Screening of 'Reject,' Guest Lecture, Panel Discussion on Bullying Set for Colloquium

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The bullying documentary Reject and a guest lecture by early childhood educator Amanda Harrist are scheduled for Thursday as part of the School of Human Environmental Sciences' Colloquium series.

Harrist's research is featured in the documentary. Her lecture is 2-3 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in HOEC Rooms 108-109. The film screening is 6-8 p.m. in the Union Theater. Both events are free and open to everyone on campus. The presentation by Harrist, a professor at Oklahoma State University, will be live streamed here.

Reject takes a science-based and solution-oriented look at the roots of bullying behavior and violent behavior against self or others. The film aims to raise public consciousness about the serious and potentially lethal consequences of interpersonal rejection in its many forms - peer bullying, parental neglect (or abuse), race discrimination and other forms of social rejection across all age groups. 

The documentary is for parents, teachers, administrators, organizations that train teachers, coaches, mental health professionals, clergy, counselors, juvenile judges, office managers and anyone entrusted with influence over others and in a position to foster acceptance, inclusion and social connection. Experts in psychology, education, medicine, neuroscience and juvenile justice who have studied "rejection" in their respective fields provide commentary in Reject, including Harrist.

Her research focuses on children's interactions with peers and how these are influenced by family interactions.

Following the screening, a panel will discuss bullying. Panel members include Harrist, Michelle Schaecher, a licensed clinical social worker also featured in the film; Tim Cavell, a faculty member in U of A’s Department of Psychology; and Amanda Williams, assistant professor of HESC’s human development and family sciences program.

The School of Human Environmental Sciences, housed in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, and the Department of Psychology in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences are co-hosting both events.

For more information, contact Jacquelyn Wiersma-Mosley at jwiersma@uark.edu.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.