Summary
RIGHT Among the many cyberbullying conferences ADL has held or participated in recently was the United Nations' June 2009 conference entitled Cyberhate: Danger in Cyber Space where ADL presented strategies for confronting cyberhate and cyberbullying. On the UN panel are, from right to left, ADL Legal Affairs Associate Director Steven Sheinberg, ADL Curriculum Director Scott Hirschfeld and ADL Education Division Director Ed S. Alster. Credit: Randy Anderson
"Left unchecked, generalized bullying can contribute to school environments in which students feel it is acceptable to express and act on prejudice," says ADL Education Division Director Ed S. Alster. "In an online setting, social cruelty may be a precursor to more destructive behavior, including involvement in hate groups and bias-related violence. That is why ADL's cyberbullying programs are a natural, 21st century extension of ADL's efforts to promote respect among young people."In April, ADL's Civil Rights Division strengthened ADL's anti-cyberbullying campaign by releasing a model statute that encourages states to create comprehensive anti-bullying and cyberbullying policies. Currently 37 states have some kind of antibullying statute, but many lack a cyberbullying provision or are weak in other ways. States that have no bullying statutes of any kind include Alabama, Hawaii, Massachusetts (currently considering a cyberbullying bill promoted by an ADL-led coalition), Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.See the full content of this document
Extract
Saying No to Online Hate
"Today has really opened my eyes." "I never realized what a problem this is."
Those were New York City high school students talking about cyberbullying: the increasingly common use of the Internet to demean, harass and intimidate others online. The stu...See the full content of this document
