Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes on Monday announced the winners of his 2012 Legal Lives Anti-bullying video contest. This year, there was a tie with two exceptional videos. Both winning videos came from students at P.S. 186 in Bensonhurst.
One video explained what bullying means to the students and how the students deal with their frustration. The children who participated in that video include Fiona Kocillari, Andres Valle and Willis Tran, all of whom were fifth graders when they created the video. They are now in junior high school.
The other video was a skit in which one girl was being bullied by her classmates until “Super Nice Guy” comes to her rescue, wearing his cape. The winning students who participated in that video include Jessica Ross and Mohammad Rashid, who were in the fourth grade at the time, as well as fifth graders John Ting, Anaiah Rivera and Kristen Valdes.
The videos were created with the assistance of Adrian Ross, activity specialist, and Christine Agnello, assistant program director of the Neighborhood Improvement Association’s ExpandED after-school program, at P.S. 186.
Also, playing instrumental roles were P.S. 186 Principal Bayan Cadotte, Parent Coordinator Elaine Delaney and all the teachers at P.S. 186 who have worked with the students.
District Attorney Hynes said, “Bullying has increasingly become a growing problem in schools and the online community. It occurs daily in our schools, schoolyards, homes, and on the internet. Bullying among our youth and young adults should concern us. Victims of bullying who do not get help have, on occasion, tragically taken their own lives.
“At a minimum, a victim’s social relationships and performance at school or work suffer. Troubled youth also act out more and can hurt others in the process,” Hynes said.
The second contest was open to all fourth through ninth graders throughout Brooklyn. Participants were asked to create a 90-second video that answered one of the following questions:
1) What is bullying?
2) How does bullying make you feel?
3) What does a bully look like?
4) How can you stop a bully?
5) What should you do if you are being bullied?
