With bullying becoming an increasing concern among parents and children, one Woodhaven resident is hoping to introduce a form that could give children an avenue to combat bullying at their school.
Evelyn Delorbe, a member of the Parent Teachers Association at Middle School 210, introduced the bully form at the Our Neighbors of Ozone Park meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7. The form would allow kids from 5th grade and up to anonymously report to the school a bullying incident or if they have been repeatedly bullied by one person or a group of people.
In the form itself, you fill out your grade, sex, the name of the person you are accusing of bullying and a description of the bullying incident or incidents.
Delorbe said at the meeting that she created the form to give kids a way to report bullying who otherwise may be afraid to do so for fear of being teased by their peers. She also believes that it would be an easier way to find out who the person is if a child is the victim of bullying.
“We as tax payers should know who the bullies in our community are,” Delorbe said.
She introduced the form to State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) who attended the meeting to speak about a number of community issues in the Ozone Park area.
Addabbo said her bully form is an interesting idea and one that he is willing to put his support behind if Delorbe needs it.
He added that bullying has taken on a new form with many people having easy access to the internet.
“It’s not the same when we were younger with pushing and shoving,” Addabbo said. “A click of a button could hurt many people.”
Although Addabbo supports the bully form becoming a part of schools around the city, he said that it would only work with the right checks and balances. According to Addabbo, the form itself could cause bullying if someone alleges another child of that and it turns out that it’s not true.
As for Delorbe, she said there is no time table for getting the forms into public schools, but with the support of local politicians like Addabbo, she hopes that time will come soon.
By Luis Gronda
