SIOUX CITY, IA -
It's been the hot button issue for the last several weeks in Siouxland: bullying.
Washington Elementary School in Sioux City held an anti-bullying assembly today, teaching students about preventing the epidemic.
The students were asked to each sign an anti–bullying petition.
It says they won't bully another student, and if they see someone else is being bullied, they will tell a school official.
Cheyenne Bennett, a 5th grade student at Washington described the dangers of bullying.
"Well you have a heart, and it cracks all the time. Whenever you get bullied, it just starts cracking, and then cracking until its completely broken, to where they would commit suicide or they would danger themselves, so I think everyday should be like a bright new day," she said.
She has been bullied herself, and hopes students at her school will take this issue very seriously and stop the bullying now.
We sat down with the Superintendent of the Sioux City School district, Dr. Paul Gausman, today, and he says he believes the district has started something positive.
The Sioux City School district took a chance when they opened the doors of East Middle School to the makers of the movie "Bully".
"We knew that it was possible that they may find something that was less than glowing or less than positive about our district, and I'm really proud of the school board for saying, that's O.K. someone has to engage this national discussion on bullying," said Dr. Gausman.
The decision put Sioux City at the center of a national problem.
Gausman says he is proud of the district and hopes it can set an example for other schools across the country.
The district has made changes since the documentary was filmed. School buses were a major focus.
"Every single bus that we own, about 70 of them, now has a high quality audio and video system on it not just cameras and microphones on the front of the bus, but all the way back, so that we can really see in a digital format, what the behavior is like on those buses," Gausman explained.
But he says schools can't be the only ones willing to make a change.
"We're gonna need parents, guardians of children, we're gonna need community members to come together."
Dr. Gausman isn't the only one that feels the community needs to get involved. A group of parents right here in Sioux City decided to start a group called For Our Youth; and they even started a Facebook page. Their main goal is to raise awareness on this subject of bullying.
"We need to stop blaming each other and pointing the finger, the only finger you need to be pointing is at yourself, and have some accountability and stand up and ask how you can help contribute to solving the problem instead of adding to the problem," said For Our Youth Co-Founder Sarah Dolphin.
The group is brand new — they welcome all parents and students with ideas on how to stand up to bullying. They've only had one official meeting to date, but have over two thousand members online.
