Miss America 2003 Erika Harold Joins with School Students and Supporters of Safe Schools in Campaign to Fight Bullying

HARRISBURG— Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, carried her message of empowering youth against violence to Pennsylvania’s capitol today, speaking to the State Senate and at a press conference in support of legislation ensuring that all schools establish policies to protect students against peer harassment and abuse.

Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, sponsor of the measure to require school district policies against bullying, noted that his legislation passed the Senate last session and that he hopes the boost provided by Miss America and other speakers at the press conference will move the bill forward in the current session.

Students from Elizabethtown Area Middle School joined in the press event to tell of their experiences with a school-based bullying prevention program implemented over the last two years using resources available through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Center for Safe Schools.  The Lancaster County school district utilized the services of a certified bullying prevention trainer to focus teachers and students in the middle school on the problem of peer abuse and methods of stopping bullying behavior.

Also participating in the press conference were Senators Jay Costa Jr. and Michael A. O’Pake, Senate Bill 46 cosponsors; Delilah Rumberg, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR); Stephanie Heimbach, a Monroe County parent; and Senate Majority Leader Chip Brightbill.

Sen. Greenleaf said that he met Ms. Harold in December at a school safety promotion sponsored by Nicole Miller Philadelphia.  “I was tremendously impressed with her personal story of being the victim of vicious bullying in ninth grade and with her commitment to ensuring that what happened to her doesn’t continue to happen to school children,” Greenleaf said.

The senator said that the efforts of the Elizabethtown Middle School to provide a safe and positive learning environment through bullying prevention demonstrate what can be done when school administrators and staff make a commitment to safety and take a proactive approach.

“I see a lot of good things happening, including school districts like Elizabethtown’s taking the initiative and PCAR’s new program to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment among young people, but I believe that a law, similar to laws adopted by other states such as New Jersey and Colorado, is needed to assure that all students in all schools have a safe and civil atmosphere in which to learn and grow,” Greenleaf said.

A recent article in Reader’s Digest referenced a survey of 15,000 sixth through tenth graders reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2001.  The survey indicated that about 30 percent of students admitted being bullies or victims of bullies.  The same study indicated that about half of the sixth graders reported being bullied, with 13 percent stating that they were picked on at least once at week.

“Bullying was cited as a factor in a number of fatal school shootings of recent years,” said Greenleaf.  “It is a serious problem and it should be addressed.  The old attitude of ‘kids will be kids’ is just not acceptable.”