Schools

DA to Present Anti-Cyberbullying Presentation to Hewlett Students

Rice says program was created to deal with increasing problem.

Hewlett High School students will be presented on Thursday and Friday with a multimedia presentation made by the Nassau County district attorney's office on the dangers of cyberbullying, "sexting," Internet predators and social networks.

The DA announced the project on Wednesday and said that the escalating cyberbullying crisis affecting teens prompted the creation of the presentation. A 17-year-old West Islip girl, Alexis Pilkington, committed suicide in March after being the apparent victim of cyberbullying.

"If we are to keep our children safe, we must educate them about the dangers of the Internet and how to use it responsibly," District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. "I strongly believe that this program is essential viewing for every child and parent in Nassau County."

Find out what's happening in Five Townswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The program, which is called "S.T.O.P., Then Send," encourages students to think of four factors before sending a possibly abusive text message, inappropriate photo or insulting message board post, the DA's office said. The factors are to "Study the content, Think of others, Only send if appropriate, Photographs are forever."

"S.T.O.P., Then Send," will be presented to 9th and 10th grade Hewlett students on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., and to 11th and 12th grade students on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Five Townswith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here