District Attorney Charles Hynes doesn’t like bullies, and he wants to honor kids who fight bullying on all fronts.
To that end, he’s asking students in grades four through nine to participate in his second anti-bullying contest and submit a 90 second video explaining why bullies have no place in Brooklyn. Entries must be in by June 1, Hynes said.
“The goal of the contest is to raise the consciousness of not only children, but teachers, administrators, and parents to the reality of bullying and how each of them has to step up and be a part of solving this problem,” Hynes said. “If more young people were to take a stand against bullying, then the phenomenon would likely diminish over time.”
The videos will be judged for creativity, so all filmmakers are encouraged to utilize music, dancing, pictures, and whatever other techniques they can imagine to dispel the rumor that bullying is a fact of life and needs to be tolerated.
Hynes said that bullying has a serious effect on its victims and often leads to depression and suicide.
According to some statistics, about 60 percent of middle school-age children say they have been bullied. About 160,000 students across this country stay home from school each day because they are being bullied.
The winner of the contest will serve as “DA for a Day,” and will be invited to tag along with Hynes for an afternoon.
Nairan St. Phard and Jeremiah Hyde, who created a rap video about bullying, won the contest in 2010 and were given a chance to relay their rap at a press conference when they were named DA for the day.
Contestants are asked to submit their videos as a reply to the Brooklyn DA’s YouTube video at http://youtu.be/Y0dZHPc1PyM.
Reach reporter Colin MIxson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.
