O’Fallon students warned about cyber bullying
“Think first before sending,” was a common phrase out of the mouth of St. Clair County’s State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly when presenting the dangers and ramifications of cyber bullying to a mix of hundreds of O’Fallon Township High School (OTHS) seniors and sophomores Tuesday.
Five talks were given throughout March 29’s school sessions with up to 500 students at a time, filling the auditorium of the Smiley Campus up quickly.
A teenager’s primary tool for communication in today’s digital world can help them, and hurt them — it’s all up to the user to be respectful and mindful of content and people included with electronic exchanges like cell phone texting or chat room conversations, or sending videos or photos through devices or social media.
“Most (communication) is all in an electronic format now. There’s new laws and new things to be worried about, and as amazing as technology is, there are also dangers that come along with it also,” Kelly said.
Cracking down on the victimization of those having private images or information disseminated through electronic means about them, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 1009 into law December 2014, which took effect June 1, 2015. Since laws have become more focused and specific to protect individuals from variations of cyber bullying.
Kelly cited the law (720 ILCS S/12-7.5) as it applies to cyber bullying, which is defined by Stop Bullying, a government website, as bullying that takes place using electronic technology including devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers and tablets, as well as, communication tools including social media sites, text messages, group chats online or on cell phones and websites.
Examples of cyber bullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.
Kelly asked students to ponder, “do you really want your teacher or future employer(s) to see an embarrassing or inappropriate photo? Remember that what you send can be made public very quickly — with the touch of a button instantly — and, could stay online forever.”
Cyber stalking and bullying are pursued by law enforcement and are categorized as Class 4 felonies. If convicted, Kelly told students could be cause a perpetrator to be given a sentence of one to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. If convicted for repeat offenses, the charge will become a Class 3 felony, with a possible sentence of five years in prison, he said.
“Believe me prisons are real. That’s not an imaginary thing, and it could be a very real consequence,” Kelly said. “We have a case right now that involves students and cyber bullying at another St. Clair County high school, where a very smart person made a very bad choice, and they chose to show a video from a sexual situation of two persons, and they shared that with a bunch of friends — this is something you have to be really careful about, and everyone is going through different changes during your high school years, but what one person considers a joke, could be devastating to another.”
This isn’t the first time District 203 has participated in awareness forums for the hot button topic, Student Services Coordinator Beth Shackelford said.
“OTHS annually engages students regarding internet safety and has done so for several years,” OTHS District 203 Superintendent Darcy Benway said.
Encountering occasional issues regarding student posts on social media is not new to OTHS, she said.
“Parents are involved when inappropriate posts to social media are discovered,” Benway said. “If any situation arises at OTHS that is criminal in nature, O’Fallon PD would be involved. The O’Fallon PD has been an excellent partner in helping to educate our students on positive cyber behaviors.”
Five 30-minute lessons about internet safety and cyber bullying are taught to the whole student body, Shackelford said.
“Our goal is for the content to speak to them, and when they hear somebody from the community who deals with this on a legal level all the time, it tends to be more impactful for the students,” Shackelford said.
OTHS English Teacher Susan Kraft concurred.
“We’ve done this several times and the kids usually are very engaged,” Kraft said.
OTHS has 2,511 students, according to the 2015-16 Illinois School Report Card.
Benway said OTHS School District 203 has board of education policies relating to cyber bullying, which are available on the district’s website.
In addition, the student handbook references bullying and internet use, and can also be found on the district’s website.
The topic doesn’t just affect Benway, as an administrator, but also is in the forefront of her mind as a parent, too.
“I always support programs that provide positive educational learning experience for students,” Benway said. “Parents are encouraged to be involved with and to monitor their student’s cyber activity. Teenagers need guidance as they journey toward adulthood and navigate through the challenges of social media.”
Jeff Parker, current St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s investigator, was a former detective sergeant with the Granite City Police for 20 years, and a former Warden of South Western Community Center of Corrections, attended the presentations.
“My mentor when I was younger taught me a very simple, but important lesson, which Brendan touched upon today —the five minute rule — think, talk, use your brain and then make a decision,” Parker said. “Instead of being reative, take a that five minutes to think about what you’re doing (because) you may change your mind.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 11:44 AM with the headline "O’Fallon students warned about cyber bullying."