Cyberbullying: Va. gets it

It's a savvy community that recognizes that "these days bullying has no face." That's the lead of an article in the Roanoke (Va.) Times about how Northside High School and other Roanoke County schools are helping students deal with bullying of all kinds, including the anonymous kind that occurs via instant-messaging and cellphones, that can be particularly tough on children because it's faceless, traceless, and 24x7 - tough to get away from. "Bullying, including cyberbullying, is gaining welcome emphasis in Virginia. The General Assembly passed laws earlier this year requiring school divisions to develop local policies to address bullying," the Times reports, and the state's Department of Education and Virginia Commonwealth University have "implemented a new statewide anti-bullying effort that employs a holistic approach - administrators, staff and students - to combat bullying." One catalyst was, basically, self-published child porn: "Two Northside High School girls took nude pictures of themselves and emailed them to their boyfriends, who apparently emailed them to other people. The photos spread to schools throughout the Roanoke Valley and were posted on Internet sites," according to the Roanoke Times. For more on this see "Cybersocializing, cyberbullying" and Cyberbullying.ca.