Group Offers 'Abuse: Report It If You See It' Posters for School Lockers
For Immediate Release:
July 12, 2012
Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382
Albany, N.Y. -- With New York's anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act newly in effect—and since Gov. Andrew Cuomo just signed a new anti-cyberbullying law—PETA has written to state officials with a suggestion that they make their anti-bullying efforts even stronger by placing PETA's "Bullies Are Cowards—Don't Be Afraid to Report Them" posters throughout schools.
"PETA's posters help students understand that picking on any living being who is smaller, weaker, or different is unacceptable," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Studies show that kids who abuse and bully animals often go on to hurt human beings, so it's vitally important for students to speak up and help stop this violence when it starts."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Gov. Cuomo and New York Commissioner of Education John B. King Jr. follows.
July 12, 2012
The
Honorable Andrew Cuomo
Governor
of New York
Dr.
John B. King Jr.
Commissioner
of Education
Dear Governor Cuomo and Dr. King,
I'm writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands across New York, with a suggestion to help strengthen the new anti-bullying initiatives in schools: Encourage school officials to place PETA's "Bullies Are Cowards—Don't Be Afraid to Report Them" public service announcement on campuses across the state. These posters would help students to understand that abusing any other being because he or she is smaller, weaker, or different is never acceptable.
Studies by the FBI, psychiatrists, and sociologists have amply demonstrated that children who abuse animals are more likely to be violent toward humans later. The horrific peer-to-peer violence that has rocked communities across the U.S. in recent years has, in many cases, stemmed from perpetrators who have engaged in acts of cruelty to animals. As just one example among many, Columbine students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold spoke of mutilating animals before shooting and killing 12 classmates and then turning the guns on themselves.
As a mother, I know that bullying is a real problem among our children, and I admire your state's dedication to changing the way that it's handled in schools. I hope you will work with us to put PETA's "Bullies Are Cowards" posters to good use. New York schools might also want to develop an anti-bullying lecture series, in which students and the community at large can come together to discuss ways to develop empathy for all others, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or species. If this appeals to you and school officials, we would be more than happy to contribute by sending one of our staff on a speaking tour to address students about the importance of recognizing and reporting animal abuse and how it ties in to school violence. Finally, please take a look at TeachKind.org—the Just Choices Curriculum Kit is designed to help students learn how their everyday choices affect others in society and to inspire them to take on issues with passionate civic engagement. We would be happy to contribute to your anti-bullying efforts by sending Just Choices materials to New York schools.
Please contact me to discuss this suggestion. Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Tracy
Reiman
Executive
Vice President