Agender Teen Seeks to Move Forward
Sasha Fleischman, a Berkeley high school student who was severely burned while riding the bus, returned to their Oakland home on November 27. Sasha, who identifies as agender, preferring the pronoun “they”, was targeted for wearing a skirt. The 16-year-old suspect now faces hate crime charges as an adult.
In an interview [1] with ABC news, Fleishman exuded warmth and clarity, speaking out for the first time since the harmful occurrence. With a desire to move forward, Sasha spoke about the suspect with the news station.
“They probably didn’t realize how big of a deal it was going to be, how harmful it would be. I don’t want to be too harsh. If I had my way, I’d have him tried as a juvenile,” Sasha told ABC.
Though the 18-year old is still recovering from third degree burns, heavily bandaged from the waist down, they don’t seem to want to focus on one young person’s hurtful act. Sasha remains optimistic about the future, and glad that their story can bring awareness to agender issues [2]. Confident in who they are and what they believe in, Sasha affirms, "I'm going to keep wearing a skirt. That's something I'm not going to give up. It's a big part of who I am.”
One Video You Can’t Miss
If you only watch one video on YouTube this week, this has to be it!
The latest YouTube video to go viral highlights the dramatic differences between being a Bystander to bullying and being an Upstander.
This video was posted by Yousef Erakat on his YouTube channel, FouseyTUBE [3], to show exactly what it looks like when you respond--or don’t respond--to a bullying situation. The student reactions in this video are all powerful: some demonstrate courage, others display ambivalence. Erakat proclaims on his website that he uses his videos to promote “humanity and peace whilst maintaining a positive message.”
After the video ends, it leaves the viewer wondering: what would you do if you were witness to a bullying incident?
Cyber Upstanders Against Cyberbullying
Standing up against bullying is never an easy thing to do, but Southside Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas is taking innovative measures to make it a little bit easier [4].
Within a couple of weeks, the district plans to release the “bully reporter app,” a smartphone application where students or parents can quickly report a bullying incident to school officials. The app is intended to be used by those who are targets of bullying as well as those who witness it.
A study funded by the US Dept. of Education found [5] that nearly 65% of bullying incidents go unreported; that percentage is even higher when you look solely at cyberbullying.
While the bully reporter app is a creative way to curb bullying, it is important to remember other ways to be an Upstander [6], such as speaking out and befriending the target.