This article, written by Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas, originally appeared in the June/July 2012 California State PTA newsletter. Not In Our Town has partnered with CAPTA to work together to address bullying and intolerance in schools throughout California. Dr. Cohn-Vargas is the director of Not In Our School and an experienced educator.
We hear a lot about bullying, but do we ever stop to really think about what it is and the consequences of bullying? After all, isn't just kids being kids, a part of growing up? Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully among others may have serious, lasting problems.
Blog
July 2, 2012 - 11:13am
Rhode Island is now the 13th state to include gender-identity and expression in its hate crime laws.
The Transgender Hate Crimes Monitoring Bill (S2488) was introduced to the Rhode Island General Assembly on February 16. It passed the Rhode Island House on May 24, and Governor Lincoln D Chafee signed the bill on May 30.
The Transgender Hate Crimes Monitoring Bill assists in the research and safety of Rhode Island’s transgender population. In addition, because the bill addresses all hate crimes committed from gender identity or expression bias, victims of all gender identities are protected under this statute.
Specifically, the bill adds gender identity and expression to Rhode Island’s hate crimes reporting statute, which already specified race, religion, gender, disability and sexual orientation as motivating prejudices.
June 27, 2012 - 5:19pm
It’s hard not to cry, or feel like you’ve been punched in the gut while watching the ten minutes of horrendous bullying and harassment that Upstate New York grandmother and school bus monitor was subjected to by a group of middle school students.
June 27, 2012 - 3:31pm
We here at Not In Our School would like to thank all of the students who submitted short films to the 2012 Not In Our School “What Do YOU Say?” Video Challenge. As an organization that produces and distributes documentary films, we were excited to see so many talented young cinematographers coming together to stand up against discrimination in their schools!
Two videos stood out for their original depiction of Not In Our School’s message of inclusion and respect. We are excited to award these students from South Carolina and Wisconsin for their films that positively encouraged students to be upstanders in the face of bullying.
How can we show you that you are not alone?
June 27, 2012 - 10:15am
Video: New Yorkers Gather for Silent March to End Racial Profiling
Imagine, if almost the entire population of San Francisco were stopped by the police and patted down, and 88 percent of the time these innocent people were released with no charges. An entire group of New York city residents, whose numbers are greater than the populations of many large cities, has had this experience.
In 2011, the NYPD stopped and questioned more than 685,000 New Yorkers. Eighty-seven percent were Black or Latino and 88 percent of those frisked were innocent and walked away with no charges, according to the NYCLU.