PROFILE
the C2BK Club and Mentor Katie Mann Helping Resolve
Campus Injustice by Anne Batty t
iming is everything in life, and often leads us on paths we never intended to go. And the events lead-
ing San Clementean Katie Mann onto her present life’s course would certainly attest to that. First came her profession as a Licensed
Clinical Social Worker involved with fami- lies and specializing in teenagers; next the publication of her book Getting Bullied: Se- crets to Resolving Childhood Injustices; and finally segueing into her participation and continuing involvement with the anti- bullying club, Cool to be Kind (C2BK), at San Clemente High School. A brown-haired, green-eyed bundle of
energy, Mann speaks animatedly about her heart for teenagers and how she got in- volved with the anti-bullying club at SCHS. “On a beautiful morning in May, 2009,
I had just wrapped up my book and was looking for some R & R. While sipping cof- fee and chatting with friends at a neighbor- hood closet exchange, suddenly one of
them appeared at the gathering very upset. She began telling me that something terrible had happened at SCHS and that she needed advice to help her teenager. Accompanied by my friend, I immedi- ately left the gathering to find out what this was all about and what I could do to help.” Katie soon learned
that a 10th grader, Daniel Mendez, had committed suicide - largely in part due to bullying - and that his friends and classmates were in shock and trying to make some sense of it. She was also told that Pondo Vleisides, Senior Pastor of Talega Life Church (formerly a youth pastor with a
The C2BK club receives the 2011 Ambassador of Peace Award. Back row: George Duarte, Jacob Schultz; Next row: Reilly Gorman, Nima Shull, Charlie Satossky, Mitch Anderson;Front row:Jan Sener, Emily Trotter, Lizzie Heinze, Brenden Kim and Katie Mann.
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connection with teenagers) often opened his home to high school students, and that Daniel’s group of close friends had de- cided to gather there to talk, ask questions and mourn. Through her friend, LCSW Mann was asked to join the get-together and to help the students cope in any way she could. “It was an incredible gathering of
young people, all leaders and good stu- dents, involved in school activities and sports,” Katie recalled. “I just went there to be of any help I could, but as things pro- gressed I was asked to mentor the group. Then before I knew it I found myself in- volved in their plans to form a club at school called Cool to be Kind (C2BK).” The students involved included: Reilly
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12 SANCLEMENTEJOURNAL
Gorman, Lizzie Heinze, Brenden Kim, Emily Trotter, Jacob Schultz, Nima Shull, and Mitch Anderson, and at the heart of it all loomed the spirit of their friend and class- mate, Daniel Mendez. “Daniel was definitely a part of it all,”
Mann exclaimed, “and his parents, Danny and Anna were right there, coming along- side every step of the way.” In memory of their friend, these stu-
dents decided that C2BK was to be a club that would educate and bring awareness to students, parents, teachers, administra- tors and the community-at-large, about the effects of bullying in schools. With the help of Daniel’s parents, Katie and all the oth- ers, these young people set about planning events to raise awareness of the impor- tance of being considerate and tolerant of one another. “One of the on-campus projects was
a safe room set aside daily at lunchtime. It was planned that a student or students would be available to talk with anyone
who felt unsafe or just needed support and a place to be accepted,” Mann shared. “Along with manning the safe room, stu- dents would also intervene whenever they saw anyone on campus mistreating an- other student. They would then explain to the offending students that what they might think of as kidding, another student might take personally and be terribly hurt by their words.” It has been proven that words have the
power to heal or to hurt, and often it is not what is said but how it is said that can cause unintended or even intended harm. The C2BK club set about reaching out and reminding everyone on the SCHS campus about the dangers of malicious kidding, and how words can often do irreparable damage. Blue Ribbon Week, Youth against Vio-
lence was one of the many ways the club got the word out. They distributed blue rib- bons all over campus and provided blue wrist bands for all the students. They also brought guest speakers on to the campus to speak on topics like “Dating Violence.” There were lots of bumps in the road
along the way. But with the help of George Duarte, SCHS principal, as well as the SCHS PTSA, Blue Ribbon Week has become an annual event at the school, eventually spreading city-wide. Little by little, with lots of hard work
by club members and supporters, the anti- bullying policy has expanded from the classroom, to the campus, to the athletic field. La Crosse coach, Glen Miles, has been one of the athletic directors in full support of the anti-bullying policy, and he has en- couraged the team to be a part of the club. Spilling over into the community, the San Clemente Police Department and the
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