News & Press
ABC NEWS
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6043941&page=1
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/10/14/bullies.internet.ap/index.html
CBS - New York- wcbstv
Video: http://wcbstv.com/topstories/online.bullying.service.2.840406.html
FOXNEWS
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,437343,00.html
Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_re_us/bullies_internet
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27179688/
SUNRISE - Australia
NEWZ.DK - Denmark
Signing of anti-bullying bill HB 325
Governor Huntsman signs HB 325 - an anti-bullying bill sponsored by Carol Spackman Moss. The Huntsmans have been strong advocates for strengthening youth and securing our schools. The SchoolTipline Team has volunteered several times with their PowerInYou.org program. We were all thrilled to support Rep. Carol Spackman Moss’s good work.
Here’s a review of HB 325 by BullyingPolice.org. “This law is strong on point 10 (helping victims of bullying) but missing reporting requirements and an immunity clause. In its original form it would have been graded an A++ law; Nevertheless, this is a great law and has been graded an A-”
Find out what HB 325 means for Utah schools and the deadlines to comply by reading more at http://www.bullypolice.org/ut_law.html
SchoolTipline Takes Second in Business Plan Competition
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SchoolTipline is a tool for students to report concerns about safety to authorities.
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As a new school year begins, parents, teachers, or students who have had negative social experiences in the past may feel apprehensive. Many questions go through their minds: Will my child make friends? Will the students in my classes get along? Will there be a safe learning environment for everyone to grow? How can I protect myself without my friends thinking I’m a tattletale? BYU student Justin Bergener considered these worries and worked with MSE faculty member Betty Ashbaker to create School Tipline, a hotline for young students to combat bullying, harassment, violence, and drugs in schools.
This innovative venture allows students to report bullying, threats, and drugs while remaining anonymous by using electronic communication methods such as text messaging or the Internet. The practical nature of this innovation earned the SchoolTipline business plan a second place honor at the 2008 Business Plan Competition held in the JSB Auditorium by the Marriott School.
Bergener noted that very few students are willing to pay the social price required by current reporting methods. “Students prefer to communicate online or through text messaging because that’s where they feel most anonymous.” In addition to being seen in the principal’s office or talking to the teacher, reporting will often hurt a student’s ‘social status,’ he said. “Some even refer to it as ‘social suicide.” Utilizing the modern technology of text messaging or Internet reporting allows them a way that is safe—both physically and socially—to reach out for help.
“The idea for School Tipline came a couple of years ago, after my sister was harassed after reporting something very dangerous at her school,” Bergener explained. “I saw what happened to students who try to do the right thing; after that incident, she swore she would never report again.” Bergener realized the extent of the problem and sought to change it for students of all ages.
Utilizing the modern technology of text messaging of Internet reporting allows students a way that is safe to reach out for help.
SchoolTipline focuses mainly on students from grades K—12. “Anywhere in those ages there is bullying, harassment, drugs, and violence,” said Bergener. “Many potentially very dangerous situations occur as early as the 3rd grade.” Bergener explained that bulling peaks toward middle school years, then when students are in high school turns into less obvious but just as harmful practices such as hazing or harassment or drugs. “We can see examples of violence in the media and the news,” commented Bergener, referring specifically to several recent school shootings and a plot by elementary students to kidnap and kill their teacher. “Obviously, there are serious threats at very young ages.”
Bergener’s Tipline seeks to cut off such problems in the earliest stages. Currently over 40 schools in 6 states use School Tipline. Rosanna Ungerman, principal of Dixon Middle School in Provo, UT, implemented School Tipline at her school. “Students always know before adults where there is crime, threat, or activity that is—or will be—dangerous,” she said, as quoted on School Tipline’s official website. “I want [students] to know they have a place to report without being identified, if necessary.” (Original article can be viewed at
http://education.byu.edu/news/news381.html)
KUTV - Parent 2 Parent - School Safety
BYU Entrepreneurial Teams Win National Honors
Two student businesses from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management, Klymit and SchoolTipline, won honors and cash awards at the 25th annual Global Moot Corp Competition, considered the “Super Bowl” of business plan competitions.
Klymit, creator of a revolutionary insulation system for outdoor gear, won $5,000 as the first runner-up and was also recognized with the Outstanding Written Plan and Outstanding Product awards. SchoolTipline, an anonymous online communication tool to prevent bullying in schools, won $2,000 as one of six semifinalists and also received the Outstanding Presentation award.
“In our program we emphasize launching new ideas and disruptive technologies,” says Gary Rhoads, director of the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. “The Moot Corp results show that our students are able to come up with ideas and products that allow them to make a real difference. Plus, they highlight the creativity and can-do attitude of our students.”
Held at the University of Texas at Austin, the Moot Corp Competition is the oldest and largest business plan competition in the world. It allows MBA student teams to simulate the process of raising venture capital. Thirty-two teams from around the world, each of which had won first place at a regional event, competed for top honors. NueroBank, a stem cell storage venture from Carnegie Mellon University, won the grand prize.
Klymit’s presentation team consisted of Nate Alder, a senior open major from San Diego, Calif., and Ben Maughan, a recent MBA graduate from Oak Hill, Va. Additional team members not at Moot Corp include Nick Sorensen, a recent entrepreneurship graduate from Salt Lake City; Mark Spencer, a first-year MBA student from Salt Lake City; Michael Albright, a second-year MBA student from Monument, Colo.; and Brady Woolford, a doctoral candidate in engineering from Spanish Fork, Utah. Klymit succeeded in seven other competitions this year, earning three first-place and three second-place finishes and collecting cash and in-kind prizes totaling $143,500.
Klymit’s patent-pending insulation utilizes noble gases instead of fabric for a thinner, lighter, warmer jacket that lets the user control the temperature. The technology has applications in a variety of outdoor gear, including sleeping bags, boots, pants and gloves.
The SchoolTipline presentation team included Justin Bergener, a senior sociology major from Zillah, Wash.; Barrett Edgington, a senior business management major from Orem, Utah; and Robert McMillen, a joint JD/MBA student from Twin Falls, Idaho. In two other competitions this year, the team placed first and second, winning $37,000 in cash and in-kind services.
SchoolTipline reduces school violence, bullying and drug use by providing an online communication service that encourages students to protect each other by anonymously reporting suspicious behavior.
“The reason these two teams did well is they have traction in the marketplace,” says Nile Hatch, the teams’ faculty adviser. “They are really unique because of the maturity of their ventures. They’ve put in a lot of work. They know their customers and have actually made sales. The students can show potential investors that they are able to overcome obstacles as they bring their products to market.” Reproduced from http://www.utahbusiness.com/parser.php?nav=email_article&article_id=7286
McKay School of Education News -
“When you were in public school, how did you report a bully? What about drug use, guns, or harassment? Was there a safety counselor or police officer to talk to, or maybe an anonymous drop box where you could slip in a note? Even today, at some schools the only way to report a concern is to head to the principal’s office. However, at one Provo school the situation is changing. If undergraduate researcher Justin Bergener has anything to say about it, the change won’t stop in Provo.
Justin Bergener is a sociology major who was concerned about a problem. His younger brothers and sisters were being bullied at school, and they didn’t know how to report it. Bergener and his mother came up with the idea for an Internet bullying hotline that students and parents could use to report safety concerns to school administrators. “Some kids don’t want to talk about the things they know,” said Bergener, explaining that fear of further bullying and peer rejection often keeps students from approaching teachers, counselors, and administrators when they have problems.
With this idea, Bergener started knocking on professors’ doors at BYU. He was eventually directed to the office of Betty Ashbaker, who works in the Counseling Psychology and Special Education Department at the McKay School of Education. Ashbaker has done much research concerning harassment, bullying, and school safety.
“When Justin approached me about this project,” wrote Ashbaker in an email interview, “I thought, ‘This is a marvelous idea. This program will work for students to report problems, but it will also work for parents who wish to report to school officials.’”
Ashbaker helped Bergener organize his project, prepare a grant proposal, and secure web designers. She also helped him contact local schools about participating in the online reporting system. In a few months, Schoolwhistle.com was implemented, and for the past year Bergener and Ashbaker have been implementing the Internet hotline at Dixon Middle School in Provo, UT.
“Our question,” explained Bergener, “is whether or not kids would use an online system and whether or not that system would be more effective than traditional methods of reporting.” Bergener and Ashbaker believe that by giving students a way to report problems online, they can help students overcome the fear of reporting. As part of the recent legislative push to curb bullying in schools, districts have been asked to track and report incidents of bullying. Many schools rely on a dry-erase board and tally marks to keep track of bullying incidents, explained Bergener. “If there’s not a paper trail, then things never get recorded and they don’t get taken care of.” Bergener sees Schoolwhistle.com as an effective way for administrators to track, follow up, and report on incidents.
Ashbaker echoed Bergener’s optimism. “I am confident that the system will be successful, not only in reporting bullying, but also [in reporting] other issues like drugs, or guns and knives at school.”
“We’ve had several reports come in that have stopped fights after school,” said Bergener. “And we’ve had parents reporting about bullying.” Bergener recounted one report from a student who was aware that a group of girls was planning to beat up another girl after school. “She knew when and where the fight was supposed to happen, and she was really worried about her friend,” explained Bergener. The young girl gave her name, the names of the other people involved, and the time the fight was supposed to take place. “She said she thought [reporting it online] was the best way to help.” The school was able to stop the fight, talk to the students, and help the girls resolve their problem.
In February, Bergener and Ashbaker shared the Schoolwhistle.com project at Utah’s first annual student research symposium at The University of Utah. Their presentation, titled “Stop Silence, Stop Bullying, ” gave them opportunities to talk with school professionals, community members, and even elementary school students, who were all excited about the idea of an Internet hotline for reporting school incidents.
Although they’re still in the data collection stage, Bergener and Ashbaker are confident the program will be effective. Continued funding has allowed Bergener and Ashbaker to revamp the website, making it more accessible to younger children, and they are increasing their advertising at Dixon in order to encourage students to use the hotline. Bergener hopes that if they demonstrate the value of the website through research, more schools will be interested in trying it out. Perhaps, says Bergener, in the future the system can become a resource for schools around the country. Reproduced from http://education.byu.edu/news/2007_features/school_whistle_internet_Bullying_hotline.html