Submitted by Dorothy Bland
Fifteen aspiring young teen journalists from Florida, Georgia and Alabama have completed a multimedia workshop at Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) School of Journalism and Graphic Communication with a special focus on tackling bullying.
Kennington Smith, a rising senior from Fayetteville, Ga., said, “What I enjoyed the most was the fact that we were able to make blogs and prepare ourselves for our future in a career.”
Tomás Monzón, a recent high school graduate from Miami, Fla., said, “Success depends on your ability to make friends, and this workshop allows you to do just that and more.”
Nayirah Muhammad, a rising junior from Birmingham, Ala., said, “Being a bully is worthless and has no benefit and needs to be stopped.”
Inesha Carruth, a recent high school graduate from Athens, Ga., said, “Bullying can destroy or end lives. So stand for something or fall for anything, STOP THE BULLYING!”
The workshop, which was a partnership with the FAMU SJGC, Dow Jones News Fund and NBC Universal, gave the students “a chance to learn more about themselves and about technology for their future careers,” said Leonard Horton, co-director for the workshop and an assistant FAMU journalism professor.
Bullying was selected as the focus for the workshop because it is a hot discussion topic in the news.
“Florida A&M University’s hazing problem has become a national discussion, and I think it is important to understand the psychology of bullying to stop it,” Horton said.
A variety of speakers participated in the workshop ranging from Rocky Hanna, the former Leon High School principal who was bullied as a teen, to Angela Whitaker, aide to Mayor Pro Tempore Andrew Gillum, who discussed workplace bullying.
Workshop attendees produced blogs, multimedia slide-shows, news articles, video testimonials and a public service announcement. The students’ work is available online at http:/tacklingbullying.wordpress.com. The School of Journalism and Graphic Communication was founded in 1982. Its Division of Journalism was the first journalism program at a historically Black university to be nationally accredited by the ACEJMC. To learn more, go to www.famu.edu/sjgc.
