Turley Publication photo by Cristy Bertini

Worcester Assistant District Attorney Julie Lesure speaks to the Quaboag students about bullying.

Quaboag students hear about effects and consequences of bullying

By Cristy Bertini

Turley Publications Correspondent

WARREN – Worcester Assistant District Attorney Julie Lesure and Diversion Officer Tom McKenna held a presentation on bullying and cyber bullying for seventh and eighth grade students at Quaboag Regional High School on May 13.

Lesure began the presentation by explaining to the students exactly what she does in the District Attorney’s office. “We deal with cases that the police investigate, and we try to convince a judge and jury that somebody did the crime, and should do the time. It’s very similar to the show “Law and Order”. We want you guys to know what the laws are, know what the serious consequences are, so you’ll make good decisions and you’ll never have to stand in front of someone wearing a black robe in court.”

Lesure went on to explain to the students that if it gets to the point where they are standing handcuffed in front of a judge in a court, they have absolutely no control over their life anymore. Their parents don’t, either. The judge now has control over their life.

“In the area of bullying, every single one of you have the right to come to school and feel safe, free from harassment, bullying and discrimination of any kind and that includes the school bus and bus stops.” Lesure said.

A lot of bullying occurs on the bus and bus stops because there isn’t very much adult supervision.

Lesure explained the different types of bullying, including harassment. Harassment means to discriminate against someone because they are different than you are, whether it be religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, or race. “It’s a violation of someone’s civil rights, and the courts treat it very seriously.”

She told the students of an instance a few months ago, where a social networking website held a promotion on a particular day to “Kick a Ginger”, meaning to assault fellow students with red hair.

There was also an instance in another community where students thought a boy in their class was homosexual. They constantly harassed him, wrote on the bathroom walls about him, called him offensive names and broke his band instrument.

“It got to the point that the boy didn’t want to go to school anymore.” Lesure said. “Eventually, he reported the bullying to a guidance counselor and the bullies were expelled from school, went to court and were charged with very serious crimes and the student finally felt safe to go to school.”

She told the students that it is very important to report bullying as soon as it happens, even if it’s a friend or a stranger that’s being bullied.

On May 3, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into effect a new law that prohibits bullying on school grounds and school sponsored or school-related activities. It also prohibits bullying that does not take place on school grounds, but when such bullying creates a hostile environment at school for the victim, infringes on the victim’s rights at school or materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.

Diversion Officer Tom McKenna spent 21 years with the Sherriff’s office, working at the Worcester Country House of Corrections. “The youngest age that a child can be arrested is seven years old and you are considered an adult when you are 17. The juvenile justice system in Massachusetts is very forgiving. The whole goal is about rehabilitation. They want to help kids, not hurt them. I know what happens in the adult system and you don’t want to go there. If I took this whole class up to the Worcester County Jail today, there are guys there now, that were there in 1986 when I first started.”

McKenna spoke to the students about laws regarding cell phones. He told the students that pictures of anybody under the age of 18 in a state of undress in the state of Massachusetts is considered child pornography, whether it’s on a computer, cell phone or a regular photograph.

“I can’t tell you how many schools I go to, where a boyfriend and girlfriend have a (suggestive) picture that they swear no one will ever see, and then they break up, he gets mad and sends it to the entire school and now the girl is humiliated. So, her parents get mad and call our office because they want action taken.”

Last year, a district attorney on Cape Cod charged two youths with dissemination of child pornography because they had inappropriate pictures of a fellow female student on their phones and sent them to all of their classmates.

“You can face having your name on a sex-offender list. You don’t want anything on your cell phone that you couldn’t hand it over to your mom or dad or teacher and have them look through it and they wouldn’t be upset by what they saw.”

Lesure asked students to think about how their actions affect their parents. “How do you think your parents would feel? Do you think they would be proud of you? No, they will be embarrassed and disappointed. And, not only that, they are the ones that have to miss work to take you to court to face the judge. We’ve had parents that have lost their jobs due to having to repeatedly take their kids to court.”

McKenna ended the discussion by stressing to the students to be respectful of one another, report bullying immediately and know that the decisions they make now, will affect them for the rest of their lives.