Poll: Are Schools Doing Enough to Stop Hazing, Bullying?

Three plaintiffs were added to a lawsuit against Maine West High School that alleges coaches condoned hazing.

A lawsuit against Maine West High School alleges that students were hazed and bullied, sometimes at the behest of coaches of some athletic teams. A police investigation into a hazing incident this year led to charges against six students. During a “campus run” the boy’s teammates grabbed him, according to the lawsuit, tore off his underwear, held him down so he could not resist, grabbed his testicles and sodomized him with their fingers and other foreign objects. Des Plaines police told the Chicago Sun-Times that they sought felony charges in the case, but Cook County prosecutors disagreed. Prosecutors said there was not enough evidence for the more serious charges and settled on misdemeanors, the Sun-Times reported. Since that initial …

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Chicagoland Girl Scouts Stand Up to Bullying

"Bullied" author Carrie Goldman joins local Girl Scout Leaders in a discussion on bullying prevention.

Over the past few years, the issue of bullying has entered the national dialogue in a major way, such as through anti-bullying efforts like the “It Gets Better Project”. The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana held a small group discussion about bullying on Wednesday afternoon in Lake Forest between “Bullied” author Carrie Goldman, and Maria Wynne, the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana CEO. The Girl Scout Research Institute recently found that young girls are increasingly being influenced by different forms of media, such as reality television, which can glorify cattiness and bullying. In fact, their research showed that 78% of girls who regularly watch reality television agreed that “gossiping is a …

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Glenbrook Confidential

The YOLO challenge

Differentiating your own decisions versus the pressure of a motto

YOLO. This term, meaning “you only live once,” has been spit out, retweeted, and even printed on shirts lately. But it’s only a scapegoat. All around me, I’ve been watching people getting sucked into its web. YOLO this, YOLO that—as if that simple word is justification for everything. While in reality, people are only playing along to reassure themselves that they can do whatever they’re about to do. Supply that extra boost of confidence. And that is not where the problem stands; it’s the decisions that YOLO leads to.   Yes, it’s true that you only live once. That is, unless your personal beliefs advise you otherwise. But sugarcoating decisions with the motto YOLO parallels with a common theme of regret. Now, we all make mistakes. And in …

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Holocaust Museum Celebrates Enhanced Exhibit

New exhibit teaches children universal lessons from the Holocaust.

For many of the youngest members of families visiting the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, the permanent exhibit upstairs may not be something they can easily understand. This weekend, the museum celebrated the opening of the newly enhanced Miller Family Youth Exhibit titled "Make A Difference!", an exhibit that strives to teach children the universal lessons of the Holocaust through subjects like tolerance and standing up to bullying. Sunday afternoon's celebration featured a variety of activities for families and a chance for everyone to get a look at the new exhibit. Some of the new features include a variety of interactive stations and a mural created with the help of many of the young guests that turned out …

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Taking A Silent Stand Against Bullying Gay Students

High school students maintain silence for a day to raise awareness of harassment of gay peers.

The halls of high schools across the suburbs were quieter Friday. So were the cafeterias and classrooms. Students at many area schools observed April 15 as the “Day of Silence” to draw attention to the bullying and harassment of students who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. “This is not about do you approve or accept this,” said Mary Rapp, one of two teachers who moderate the Gay-Straight Alliance at Niles West High School in Skokie. “This is about creating safety for all. We want all of our kids to feel safe and welcomed in this school.” To make the point, students who volunteer to participate do not speak in the halls or cafeteria, or in the classroom, unless there is a project or assignment that demands it…

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Lauren O'Keefe

6:37 pm on Monday, April 18, 2011

In the case of parents who teach their children hatred and intolerance, it would be an ideal world if we could educate them along with their children to respect others. Unfortunately in my experience people who have have these believes and ideals are usually firmly rooted in their opinions by the time they are old enough to be parents and I fear that such an endeavor would just result in …   more ›