Powerful bully video - confession

50 Cent 'Playground'

Ben Cohen talks about his Anti-Bullying Campaign

Governor John Hickenlooper Expected To Sign Statewide Anti-Bullying Bill

Governor John Hickenlooper is expected to sign House Bill 1254 today. The bill, lauded by high schools, minority leaders and LGBT rights groups seeks to reduce the frequency of bullying Colorado public schools.
If passed, HB-1254 would be a huge step forward for public school violence by creating a statewide school bullying prevention and education grant program as part of the Department of Education. Schools can apply for grants to fund anti-bullying programs to reduce bullying incidents in their schools, define bullying specifically at their schools and each district will have its own sweeping and evidence-based anti-bullying policies.
Brad Clark, Executive Director of One Colorado, a Colorado-based LGBT advocacy organization, made a statement about the bill on the One Colorado website:
All students deserve to go to school free from fear, isolation, and harassment. It's our job as adults to ensure every student is protected and safe in our schools. Over the past decade, Colorado has made earnest attempts to ensure that students are protected in schools, but sadly, bullying and harassment continues--and not just on the playground or in classrooms but on mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices. This bill sends a clear message that bullying is no longer an adolescent rite of passage but a serious problem that will not be tolerated in our schools.
Read the bill in its entirety at the Colorado General Assembly website.

by Matt Ferner

Glee - Anti-bully episode

Bullying At School Linked To Violence At Home

Bullies and those being bullied are more likely to be experiencing family violence at home, a new report issued by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and prepared together with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has found. The researchers found that among middle and high school pupils across the state, encounters of family violence were more common among young people who had both taken part in bullying and been victims of it.

Since the two suicides in 2009 - Phoebe Prince, 15, in South Hadley, and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, in Springfield - bullying has been a big theme in Massachusetts, leading to anti-bullying laws in 2010 which ban bullying both online and in schools. Since the new legislation, schools have had to develop bullying intervention and prevention policies.

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) report explains that a growing body of evidence has been linking family violence with bullying. The authors write that they gathered and analyzed data from the Massachusetts Youth Health Survey (2009), an anonymous, paper and pencil survey carried out every 24 months.

There are considerable differences in risk factors contributing to individuals involved in varying categories of bullying, compared to those who have never been active bullies or victims of it.

The AORs (adjusted odds ratios) for middle school pupils for being physically hurt by a member of the family were:

• 2.9 for victims
• 4.4 for bullies
• 5 for bully victims
For being witnesses of family violence the AORs were:
• 2.6 for victims
• 2.9 for bullies
• 3.9 for bully victims

The authors say adjustments were made for factors which might alter the figures, such as the individuals age, sex, race and ethnicity.

The AORs for high school pupils for witnessing violence in the family were:

• 2.8 for victims
• 3.8 for bullies
• 5.4 for bully victims
For being witnesses of family violence the AORs were:
• 2.3 for victims
• 2.7 for bullies
• 6.8 for bully victims

In order to develop effective bullying intervention and prevention strategies, the authors say schools and health departments are finding that it is vital to include involvements in families.

The Massachusetts Youth Health Survey defines bullying as being "repeatedly teased, threatened, hit, kicked, or excluded by another student or group of students."

In the Massachusetts Youth Health Survey, which involves hundreds of schools in the state, pupils were asked two questions (among many):

• Over the last year, how often have you been bullied at school?
  They could answer from 0 to at least 12 times.
  Pupils who said they had been bullied at least once were categorized as victims.
• "Did you do any of the following over the last year? a) Bully or push someone around, and b) Initiate or start a physical fight with someone.
  This second question was asked immediately after the student answered the first.
  Students answered with a simple yes or no to both questions. An individual who answered yes to question "a" was categorized as a bully. Those who answered yes to question "b" were not classed as bullies because there was not enough deter to determine.

The researchers gathered the data they received from the two bullying questions and created four categories:

• Bullies - those who had bullied, but had not been bullied
• Victims - those who had been bullied, but had not bullied
• Bully-victims - those who had bullied and had also been bullied
• Neither - those who had neither been bullied nor bullied

Below are some highlighted results from this study:

• Victims of bullying - 26.8% of middle school and 15.6% of high school students
• Victims - 7.5%% of middle school and 8.4% of high school students
• Bully victims - 9.6% of middle school and 6.5% of high school students. There was no significant difference between male and female rates.
• Neither - 50.6% of middle school and 69.5% of high school students.
• Males bullies - 9.9% of middle school and 12.1% of high school students
• Female bullies - 5% of middle school and 4.8% of high school students
• Male victims - 24.1% of middle school and 13.3% of high school students
• Female victims - 29.8% of middle school and 17.8% of high school students

A higher percentage of bully-victims were exposed to violent family encounters compared to bullies.
The authors wrote that those associated with bullying are more likely to be involved in substance abuse, attempt or consider suicide, and have poor academic grades.

It was clear that bullies and their victims were much more likely to be physically hurt by a member of the family, or witness family violence compared to those who claimed they had never been bullied.

The authors wrote:

"A comprehensive approach that encompasses school officials, students and their families is needed to prevent bullying among middle school and high school students."

"Bullying Among Middle School and High School Students - Massachusetts, 2009"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) April 22, 2011 / 60(15);465-471

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today

Michigan activists trying to push anti-bullying legislation

By Todd A. Heywood | 03.29.11 | 10:46 am

Michigan advocates are continuing their drive to get the state legislature to pass an anti-bullying bill, even as Arkansas has gone back and reworked its law.

The new Arkansas law, which is heading to the desk of Gov. Mike Beebe, was amended to specifically list, or enumerate, protected classes.
In Michigan, the legislature’s conservatives, fueled by activism by Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, have long opposed legislation including enumeration. In the last hours of the 2008 sessions, advocates for the law agreed to strip the bill of enumeration, to address concerns from Republicans. Republican Sen. Alan Cropsey (R-DeWitt) however refused to bring the stripped down bill to the Senate floor for a vote.
Cropsey was term limited out of office in November, but he was selected as the legislative liaison for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
Gov. Rick Snyder’s pick to lead the Michigan State Police, Kristi Etue, said in December the Michigan State Police would continue its history of advocating for a strong anti-bullying law.
Kevin Epling, Co-Director of Bully Police USA, and the father of a son who committed suicide as the result of bullying, says he is frustrated at the lack of movement from the legislation.
“Arkansas has had a law for several years, but in keeping with many states it appears they have seen the need to update and adapt existing laws, to meet the needs of the changing dynamic of the bullying problem,” says Epling. “While Arkansas and other states have moved forward, it seems Michigan lawmakers have been committed to head in the opposite direction. Which to many parents has been extremely frustrating, and to a degree has cost students their lives because our previous lawmakers chose not to act and allowed people to simply look the other way.”
He said the recent anti-bullying conference at the White House was another reminder for him about how important the laws are.
“Seven years ago in Michigan my words fell on deaf ears, and to now hear our president echo some of those same thoughts is a strong vindication that some of us have always been on the right track for the right reasons: The safety of our children,” he says. “I am hopeful that our new legislative class will show their true ‘class’ and work for our kids and not their party or themselves this time around.This has never been about political party affiliation, sexual orientation or diminishing local control, it has been about our children and what they need, not what the adults want. Michigan’s political leadership needs not only to follow the other states but we should show our leadership and put forth a law that shows our commitment to our future generations.”
When and if the legislation passes, Epling says there is still much work left to be done to stop the bullying crisis in the country and state.
“We must remember that whatever language is in the Arkansas bill or is finalized in Michigan’s bill, it will still be the final implementation and enforcement of that law to make the changes needed,” Epling said. “Having a law is far better than just a policy but once passed, even though it has been a struggle for many of us, there is plenty of hard work ahead.”
Advocates for an strong anti-bullying bill will present a special showing of the play The Bullycide Project at Michigan State University’s Pasant Theater, located in the Wharton Center for Performing arts. The production will be Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The play was written and performed by actors of the Trust Theater Ensemble. Click here to view a trailer about the play on Facebook.