Category: Turn Off the Violence
The following article appeared in the Monday, April 2, 2012 edition of the Lincoln Journal Star. April 20, 2012 has been designated 'Nebraska Stand for The Silent Day' to recognize the victims of bullying who often endure the torment in silence. This is the day that the countless victims and bystanders are rising up to take a stand against bullying.
Please take a moment to read the article, forward it to the school that your child, grandchild, niece or nephew goes to and ask them to participate in this very important event.
People interested in receiving balloons and taking part in Nebraska Stand for The Silent Day can go to www.serve.nebraska.gov and click on the Stand for the Silent tag.
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by Kerry Beldin, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and NFP board member
This past holiday season, the family of Ben Lewis had to celebrate without him. In November, the 15-year old Lincoln East sophomore took his own life at his grandmother’s home. According to the family, Ben’s suicide was yet another tragic end to ongoing victimization and bullying by peers. Stories such as this have become sadly commonplace as the topic of bullying has garnered increasing attention both at the national and local level.
According to KLKN TV Channel 8 in Lincoln, Ben’s history and profile are not surprising. Diagnosed with Asperger’s Disorder, a condition that can make academic environments challenging and social interactions difficult, Ben had left an Omaha school to avoid the bullying he had experience there. Following his death, his family states they wished he would have spoken out, wish he would have told others he was experiencing bullying. Ben’s uncle, Jeremy Bibelheimer is quoted by the news channel as saying, “Schools advocate 'We have a zero-tolerance policy against bullying' and what exactly does that mean? Yes, you have a zero-tolerance policy but what does that mean? What are the resources? What's that you know?"
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June 15 through August 2, 2011 | All Across Nebraska
Nebraskans for Peace member and 84 year old great-great grandmother Norma Fleisher is spending her summer touring Nebraska in hopes of ending the Death Penalty. Follow her journey. Join her when she drives through your area. She is an extraordinary woman and one everyone should meet.
She can tell you exactly how many Mondays she has stood at the Capital with her Abolish the Death Penalty signs. Twelve years of legislative session Mondays at noon. She has a nineteen year history of prison ministry. She’s attended hearings, NADP dinners, met Sister Helen Prejean, and visited death row. But her Monday vigils represent a personal, unflagging commitment to ending executions in Nebraska.
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With all of the devastating news coming out of Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, as well as all of the protests taking place around the country in response to the attack on public union employees, some important news about anti-bullying efforts in this country got passed over. In the March 8, 2011 issue of the Lincoln Journal Star, an article entitled UNL prof to share bullying research at White House reported that a UN-L associate professor of psychology and well-known bullying expert, Susan Swearer, was going to Washington, D.C. to join a panel of researchers at the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. Swearer said about the conference, "It's great that the Obama administration is putting a lot of effort into understanding and preventing bullying behaviors in kids. I think certainly drawing national attention to the issue is really important because bullying is really prevalent in a lot of communities."
In a follow-up article entitled Obama: Bullying not inevitable part of growing up, in the March 10, 2011 edition of the Lincoln Journal Star, it was reported that "...one-third of the nation's students, or 13 million children, have been bullied. The issue has gained increased attention in recent years in part because of the effect of new technologies such as Facebook and Twitter, and because of high-profile coverage of young people who have committed suicide after being bullied. Experts say young people who are bullied are more likely to have trouble in school, abuse drugs and alcohol, and have health issues. Obama has warned that failing to address bullying puts the nation at risk of falling behind other countries in academics and college readiness."
Having bullying in our schools making headlines in the news will help us keep this issue at the forefont of people's minds. This is an important issue, one that we must not stop working on until all of our children can go to school in a safe and bully-free environment.
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Call Illinois Governor Quinn to sign the bill to end the death penalty
Illinois is just one signature away from becoming the 16th state without the death penalty! The IL General Assembly passed legislation to repeal the death penalty on January 11, 2011 and the bill is now awaiting Governor Pat Quinn's signature.
Governor Quinn is encouraging people to contact his office with their opinions on the issue, and our friends at Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty have asked for our help. In the past, Governor Quinn has indicated support for the death penalty, while also expressing concerns about the problems with the system. We need you to remind him that regardless of his position on the death penalty, Illinois’ history has made clear the system is broken beyond repair. Illinois can no longer afford to keep it's costly and error-ridden death penalty.
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