have a safe environment to be able to play sports."

Both mother and daughter were at an all-day seminar sponsored by the Human Rights Advocates of Coos County on Saturday in North Bend to talk about their experiences.

Led by Bahati Ansari of Eugene, the seminar focused on creating safe school environments and harassment free zones.

Ansari told her story to the 30 people in attendance and through examples, audience participation and small group discussion, encouraged them to take a stand against harassment, bullying, racism and discrimination.

Ansari, a dark-skinned, short-haired woman with glasses, wearing a lime green suit, was raised in Chicago. She said while she has encountered racism her entire life, it was nothing like the experience her son, Elliot, had after the family moved to Eugene.

In 1983, one of Elliot's sixth-grade classmates at Jefferson Elementary drew a picture of a burning cross and a black man hanged, with the words "kill niggers" written at the bottom, Ansari said.

The teacher pinned up the picture and told Elliot that he didn't understand why he found it offensive because it was simply a part of his history. Elliot went to the principal, whose reaction was similar. It wasn't until he told his mother, who contacted the district's new superintendent that any action was taken. The superintendent wrote a districtwide memo, prohibiting such incidents.

Meanwhile, Ansari had taken her two sons out of school and refused to let them return, discouraged by a system she felt powerless to fight. But a visit to Eugene by Rosa Parks, the "mother of the civil rights movement," renewed Ansari's determination to make a difference. Ansari spoke with Parks, who helped the woman approach the school board and insist that staff be trained and policy changes be made.

Ansari was eventually successful and as an additional response, a racial justice task force was formed in the district to institute a process to deal with such incidents. It was Jefferson sixth graders themselves, three years later, who formed the first Racism Free Zone.

Since then, Racism Free Zones have been established in many schools across the nation, following Jefferson's model. The mandate: that everyone be able to attend school safe from intimidation, malicious teasing, harassment, name calling and alienation and that harassment be confronted and punished with clear, immediate consequences.

"If there's one bird on a fence singing, others will join in," Ansari said. "I'm trying to encourage people to deal with issues of racism and harassment and teach them that they have the power to get together as a community and build a strategy. I had to do that. I could have stopped and left it alone."

Counselors, educators and religious leaders were among those at the seminar, along with five local students.

Megan Sowa, a sophomore at Marshfield High School, came to get material for her speech on respecting humanity. Terry Grigsby, a senior at Destinations, said he wanted to learn more about his community.

Zia Burris, an eighth-grader at North Bend Middle School, came with two friends who all said they hoped to learn to help themselves and others.

"It's helped me a lot," Burris said. "I can even see how my little sister is going through sexism on her soccer team and I've experienced it, too. I think it's a really good thing for people to learn (about these issues) at a young age."

Also in attendance was North Bend Police Chief Steve Scibelli, who is a member of the Coos County Human Rights Advocates.

"Anything I can learn here and take back to my organization to address people's issues and make our officers more sensitive to these issues is important," Scibelli said.

Gail Mueller, a first-grade teacher at Madison Elementary School in Coos Bay and also a member of the Human Rights Advocates, said she planned to present information from the seminar to the school district. Mueller said she teaches her students various strategies for standing up to any form of bullying or harassment, especially at recess.

"I think it's a big problem in our schools," Mueller said.

Micki Fabian, a counselor at Sunset Middle School and Destinations, said she feels the issue of harassment in schools is crucial. Her son witnessed a school shooting in Moses Lake, Wash., that Fabian said began with incidents of intimidation and harassment and ended in what she believes was a preventable tragedy.

"I have a strong commitment to this," she said. "The boy who did the shooting was a good kid going through a hard time. It changed my son's life. But now, through training, we know what to do and what red flags to look for."

Iveans said she feels local schools need to effectively deal with such issues instead of minimizing incidents or sweeping them "under the rug," and she hopes to bring about change through her daughter's experience.

"I don't want to put my daughter in the limelight, I just want her to know she can fight for what she believes in," Iveans said.

Ansari told the group there are tools and methods they can use to develop policies to effect change. One of her goals is to incite personal responsibility for eliminating bullying, harassment and racism.

"I believe everyone in here can make a difference, there's a lot of power in this room," Ansari said. "And I hope when they're done here, they'll go back and work on these issues. We don't have to accept this ... but it's going to take us all."