BY SARAH SHARPE
The David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie and Baptist Health South Florida sponsored “Banishing Bullying: Be Part of the Solution” on Sunday, September 29th. This presentation featured a one-hour discussion with a panel of experts and a private screening of the “48 Hours” special Bullying: Words Can Kill.
Executive Director of the Ganley Foundation, Grace Carricarte, moderated the event, which began with presentations by child psychologist, Regina Mendoza, Psy. D., Officer E.J. Cuneo of Davie Police Department’s Special Operations unit, and Justin Mendoza, founder of the J.A.M. Foundation.
Dr. Mendoza spoke about the signs that show a child is being bullied or is bullying and how parents, schools, and the child themselves can stop it.
“If a child is being bullied, they should definitely tell someone: parents, teachers, school administrators,” Mendoza said. “If you don’t get help, keep telling adults until someone helps. If the bullying is happening online, despite it being difficult, the bullied child should completely avoid online sites where the bullying is happening.”
Officer Cuneo spoke about what happens when a bullying incident is reported and how serious the authorities view each and every incident.
“Even if you think you’re just making a joke, it can still be considered a bullying offense and you can be arrested for it,” Cuneo said.
Menendez shared the story of his brother, a seemingly “normal” kid, who committed suicide at 13-years old after a devastating breakup. Jason Menendez’s suicide not only ended the promising life he had ahead of him, but also affected his brother. Menendez was then known by his classmates as “the kid whose brother committed suicide” and was forced to switch schools.
“Suicide isn’t contagious,” Menendez said. “You can’t catch it by speaking about it.”
After a short break, the documentary Bullying: Words Can Kill was shown. It follows several kids in middle school and their plights with bullying. Their schools made efforts to stop the bullying epidemic, but sometimes, it just wasn’t enough. Revealing startling facts, such as 160,000 students don’t go to school everyday for fear of being bullied, the documentary helped to shine a light on the all-too prevalent problems and consequences of bullying and cyber-bullying.
“Schools should have clear anti-bullying policies and strictly enforce negative consequences for students engaged in bullying,” Menendez said.
In an age where 90 percent of students in middle school own a cell phone, it’s easier than ever for one to become a target for bullying, as cyberbullying has become a major problem in schools across the country. The advice from this panel of experts is for people to become knowledgeable about this problem so they can be part of the solution.
