photo courtesy flickr user lecercle
- Will
Posts Tagged ‘Legal’
Trafficking Bill
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
Criminal Charges For Bullies
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
Nine high school students in Massachusetts are being charged in connection to the suicide of 15 year-old Phoebe Prince. Apparently, their constant bullying of Prince is what provoked her to commit suicide earlier this year. With a young girl now dead and nine students facing serious charges the question everyone is asking is, how could this have been prevented? Bullying is a problem in every school across the country, but the extent of the bullying and the degree in which the school administration gets involved varies. The bullying in this case can only be described as extreme because it had such horrific consequences, but that does not mean that thousands of children are not experiencing the exact same acts of bullying elsewhere. The high school Prince attended is taking some serious heat for allowing such persistent bullying to occur on school grounds, but are they to blame for this death? Many students that witness or are bullied may be too peer pressured or scared to ask school officials for help. Teachers cannot be everywhere to monitor the students’ activities outside the classroom, but if they witness or suspect bullying, they should intervene. Bullying is a problem with serious consequences so enough of that “growing pains” philosophy most adults seem to have, it is time to be proactive with school administration and teach children that it is not appropriate with a new approach.
- Ruben
Human Rights Day
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
The aforementioned statement comes from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With Human Rights Day right around the corner (December 10th), I find myself contemplating what this declaration means to me. Upon reflection, this proclamation greatly disappoints me.
I am disappointed for a number of reasons. I feel let down. I am saddened by the fact that our country has not lived up to its own words. The world is filled with inequities. Men and women are not treated equally, education is obviously better in areas with higher degrees of wealth, health care is not available to all, and gay men and women are not able to wed those they love. It is on this day that we as citizens need to unite and fight for equality… We must call for action!
On December 10th, 2008, gay rights activists “called in gay” to work in protest of the passage of proposition 8. In 2009, Human Rights Day will focus on non-discrimination. Activist across the globe are asking citizens to participate by supporting organizations dedicated to helping lessen the discrimination faced by millions. I encourage everyone to contact local non-profits and find out how YOU can help. It is essential that we work on this together!
- Scott
One of Many Restrictions of the Youth
Friday, December 4th, 2009
Parental controls — we’ve all seen the option for this on your browser or computer and perhaps some of us have experienced the effects of such parental controls in a variety of situations. As mentioned in an article for the magazine about youth rights, parents are often a major source of influence and restrictions on the ability of the youth to exert control over their lives. Considering that parents are probably the first adults that a child comes into contact with, they often have a huge role in determining the limits of the youth’s power to exert control over their lives as they grow older. Personally I believe that parents, of all people, should be allowing their child greater extents of freedom. I suppose it would be hard to generalize since each kid is different from another but there are often signs that indicate that they are mature enough to handle their own lives, or at least, more of it than is assumed. However, with the current levels of restriction it is evident that it has resulted in many parent-child conflicts.
- Vivian