Anti-bullying editorial fills Sioux City Journal front page
22 Apr
entire front page of Sunday’s Sioux City Journal is devoted to an editorial about bullying by youths.
A northwestern Iowa high school student, Kenneth Weishuhn of Primghar, committed suicide last week. A month earlier, he had told people he was gay, and school officials and other students said he had been bullied, online and in person, ever since.
Saying such cruelty is common, Journal editorial writers urge school officials, parents, and anyone else who witnesses bullying to take immediate action to stop it, instead of downplaying and ultimately perpetuating it.
Like most American newspapers, the Journal rarely publishes its unsigned editorials, which are intended to represent the view of the newspaper, outside of pages designated for opinion pieces. It’s even more rare for a whole front page to be devoted to a single topic.
“We must stop bullying. It starts here. It starts now,” the editorial declares in large capital letters below a cartoon by Brian Duffy.
The nationwide release of the documentary “Bully” has helped bring prominence to bullying recently, particularly in Sioux City, because the film features a bullied Sioux City middle school student.
People have a habit of looking the other way when it comes to bullying, the Journal wrote, but that cannot continue.
“It is the business of all of us. More specifically, it is our responsibility. Our mandate,” the editorial says.
Tags: bullying
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