Last year Rachel Mayo, a senior at Townsend Harris High School in Fresh Meadows contacted City Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) about her high school research on cyberbullying.
While researching what issue to do for her scholarship contest, she chose something personal that would make an impact and build a network. As Rachel had been cyberbullied as a child, she chose bullying and contacted Mark Weprin her City Councilman.
Mayo conducted an analysis of cyberbullying and told the Councilman they should do some legislation. Council member Lewis Fidler [D-Brooklyn] had a similar idea and they worked on it together.
Rachel ‘s in-depth study of cyberbullying among sophomore students at her school and two others in the city, found that many victims of bullying and cyberbullying were targeted because of general physical appearance, which was not included in the city Department of Education’s definition of cyberbullying. Her proposal suggested that the city’s definition of cyberbullying was too narrow and focused only on biased-based bullying limited to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation and disability. It excluded physical appearance attributes such as weight, hair color, attractiveness, etc.
Lastly, her research found that cyberbullying is prevalent and drastically under-reported in the city’s public schools, and that physical appearance was not only the most common basis for cyberbullying, but that students who were cyberbullied based on physical appearance were the least likely to report it.
The new law requires the city Human Rights Commission to develop a training course for city employees on bias-related harassment, which includes verbal threats, taunting, intimidation, abuse and cyberbullying. In addition, the HRC will educate and assist young people in recognizing cyberbullying through schools, libraries and government agencies.
Rachel who recently completed her first year at Brandeis University saw her efforts come to fruition last week when Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed City Councilman Mark Weprin’s (D-Oakland Gardens) anti-cyberbullying bill into law.
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