Peer Mediation Sees Success at Local High School

Joe Hensley, the youth training coordinator for the Dispute Settlement Center of Orange County, and four East Chapel Hill High School students run the only high school mediation program in the county.

The lecture began with Seth Leibowitz, UNC assistant director for academic advising programs, pacing the lecture room recounting the story of when he first met Hensley.

Leibowitz and Hensley met in 1995 when they were both UNC undergraduates at their residence hall's mediation center, which was managed by Hensley.

"I've always been impressed with Joe," Leibowtiz said. "He was one of the best student leaders I've ever worked with."

As the psychology students embarked on a study of mediation, Leibowitz was puzzled on how to introduce the new unit.

"I was looking for something extremely interactive," Leibowitz said. "I called Joe and invited him to the class."

Hensley invited Hanna Slomianyj, Liz Williams, Kate Studwell and Chen Zhu, all participants in the peer mediation program at ECHHS, to publicize the program and to share their mediation experiences.

The peer mediation program at ECHHS was created to give high school students a safe haven to work through their emotions during disputes with fellow classmates.

"Students are more willing to talk freely with us because we're students," Williams said. "There are no teachers, no adult intervention."

Most of the students who utilize the peer mediation program have been referred to the program by administrative faculty as an alternative to punishment.

In every mediation session with a fellow ECHHS student, peer mediators follow a basic outline.

Since the same outline also serves as the focus of the psychology class' mediation unit, the ECHHS peer mediators staged a mock mediation session.

Slomianyj and Zhu served as the mediators, while Williams and Studwell acted out a dispute over a car being keyed.

The mock session illustrated some key questions that mediators ask, such as "What do you think is the best way to resolve this conflict?"

Methods of how to deal with a student's hesitancy to cooperate with the mediators also were addressed.

The lecture proved to be a learning experience for both the ECHHS students and the UNC students, as it concluded with a critique of the mock mediation session.

Marcia Mobray, a prospective UNC student from Lancaster, PA, who was visiting the class, said she really enjoyed the lecture.

"It was a really interesting to see high school and college students interact in the classroom," she said.

"It definitely sets UNC apart from the other schools I've visited."

Leibowitz and his students were impressed equally with the ECHHS peer mediators.

Leibowitz said the high schoolers successfully demonstrated an effective way to resolve conflicts.

"I think they did good job," said Nikkia Henderson, a senior psychology major.

"It's good to see younger people with skills we as people need to learn."

Mishelle Kitchen, a senior psychology major, was impressed by the broad range of conflicts that peer mediation can solve.

"It showed us it was actually applicable to real life experiences," she said. "It's not just limited to adult situations."

Hensley was happy with the performance of the ECHHS students and the way they handled the pressure of speaking to a college lecture class.

Most of all, he said, he hopes that after the mediators' presentation, the psychology students recognize the importance of peer mediation.

"By having peers do the mediating, we are putting the power back in the hands of the students."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.