Smartphone app combats hate crimes

Victims and bystanders can anonymously report cyberbullying and hate crimes with the CombatHate App, available now for iOS and Android, according to CSNChicago [1].

Users can report hate crime incidents to law enforcement, and are referred to stopbullying.gov [2] for information and advice on coping with bullying. The app was developed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles based human rights organization.

Superior Court Judge David Wesley and Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michael Downing released the app along with representatives from the Wiesenthal center in February 2014. [3]

Large-scale anti-bullying message to take place in Nevada 

Nevada elementary students staged a large-scale anti-bullying effort by writing anti-bullying messages on red strips of paper to be displayed in a dry lake bed in late March.

“I think this could really, really have a good impact on bullies and non-bullies. Just to know that there are people out there that are going to help you get through the process of bullying," 5th grader Colin Granger told KSNV. [4]

Justin Spencer, founder of the organization Legacy X, worked with local students to organize this event and continue spreading an anti-bullying message.

The company, Legacy X, is “designed to find unique solutions to inspire people," according to their official Twitter account. The message of the campaign is to “X” out bullying, as Spencer, founder of the Las Vegas music show Recycled Percussion, speaks to local students in assemblies about erasing bullying.

Musicians bring anti-bullying message to schools 

Musicians are using their voices to empower students, encouraging them to speak up about bullying.

In Florida, 15-year-old musician Lizzie Sider has started a bullying prevention program called “Nobody Has The Power To Ruin Your Day.”

Sider spent two months visiting 65 local schools, performing songs, including her anti-bullying single titled “Butterfly,” according to MusicRow [5]. Sider also shares her personal struggle and experience with being bullied while she was in elementary school.

A similar movement is happening in Minnesota. A 17-year-old singer and songwriter, Saphire Brown, started the Courage Campaign when she was in the 8th grade, according to Northland News Center [6]. Brown was also bullied as a kid and decided to turn to music to express herself.

In Georgia, a member of Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band, Jim Mayer, is performing his music bringing his anti-bullying program to local elementary schools. “Mr. Rogers is gone and there’s just not a lot of male role models available in the media,” Mayer told Jackson Progess-Argus [7]. “I love working with children.”

Not In Our School has also used music to engage students in the anti-bullying effort. Teaming up with Kitarah, Maverik, and Mateo from KutRoc Records, NIOS is using their anti-bullying song “Keep Your Head Up” to stand up against bullying. Check out the video here! [8]