Highland Park Launches Anti-Bullying Campaign

The following is from the City of Highland Park:

Inspired by the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ (USCM) Campaign to End Bullying, Mayor Nancy Rotering convened representatives from Highland Park sister governments, agencies and not-for-profit organizations to launch ‘We Stand Together,’ an Anti-Bullying Campaign. The goal of the coordinated effort is to promote a unified message about bullying awareness, prevention and intervention during the launch and beyond. The official launch will be held on October 6, 2014: World Day of Bullying Prevention.

The partnering organizations include the City of Highland Park, Park District of Highland Park, North Shore School District 112, Township High School District 113, the Highland Park Public Library, Family Service and the Highland Park Police Department with support from the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

Following a September 22, 2014 Mayoral Proclamation against bullying, the organizations are collectively launching ‘We Stand Together’ on October 6 with events and public screenings of the documentary Bully followed by facilitated discussions provided by Family Service. A full calendar of events can be found at www.cityhpil.com/WeStandTogetherHP. A number of screenings and discussions will be available in Spanish. These screenings and discussions are part of a nation-wide initiative by the USCM and The Bully Project, an advocacy and educational group founded by Bully director Lee Hirsch. In addition, community members are encouraged to wear blue shirts on October 6 in support of World Day of Bullying Prevention. Participating organizations also will encourage students, staff and/or activity/event participants to take an anti-bullying pledge.

“Though the USCM initiative is focused specifically on student bullying, unfortunately, we know that bullying impacts all ages, all socio-economic groups and needs to be identified for the societal challenge that it is. We as a community must stand together to state that bullying has no place in Highland Park,” said Mayor Rotering. “We can end bullying by listening to each other, being the upstander instead of the bystander and by becoming more aware of the impacts bullying has on each of us. We are working to encourage all residents, schools, businesses, and organizations to kick-off this first week with activities and educational events that promote bullying awareness, prevention, and intervention. The conversation will continue with events throughout the year, periodic assessments and on-going activities. ”

“It’s important to have candid conversations about bullying,” said North Shore School District Board of Education President Dr. Bruce Hyman. “Often, bullies get away with their behavior because witnesses stand by silently. It’s incumbent upon us to foster a culture which empowers students to speak up if they witness or hear about someone who is being bullied.”

According to the USCM, bullying is defined as “an imbalance of power with physical, verbal, sexual or emotional harm or intimidation intentionally directed at a person or group of people, and (is) considered the most common form of violence in our society affecting all ages.” Bullying occurs in neighborhoods, places of employment, playgrounds, schools, and through technology such as the Internet and cell phones, and can have dire and sometimes tragic consequences for the bullied

and bullies alike.

“Township High School District 113 is pleased to partner with our local government entities on this important initiative. This programming dovetails nicely with the NAMES anti-bullying program in which our freshmen students at Highland Park High School just participated, as well as programming that is woven throughout our curriculum. Reduction and, ultimately, elimination of bullying is essential to the social-emotional development of our youth,” said District 113 Board President Marjie Sandlow.

“The Park District of Highland Park is pleased to be a part of the communitywide anti-bullying initiative to raise awareness of bullying prevention and create a better environment for our residents and for future generations.” said Scott Meyers, Board President for the Park District of Highland Park. “The Park District has long recognized the importance of providing safe and welcoming recreational opportunities where bullying is not tolerated. Our code of conduct policy, procedures and on-going staff training promote good sportsmanship and positive attitudes in all of our programs. ”

“In our work at Family Service, we very frequently help children, students, parents, couples, families, seniors and others deal with and respond to the issue of bullying,” Executive Director of Family Service Paul Dean stated. “Bullying happens all day long at school, the work place, at home, in senior buildings, public places and in any other location you can think of among all age groups, nationalities, income levels, etc. We have specific services designed to assist people in dealing with the emotional, psychological, physical and other effects of bullying and we make sure they are low- or no-cost so that everyone can access them. At Family Service, we are glad to be part of the Mayor’s efforts to raise awareness of this vital issue and to make sure everyone can get the information and help they need.”

For more information, including a list of events and helpful resources, visit www.cityhpil.com/WeStandTogetherHP. Be a part of the discussion – and the solution – by following and using #WeStandTogetherHP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.