When Violence Becomes Entertaining
Over 500 educators, school resource staff, trustees, parents and community professionals with an interest in the well-being of children attended a conference on Media Violence, hosted at the Faculty of Education on October 20 – 21.
The conference provided a forum for participants to learn more about the impact of violent media, such as television, movies and video games, on children and adolescents. Keynote speakers included Dr. Craig Anderson, a distinguished Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University, S/Sgt. Robyn MacEachern from the OPP and Katie Cole, a Media Studies Teacher and writer for the Ontario Media Violence Coalition. A live interactive theatre performance and small group workshops enabled participants to work together to develop positive and practical solutions.
Also discussed was the promotion of violence in sports. NHL player George Laraque, NHL referee Ron Wicks, along with Dr. Peter Jaffe, Academic Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, and Dr. Charles Tator, Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, debated the increasing level of violence in sport and its detrimental effect on the thinking of young people.
The conference was organized by the Centre for Research in Education on Violence against Women and Children (CREVAWC) at the Faculty of Education, along with Western, CAMH and the Fourth R.
