On January 14th of this year, 15 year old Phoebe Prince committed suicide in Massachusetts after relentless bullying, including cyber-bulling on facebook, twitter, and other internet places. The Massachusetts legislature is now looking at enacting a cyberbullying statute, similar to the one Erik Paulsen voted against 3 years ago. Erik Paulsen is further to the right than Gov Pawlenty, who signed the bill – despite Erik Paulsen’s “No!” vote.
Here’s how that Minnesota vote, almost 3 years ago, broke down:
SF 646 Cyber-Bullying
Senate Passage: 03/07/2007 : Bill Passed 61 – 2
House Passage: 05/04/2007 : Bill Passed 96 – 35
(Paulsen voted “No!”)
Governor Passage: 05/09/2007 : Signed
(VoteSmart.org)
Currently, roughly 40 states have anti-bullying laws similar to the Minnesota law that Paulsen voted against. As is Massachusetts, the Georgia Legislature is also working on an anti-bullying law. From March 30th’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
The Georgia House passed controversial legislation Tuesday that would require school officials to notify parents when their child is involved as either the victim or instigator of bullying.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta), sets a January 2011 deadline for the state Department of Education to develop an anti-bullying policy that can be a model for local school systems. (AJC.com)
OK, everybody catch that? Here it is, again (with emphasis added):
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta),…
Not only was Paulsen’s vote to the right of most Minnesota GOPer legislators, including Gov. Pawlenty (who signed the law); Paulsen is further to the right than Georgia Republicans.
You got to be a serious right-winger, to be to the right of Georgia Republicans. Of course, Paulsen IS a serious rightwinger – despite his claims to the contrary.
OK, so – how is that law that Paulsen voted against, here in Minnesota, working out? Let’s look!
South Junior High tackles cyberbullying
By Dave Aeikens
April 2, 2010
South Junior High School teacher Kelli Westling is spending 15 minutes of her homeroom period talking about a problem she rarely sees, because it happens away from the classrooms and hallways.
It’s a complex problem that has vexed school officials for years and with the ubiquity of cell phones, computers and cell phones that are computers. The problem has moved way beyond the name calling, teasing and pushing and shoving in the hallways experienced in the past.
Her topic: cyberbullying, or threats or inappropriate comments made by students using computers and cellular phones.
She explains to the group of seventh- and eighth-graders what bullying is, then passes out a quiz that will help them identify whether they’ve taken part in bullying.
“It seems like it is less and less in the halls and moved to the text messages,” Westling said after class about bullying.
At South, staff have zeroed in on bullying prevention with a unique curriculum that its two counselors created and by making the reporting of bullying easier with an e-mail and voice mail account. Plans are in the works to take reports by text message as well.
The programs started earlier this year and are already getting noticed by other schools in the district and other districts in the region that have inquired about trying them out in their schools.
(More, at the St.Cloud Times)
In St. Cloud Minnesota, that law Paulsen voted against is working out. In Eden Prairie Minnesota, that law Paulsen voted against, in the State House, was voted for, by Republican State Senator Hann.
When Erik Paulsen announced for Congress, in January 2008 at Scenic Heights Elementary School in Minnetonka, he said this:
I aspire to follow the example of Jim Ramstad as he followed the example of his mentor and my friend Bill Frenzel, who represented this district with distinguished service for 20 years. But at the same time I intend to apply my unique energy and talents to solve today’s and tomorrow’s problems.
Apparently, Erik Paulsen’s “unique energy and talents” consist of just voting “No!”
Even on laws that serve to protect our kids.
