Councilor Burke Calls for Cyber-Bullying Meeting
Story Updated 4:21PM, Tuesday, February 16, 2010
On the heels of several high profile cyber-bullying cases across the state, including the recent tragic suicide of a South Hadley teen, Medford City Councilor Stephanie Muccini Burke is calling for the city to be proactive about the growing problem.
Councilor Muccini Burke would like the Medford Police to hold a briefing for parents to discuss cyber-bullying and how they can protect their children. She also hopes to open a dialogue at Medford’s middle schools about the issue.
Councilor Muccini Burke has authored a resolution, which will come before the City Council during its regular Tuesday meeting.
The text of her resolution is as follows:
“Whereas, the issue of bullying and cyber bullying has been a major concern for parents, school administrators, police and especially children,
Be it Resolved that the Police Chief and Lt. Covino convene an informational/interactive meeting for parents to teach them about what steps they can take to protect their kids and further, a session for middle schoolers on what they should do if this happens to them or if they know of an incident.”
The Council’s regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 16, has been cancelled due to the weather. All agenda items, including Councilor Burke’s cyber-bullying resolution, will be taken up at the February 23 meeting.
– InsideMedford.com
Stephanie Muccini-Burke is a victim of Cyber-Bullying. A webmaster for a local non-profit air-brushed a campaign sign that Muccini-Burke was holding and added a vulgar comment; that same individual was found by YouTube to have stolen copyrights of a volunteer TV producer and air-brushing the clothes off of a person; that same individual air-brushed a crucifix on the City Solicitor and put a photo of the City Solicitor from the City website and air-brushed it onto another stolen copyright. You Tube removed the stolen images. This is Cyber Bullying. In a court of law a tape produced at the TV station was admitted as evidence – it contained vulgar words and was crude and of a nature that was definitely created to harass and annoy. The same individual who bullied Stephanie Muccini-Burke was responsible for that internet posting. The City Council has done nothing to protect the residents from this abuse of the access channel fees to harass and annoy the public.
“Nightly News” is – no doubt – the Cyber Bully who victimized the councilors. He calls those he copies “nut” or “idiot” but, strangely, it is the Cyber Bully who is a pariah in the city and who can’t even spell simple words. We’re amazed he got through that sentence above without an error. Bravo…guess there’s a first time for everything.