Students Posters Tell Bullies to Back Off

Everyone from students to teachers to even the governor himself has said bullying is a problem in Iowa schools.

Last year, Governor Culver helped push through new legislation designed to eliminate bullying in schools.

Now, one local organization is working with high school students to solve the problem.

The Linn County Victims� Advisory Committee just finished a campaign at Cedar Rapids Metro High School. The group asked students to create a poster about the harmful effects of bullying.

Every teenagers' poster focused on the dangers of cyber bulling. The Victims' Advisory Committee thinks it's a sign online harassment is becoming more widespread.

"The things they pull up and then use against each other, it's terrible," committee member Linda Sorenson said.

Ajai Dittmar created a poster contest because she was bullied herself in high school and she understands how teasing can make teenagers miserable.

"It can affect their mental health. It can affect their physical health. It can affect everything around them including their home life and their school life,� Dittmar said.

Dittmar says bullying comes in many different forms. �Like being told you're too skinny or too fat. Your hair is too stringy, too short. You don't look right,� she said.

These kinds of poster campaigns are designed to call attention to the problem before it gets out of control.

"I think this is something we've been more aware of because of the Columbine shooting and different things like that. You see how kids get picked on and how it turns into some real tragedies," Sorenson said.

But, it doesn't have to be that way. If enough students and teachers stand-up against bullies, the teasing should eventually stop.

The anti-bullying movie posters are on display at the Cedar Rapids Public Library right now in the lobby area.

Next year, the group wants to expand the contest to include many more schools in the area.

May 19, 2008