NEWS: Anti-Bullying Legislation Proposed in Congress

This week two federal legislators introduced a bill in Congress that would require colleges and universities that receive federal funding to implement anti-bullying/anti-harassment policies.  According to an article in The Star-Ledger, the legislation would also provide funding for colleges and universities in the U.S. to start anti-bullying programs on campus.  The legislation, known as the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist, NJ) and in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

The legislation is named for Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University student who committed suicide in September by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and another classmate allegedly used a webcam to film Clementi in a private encounter with another man in his dorm room and publicize it to others via social media channels.  Clementi's suicide sparked international commentary about bullying and harassment, including an emotional speech by a Forth Worth city councilman Joel Burns about his personal experiences being bullied that received widespread attention and prompted similar commentary from individuals around the world.

FREE Campus Threat Assessment Training Sessions

The US Department of Justice, Office of Community Policing Services (COPS Office) is sponsoring free one-day training seminars on campus threat assessment and threat management.  Course content includes: 

• Guiding principles of campus threat assessment
• Steps in the campus threat assessment and management process (including how to investigate, evaluate, prioritize, and manage cases)
• Information-sharing and other legal concerns
• Strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of a campus threat assessment team
• Table-top exercise on a case situation, and other participant exercises

These seminars are appropriate for higher ed personnel in the areas of campus administration; campus security and law enforcement; counseling; judicial affairs; legal counsel; student affairs; faculty; risk management; human resources; and students.

Faculty for these sessions include Dr. Gene Deisinger and Dr. Marisa Randazzo (co-authors of The Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment & Management Teams), higher education attorney Jeffrey Nolan, and campus public safety experts Dr. Gary Margolis and Steven Healy.

The regional one-day training seminars will be offered on the following dates/cities:

• Atlanta, GA on December 2, 2010
• Phoenix, AZ on January 11, 2011
• Tallahassee, FL on February 8, 2011.

For information on how to register, or for more details about the training sessions, please click here.