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Human
Events...
White House Takes on
Bullying, but Not in the Mideast
by John Gizzi
03/10/2011
Upon hearing that there would be a conference on bullying prevention at
the White House today, more than a few in the press corps were
speechless.
At a time when the President talks about “living within our means,”
federal tax dollars are going to be spent on a conference that many
believe is a matter for families and local schools. At the very
worst, it is an issue to be dealt with by local boards of education or
municipalities.
“If I didn’t know it was for real, I would have thought this was part
of a hoax,” someone e-mailed me in response to a clip of the President
and First Lady Michelle Obama making remarks on bullying prevention.
But sure enough, the Obamas both deliver remarks to the conference in
the East Room of the White House at 10:30 a.m. Thirty minutes
later, what the White House bills as “a conversation with experts on
effective programs and policies to prevent bullying” follows—again in
the East Room.
“The conference will bring together communities from across the nation
who have been affected by bullying as well as those who are taking
action to address it,” reads a statement from the office of the White
House press secretary. “Participants will speak about the effects
of bullying and the work of students, parents, and teachers nationwide.
Last fall, the President, vice president, and several
administration officials taped video messages for the It Gets Better
campaign and discussed the need to dispel the myth that bullying is
just a normal rite of passage.
“Thursday’s conference will also include breakout sessions to discuss
effective policies and programs to prevent bullying, followed by a
wrap-up session in which [Education Secretary Arne] Duncan and [Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen] Sebelius, along with Domestic
Policy Advisor Melody Barnes, will deliver remarks.”
The press release concludes by noting that “[i]n order to engage
audiences across the country, two of the White House Conference on
Bullying Prevention breakout sessions will be live chats with Facebook
and iVillage.”
As to whether bullying prevention qualifies as a state issue is
questionable. As one Indiana Republican political consultant
wrote me, “The White House doesn’t consider it a state issue because
the only bullying going on there is that of Republican governors
bullying public sector unions.”
Read it at Human Events
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