Awesome Tattoos

Administrators and students at Memorial Junior High and North High School are working harder than ever to treat the age-old problem of bullying. Fighting it with new solutions, adolescents are taking a stand — one that was heard loud and clear during Anti-Bullying Week from March 28 to April 1. Each school held assemblies and activities that spread not just a captivating message against bullying, but an inspirational movement of tolerance and kindness. Focus on cyber-bullying at Memorial Sitting in the school’s gymnasium on March 31, more than 150 ninth-grade students learned first-hand that cyber-bullying — bullying over the Internet — is a dangerous issue that can have tragic effects. Nassau County police officer John Dockswell presented various facts and stories about the dangers and overwhelming prevalence of not only cyber-bullying, but sexting — the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs. “everything you do can come back to you online,” Dockswell said. “do you know who you are talking to online?” The rules of social media including websites like Facebook have changed — people can use technology for inappropriate actions and harassment, Dockswell noted. He discussed a growing trend of teens posting skin-exposing photos to victimize others through the computer or cell phone. Eighty-two percent of students, he said, do it to get attention, 63 percent to be cool, and another 55 percent to get the attention of the opposite sex. Calling those pictures “digital tattoos,” he added that whatever is put out, stays out. And “bullying” actions aimed at hurting others, whether online or not, can result in deadly consequences. Dockswell cited several cases of teenagers who took their own lives after being bullied. Dockswell urged students to think before they text or post. “if you don’t want to be at the other end of a text message, don’t do it to someone else,” he said. “Make appropriate decisions.”