After a Palo Alto middle school student was the target of a student-led “I Hate [Student's Name]” Facebook group, some Silicon Valley parents are calling for a community dialogue about cyberbullying.
According to the Silicon Valley Moms blog, over 100 young people participated in the online group. Many of the public Facebook posts “ranged from insulting, rude comments to actual threats of violence” against the bullied student.
Although school district officials took measures to remove the Facebook group, some concerned residents are calling for a meeting about the harmful effects of intolerance and hate speech, and what the community can do to get to the root of the problem.
Parent Roxane Dover encourages Silicon Valley to stand together against cyberbullying in Cyberbullying: whose responsibility is it?:
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Now in its third year, Palo Alto’s Not In Our School campaign has become a new model for engaging students in learning, conversation, and action against hate, bigotry, and bullying.
This spring, Palo Alto elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers took their Not In Our School campaign to new heights.
Students and teachers used closed-circuit TV to show Not In Our Town Northern California and the Not In Our Town youth video, took part in a “dissolving stereotypes” activity, created artwork about taking a stand against intolerance and stereotyping, and more.
The Working Group’s video team was on hand to document Palo Alto’s Not In Our School campaign for an upcoming video about how students can stand up to hate and intolerance. Stay tuned for screening information and locations!
A new Not In Our School video of Palo Alto High students’ response to the tragic Oxnard, CA school shooting of Larry King is now on YouTube!
Now in its third year, the Not In Our School campaign in Palo Alto has become a new model for how schools can engage their students in learning, conversation, and action against hate, bullying, and bigotry. In April, The Working Group will document the Palo Alto Not In Our School campaign in a short film about how students can stand up when they are confronted with intolerance.
How has your school or community responded to this tragedy?