School Bullying Council

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met with more than 150 parents, teachers, non-profit leaders, advocates, and policymakers at a White House conference on March 10 in an effort to address the problem of youth bullying.

Those in attendance discussed methods to achieve safer schools and communities for the nation’s students. One of the objectives of the conference was to dismiss the idea that bullying is a part of growing up.

“Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people. And it’s not something we have to accept. As parents and students; teachers and communities, we can take steps that will help prevent bullying and create a climate in our schools in which all of our children can feel safe.” Obama said in a prepared statement.

“As parents, this issue really hits home for us. It breaks our hearts to think that any child feels afraid every day in the classroom, on the playground, or even online,” the first lady said. “I hope that all of you—and everyone watching online—will walk away from this conference with new ideas and solutions that you can take back to your own schools and communities.”

The conference also highlighted private, nonprofit, and federal commitments to prevent bullying. MTV and Facebook were among the organizations that unveiled initiatives against bullying.

The conference comes amid growing media coverage of bullying. Over the last few years, news stories of fatalities caused by bullying have gained national awareness, including the death of Abraham Biggs of Florida in 2008. The 19-year-old, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, committed suicide on a live Internet broadcast while viewers egged him on.

In 2010, Shaniya Boyd, an 8-year-old with cerebral palsy, threatened to commit suicide after telling school officials she was attacked and teased by classmates at her Baltimore City elementary school.

http://www.afro.com/sections/news/national/story.htm?storyid=4312

The Obama administration will host an anti-bullying White House summit today, including a live chat on Facebook.

This April 2010 file photo shows handmade bracelets worn by members of the Long family, spelling the name of Tyler Long, the eldest son who committed suicide in October 2009 at age 17 after being bullied by students at Murray County High School in Chatsworth, GA. The White House will host an anti-bullying summit Thursday morning.

Mary Knox Merrill / The Christian Science Monitor / File

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Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Staff writer /
March 10, 2011

The Obama administration continues its push against bullying with a White House summit today.

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“If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It’s not,” President Obama said in a press statement. “Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people. And it’s not something we have to accept. As parents and students, teachers and communities, we can take steps that will help prevent bullying and create a climate in our schools in which all of our children can feel safe.”

Opening remarks by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama can be seen livestreamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live at 10:30 this morning.

IN PHOTOS: Inside President Obama’s White House

At 12:30, another livestreamed event at the same site will feature questions via the White House Facebook account, addressed by administration officials and Facebook’s chief security officer Joe Sullivan.

In the coming weeks, Facebook plans to unveil a new social reporting system so that content violating Facebook policies can be removed and parents or teachers can be informed, according to the White House press release.

Conference sessions at Thursday’s summit will address everything from school-based prevention and enforcement efforts to cyberbullying.

Momentum has been growing to curb bullying since a spate of high-profile youth suicides in recent years. Prevention campaigns are underway by such groups as the National Association of Student Councils; the two major teachers’ unions – the NEA and AFT; MTV Networks; and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

StopBullying.gov http://www.stopbullying.gov/ is a new website that provides information from various government agencies on how children, young adults, parents, educators and others in the community can prevent bullying. It will also show how to get help for bullies’ targets.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0310/White-House-anti-bullying-summit-You-re-invited