Hey everyone! I know it has been a little over a year since I have posted and I’m sorry for my absence. However, I am extremely excited to start blogging again about my day-to-day life and the work being done at the Charles Lafitte Foundation and Kid’s Corner.
Today, as every Tuesday and Friday at Phillips Exeter Academy, we had an assembly. During the assembly, we are giving the opportunity to sit and listen. At a school where all we do is talk, it is nice to just listen for a bit. Some days we hear about events or clubs on campus and other days there are guest speakers such as politicians, doctors, scientists, teachers or alumni. These assemblies can consist of basically anything under the sun. This one applied to what CLF has been focusing on over the last month, bullying!
Today a lawyer came to talk to us. Julie Fae is a partner at Shipman and Goodwin LLP. She specializes in court cases on social media involving bullying, harassment, etc. She talked to us about the app called Yik Yak, which sadly broke it’s way into our campus last spring. The posts that appeared on her slideshow were appalling. A lot of people gasped at some of them, but when they were posted people laughed at them.
I remember last year when people were posting about each other. Dorms were targeted, as well as clubs, classes, and people. My dorm specifically was a target. I was lucky that my school and student leaders were proactive about stopping students from using it. Even though the community was proactive, they did not act fast enough. Many students, teachers, and faculty were hurt by the cyber-bullying. In the end, we had many people upset and a lot of pain throughout the campus.
Cyber-bullying is not okay. We are the age group who uses social media the most and we must start using it (sorry if I sound cliché) for good. There are Facebook pages online that have been dedicated to compliments students in the community. I know, my former school, Ranney, and my current school, Exeter, have these compliment pages. I think that our generation needs to start bringing positive enforcement through social media rather than tearing others down. Stand with me and stay positive when using any social media. Together, we can make the world a better place!
I am excited to start reading all the essays for National Bully Awareness Month! This is a great way to tell me about your thoughts and experiences on bullying. Read one of the selected books and describe how you relate to a character in the story. All essays are due by November 15th.
Thanks for reading!