Mayor Menino kicks off anti-bullying awareness campaign

Students who feel they are being bullied or know someone who is being bullied should contact the anti-bullying hotline at 617-534-5050.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today was joined by city officials, various community partners, and Boston Public Schools (BPS) students to kick-off an anti-cyber bullying campaign in response to several reports of disturbing incidents nationwide. The event featured a call-to-action by the Mayor to reinforce the message that bullying of any sort will not be tolerated. The meeting, held at the John McCormack Middle School in Dorchester, also gathered ideas from middle school students, provided an overview of what initiatives BPS has already implemented and what steps will be taken to address the issue moving forward.

“Bullying has changed so dramatically – it no longer only takes place in the school yard, so we must change how we deal with the issue,” said Mayor Menino. “We have to come to together to help parents, teachers and others in our community know what to look for, how to report it safely and who is available to help when it comes to this new type of online harassment. We must send a message that bullying will not be tolerated at any time or in any form.” 

TechBoston Academy students debuted a student-produced public service announcement aimed at ending cyber bullying. Mayor Menino also engaged middle school students who had gathered to talk about their experiences with cyber bullying and to solicit their ideas on how to prevent the problem. Students in attendance also completed surveys that will be reviewed and discussed at a summit to be held next week with student cyber-mentors, Mayor Menino and Superintendent Johnson.            

“We are grateful to Mayor Menino for his leadership on this troubling trend,” said Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “This issue has been a top priority for the Boston Public Schools for some time now; this renewed attention and awareness is well-timed as we continue to educate our students, families and school staffs on cyber safety.”  

As cyber bullying is not as visible as “traditional” bullying and can often go undetected before real harm can be prevented, Mayor Menino and city officials stressed efforts that will not only raise awareness but will provide helpful tips on identifying cyber bullying.  

Targeted efforts to address a message of tolerance and friendship discussed at the meeting included:

• A letter from the Mayor to social networking sites calling for a streamlined and intense effort to combat cyber-bullying;
• Increased outreach efforts to raise the awareness level of parents through flyers, letters and workshops framing and clarifying the issue;
• A letter from the Mayor and BPS Superintendent Dr. Carol R. Johnson to parents about the efforts to confront the issue head-on;
• Providing increased training as an added requirement for employees who work directly with youth to help identify and prevent bullying;
• A new hotline and other “safe places” for young people to vent, express concerns and report bullying available at 617-534-5050;

• Produce and broadcast a public service announcement and other media to raise awareness.
  

Mayor Menino also highlighted investments already underway within BPS including: 

• High school students who are paid through external grants work during the summer months as cyber-mentors educating their peers about the dangers of cyber bullying and other cyber safety tips;
  
• An extensive campaign and curriculum in the BPS aimed at educating elementary and middle school students on the issue of cyber-bullying.
  
• A website dedicated to raising awareness about cyber safety issues: www.bpscybersafety.org.

In addition to requesting assistance from social networking sites, Mayor Menino also invited representatives from the websites including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to come to Boston for a forum to discuss next steps in the prevention of cyber bullying. Representatives from Microsoft have already reached out to Mayor Menino to inquire as to how they may help in the city’s efforts.