BALTIMORE – The same scene repeated itself for about 90 minutes: Yellow school buses filled with bright wide-eyed and energetic kids from west Baltimore continuously pulling up to Coppin State University’s Physical Education Complex. Kids ran off buses. More buses pulled up and kids continued to exit.

While hosting the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship and as part of its “anti-bullying” campaign, Coppin State opened its doors and welcomed 1,291 kids from 14 different elementary and middle schools from the surrounding community. Some kids were dressed in school uniforms while others wore shirts with their favorite action hero on it.

Not only did the kids receive a blue-bag stuffed with blue-and-gold pom-poms, a personalized hand-written note from a student-athlete at one of the 13 MEAC member institutions, an anti-bullying comic book and more, they were also treated to a campus tour, a magician, performances by some of Coppin State’s Greek organizations and a thrilling 3-2 victory by the Coppin State volleyball team over Bethune-Cookman in a MEAC quarterfinal match.

In addition every school participated in a poster contest which was judged by members of the Coppin State University faculty. Each school designed a poster that focused on an "anti-bullying" message.
 
The winners were presented with trophies by Coppin State Director of Athletics Derrick K. Ramsey and Assistant Athletics Director Alecia Shields-Gadson. Beechfield Elementary School won first place, while Gwynns Falls Elementary School took second and third place.
 
“This was an opportunity for these kids to get out and see what a University environment is all about,” Ramsey said. “More specific to this bullying situation, it's been an ongoing problem in our schools and in our community and I don't think it's ever too early to talk to young people about anti-bullying and the significance of it. We’ve always known that so goes Coppin, so goes west Baltimore. Judging the posters was hard because a number of them were awesome.”

Making the event special was the collaboration that occurred throughout Coppin State’s campus as faculty members, administrators and athletic personnel all made key contributions to make the day memorable for the students.

While this was a MEAC sponsored event, in conjunction with Coppin State, members of the campus community showed their support and volunteered. Among those that assisted were Dr. Mary Wanza, Alice Smith, Constance Blake-Parker and Adrienne Coe. Coppin State Helene Fuld School of Nursing Assistant Professor Patricia Setlow donated the comic books. Wanza, Smith, head men’s basketball coach Michael Grant, Dr. Irving Smith and Assistant Professor Katherine Cameron judged the poster contest.

The kids had a blast waving the pom-poms and cheering loudly. They even began dancing in the aisles when the disc-jockey played music throughout the day. They also listened to speeches about bullying.

“It was a wonderful experience being here today and the kids really got exposure to what college life is like,” Gwynns Fall Elementary School first grade teacher Heidi Davis said. “They were really involved in the volleyball games. The kids really enjoyed being here today and they took a lot of pride in their poster.”

Behind the scenes, the event held special significance for junior tennis player and Coppin State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member Ashley Milo, who was thrilled to be part of this event. She helped stuff bags along with Coppin State SAAC members Samantha Denlinger, Kadeem Curtis, Delroy Davis, Brionca Beard and Maribel Lovos.

“I was actually bullied in middle school, so to be able to help with this project is really personal to me,” Milo said. “It made me depressed, sad and lonely. I felt like I couldn’t talk to anybody about it especially my parents. But I was informed that you have to talk to your parents, a teacher or somebody you trust. That’s what I would advise to anybody who is being bullied now.”