Category Archives: youth

Anti-bullying advocates gathered in front of the historical Livingston County Courthouse in downtown Howell on Saturday, April 9 as part of a march to oppose bullying in schools.

The Michigan Democratic Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus and the Michigan School Tolerance Campaign held the rally to encourage the state Legislature to pass a bill that would require school districts to adopt policies prohibiting bullying in K-12 schools.

The rally took place in front of the courthouse at 200 E. Grand River Ave.

“Our main goal is to pass Senator (Glenn) Anderson’s anti-bullying law, but also to raise awareness about bullying in general,” said Jennifer Chapin-Smith, vice chairwoman of communications for the Michigan Democratic LGBT Caucus, a subgroup of the Michigan Democratic Party. “If you’re being bullied, you can’t get an education, and that’s what school is all about.”

The bill was first passed by the state House during the 2007 legislative session, and passed along to the Senate Education Committee. A 2009 version of the bill died without action.

Anderson, D-Westland, has reintroduced the proposal this year as Senate Bill 45.

The organizations chose Howell as the location for their first rally because of its central location, according to Phil Volk, vice chairman of the Michigan School Tolerance Campaign and chair of the Michigan LGBT Caucus.

“We’re looking to try to pass state legislation,” Volk said. “What’s happening in your local schools in Howell should be dealt with by your community.”

Michigan is one of five states without an anti-bullying law. The bill would require that schools adopt an anti-bullying policy that defines bullying, consequences and outlines a reporting procedure for bullying incidents, among other provisions.

Saturday’s event was the first in a series of similar rallies across the state, including ones scheduled in Grand Rapids and Lansing.

“We’ve also started a series of miniconferences all over the state,” Chapin-Smith said. “We also have a lobby day coming up in early May.”

The lobbying day is scheduled for May 4, and the organization is encouraging people to speak with their legislators about the bill.

Speakers at the event include Volk; Wayne State University law professor Jocelyn Benson, who ran for secretary of state last year; Michelle Brown of the National Black Justice Coalition; and Christopher Armstrong and Brendan Campbell of the University of Michigan Student Assembly.

Armstrong is U-M’s first openly gay student body president and was the topic of a national news story involving former Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell last year. Shirvell was eventually fired from the attorney general’s office for maintaining a blog focused on Armstrong, whom  he called a “radical homosexual activist,” a Nazi and Ku Klux Klan member.