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A PSA from KutRoc to prevent bullying and help young people everywhere become UPSTANDERS!
Dear NIOS Friends and Supporters,
NIOS
The BULLY Project Reaches 1 Million Kids
Not in Our School: a walk against hate
NBA player Jason Collins received a whirlwind of attention since becoming the first openly gay athlete on a major U.S. sports team. Although most people have heard of him, they are probably unaware of Brittney Griner, a lesbian recently drafted into the WNBA. Griner came out publicly last month, but has received little media attention compared to Collins. In an essay written for The New York Times, she opens up about that experience, letting the world know her decision was not about fame, but being true to herself despite the racial and homophobic obstacles faced in the process.
NIOS Brings Anti-Bullying Tools to PTAs
By Becki Cohn-Vargas, Not In Our School Director
Soledad High School in Soledad, CA is in its second year of implementing its Not In Our School campaign. We are happy to give the first NIOS club seniors “Not In Our School” sashes to proudly wear at their graduation ceremony.
NIOS Director Becki Cohn-Vargas recently interviewed NIOS Club members Alex, Robert, Daisy and Ivan. In this interview, these students share how taking a leadership stance against bullying on their campus has helped them grow personally and what they have learned since starting a NIOS club.
Becki: When you guys started the cyberbullying club, you gathered some data. What did you find out?
Alex: What we found out was it seemed like people were more willing to allow bullying to happen, people just didn’t care. It’s funny, people often say that they will stand up to others, and they won’t let anyone encroach on their territory, but from what we saw through the surveys is that people just don’t care. They’ll let other people get shoved.
Scott Hannah and Tyler Gregory make up the NoBull Guys, national spokespeople for The Great American NO BULL Challenge. Photo.
Is it possible for two students to change the perspective that millions of youth have on bullying? We think so, in fact, we are doing everything it takes to be those two students.
We call ourselves The NoBull Guys, and we are on a mission to inspire bravery and make the world a kinder place. We embarked on our journey when we heard about the suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer. We realized that this could have been anyone in our community, one of our friends, or one of our siblings. We wanted suffering victims of bullying to realize that they have a reason to live and that they are worth something to somebody, no matter who they are.
Soledad High School students come together to pledge against bullying. Photo Courtesy of Monterey County Office of Education.Soledad High School Assistant Principal Laura Eras and Intervention Specialist Myra Chavez called us from Soledad, CA, a small farming community located 25 miles southeast of Salinas. Using Not In Our School materials, they launched a weeklong anti-bullying campaign.