Students Take Action to Stop Cyber Bullying

Katie Rielly helps #BreakTheWall during last years presentation.

OSKALOOSA, IA- Middle and high school students will soon have the opportunity to promote awareness and attempt to end cyber bullying by sharing examples and their experiences.

“We are hoping to educate students on cyber bullying and how to tackle it,” a sophomore social media student, Esther Lwakabamba said. This year’s “Break the Wall” anti-cyber bullying campaign was organized by students enrolled in a social media class at William Penn University. The college students are continuing the tradition of bringing constructed walls into schools on which students write examples of cyber bullying that they have witnessed or been told. The campaign will occur at the Oskaloosa middle school on Monday, April 28 and at the high school on Friday, May 2.

The organizers will also be presenting real-life cyber bullying cases to encourage students to use social media to advocate for more positive messages. Although the “Break the Wall” campaign is specifically targeting middle and high school students, the organizers encourage everyone, including college students and parents, to post positive and kind messages or pictures about other people through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #breakthewall.

The “Break the Wall” campaign concludes at Smokey Row on Monday, May 5 at 5 p.m. with a display of the walls and a presentation to discuss what the students from William Penn learned about cyber bullying through their visits to the middle and high schools. The final event at Smokey Row will be an opportunity to share statistics and bring awareness to the trend of cyber bullying.

For more information, contact the organizers through the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BreakTheWall2013 or tweet “Break the Wall.”