In The News

By Debra-Lynn B. Hook of McClatchy-Tribune News Service

National Bullying Prevention Center Director Julie Hertzog is quoted in a Ledger-Enquirer article about the increasing awareness around bullying prevention and resulting changes in bullying reporting at schools. “The awareness is out there in a way it wasn’t before,” said Hertzog. “We’ve reframed the way people are thinking about bullying. We no longer say, ‘Oh, that’s just kids being kids.’ Now we understand the impact — everything from not wanting to go to school, to feeling unsafe, to anxiety and depression, to self-harm.”

Read more

On Saturday and Sunday, October 18-19, on FOX, NBC and ABC stations across the country will be showing the Make a Difference with Loukoumi National TV Special. This special will include a segment on Bullying Prevention that features tips from PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center and the animated cartoon of the award winning book, “Loukoumi and The Schoolyard Bully” narrated by Nia Vardalos, Morgan Freeman as the schoolyard bully, and the character voices of Olympia Dukakis, Gloria Gaynor, John Aniston, Frank Dicopoulos, Constantine Maroulis and Alexis Christoforous as the voice of Loukoumi. Other segments will encourage kids to do good deeds in their community and following their dreams. To find out when Make a Different with Loukoumi will be playing in your community, visit www.loukoumi.com.

Your Story is Powerful! Share it for a chance to receive a 13-inch 256GB MacBook Air!*

Michael and Marisa, teen spokespersons for PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, care deeply about the bullying prevention cause. Through their outreach, they know that a lot of kids feel like they are all alone, and that nothing will change.

They are here to let other teens know that things can change, and they want to encourage all teens to be a part of that change by sharing your story. It can be a story about how you were bullied, or maybe a story about how you helped someone going through a bullying situation. Sharing your story is a powerful way to let others know that this is an issue that has heartbreaking impact. It also shows kids that they are not alone, that people do care, and things do change.

Selected stories will be posted to this website and one story will be chosen at random to receive a 13-inch 256GB MacBook Air! Find out more

Posted on Delaware Online, written by Matthew Albright and Esteban Parra

Delaware was shocked earlier this month by the video that showed a group of teens assaulting a man with a mental disability.

The video quickly spread through Facebook, Twitter and other social media, drawing gasps and shaking heads from young people around the country.

When students at Calhoun Middle School in Denton, Texas, saw the video, they were determined to do something. One student began posting fliers around the school and organizing days when students would wear colored socks to show solidarity with 26-year-old victim, Karon of Ogletown, and others who face bullying.

“This is very powerful to see kids engaging like this,” said Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in Bloomington, Minn. “The issue of bullying has been surrounded by silence. But now we are seeing students who are taking a very active stand against it.”

Hertzog said school leaders, advocates and others have spent years trying to teach students to stand up against bullying. The response to these attacks, she hopes, are a sign that it is happening.

“It’s a statement by kids saying that we understand this is an issue that hurts people,” she said. “We’re looking at this generation and they’ve been getting education about this, and now they are taking the responsibility themselves.”

Read full article

Choose Kindness” is part of Disney ABC Television Group’s efforts to create a bullying prevention campaign to encourage kids and parents around the country to help put an end to bullying by choosing kindness. PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center is among the partners.

As part of this initiative, Disney Channel will air special, themed episodes of “Girl Meets World” on October 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET and “Austin & Ally” Thursday, October 30 at 10 p.m. ET.

Unlock items in Disney Club Penguin: Players can unlock an orange T-shirt and a megaphone with code 2BEHEARD to rally in support of Unity Day. For every megaphone and orange T-shirt unlocked in-game, Club Penguin will donate $1 (up to $50,000) to support bullying prevention.

Additionally, Club Penguin has teamed with 14 year-old Alex Angelo, host of Radio Disney’s “Saturday Night Party” with Alex Angelo (Saturdays, 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. PT), who is a big supporter of the -bullying prevention cause. Watch Alex’s video as he shares the message to “Be Heard” and stand up against bullying.

Besmartbewell.com and PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center explore the important role bystanders play in preventing bullying.

Bullying and cyberbullying are a part of growing up today. Surveys show that nearly 30 percent of middle and high school students have been bullied at school and 43 percent have experienced cyberbullying in the past year.

Those witnesses, the bystanders, are the key to ending bullying, say experts interviewed by besmartbewell.com. “Bystanders have a powerful influence in preventing bullying,” says Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. “It has such power when peers are saying, ‘nobody deserves to be harmed; everybody deserves to be treated with respect.’”

In two new videos at besmartbewell.com, bullying prevention experts and high school students offer tips for how bystanders can stand up to bullying. Watch Bullies and Bystanders: What Teens Say and Bullies and Bystanders: What Experts Say.

Learn more

CustomInk launches its 4th annual “Be Good to Each Other” t-shirt campaign in support of PACER! The campaign encourages students, groups, and others to take a stand for kindness and tolerance by designing and wearing custom bullying prevention t-shirts. Official Unity Day T-shirts are available now for $12, and CustomInk donates all profits (at least $9 per shirt!) to PACER. Order by Oct. 9 for guaranteed arrival in time for Unity Day. Learn more

The National Tourette Syndrome Association released a powerful video inviting students to “Stand Up for Tourette Syndrome” by making an effort to get to know their classmates with disabilities. In this video, Luke, a student with Tourette Syndrome, is encouraged by his friends to speak up to a group of students that has been bullying him. Luke and his friends explain Tourette Syndrome to the group and the other students come to realize that the way they treated Luke wasn’t ok. Watch the video and learn more here.

Imagine what it’s like to face bullying on a daily basis – at school, on the bus, and on your phone. Imagine trying to go about your life while being bombarded with negative messages. This powerful new PACER video, created by Periscope, a creative agency in Minneapolis with the mission “do things people love”, brings that experience to life – and lets viewers know what they can do to help.