-
Join the fight against bullying
— By Sharon Schlegel for The Times of Trenton, June 2, 2012 For 10 years now, Lynne Azarchi has been executive director of Kidsbridge, whose mission is to further tolerance, appreciate diversity, and end bullying among kids. But she says today’s youth have been desensitized to meanness and bullying by both “reality TV and the…
-
Without character education, we’re letting kids be mean
— By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, Saturday, April 02, 2011 Can you imagine taking a video of someone being hurt, embarrassed or humiliated? Well, kids in the Lone Star State did. Last fall, 18 boys in Texas sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl. It is believed that one or two were the…
-
How Many More Youth Suicides Do We Need to Act?
— By Lynne Azarchi, Kidsbridge Director Friday, October 29, 2010 By now you know the tragic story of Tyler Clementi, the college student who committed suicide on the George Washington Bridge to escape humiliation and embarrassment from a videotape of his sexual encounter. Likely the two Rutgers students who broadcasted his private moments on the…
-
Fostering More Peaceful Classrooms, Lunchrooms & Playgrounds
The Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum in Ewing teaches the important precepts of nonviolence, diversity appreciation and service to others. — NJEA Review, October 2010 Bullying, cyber-bullying, stereotyping, name-calling, and violent behavior are among the many issues confronting students today. Most young people need guidance on how to deal effectively with negative emotional and physical assaults. Some…
-
When you see danger, blow the whistle
— By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, Friday, July 16, 2010 Experts are advocating that risk assessment and technical systems be improved to prevent oil-rig explosions in the future. Agreed. We have to improve the systems. But systems are ultimately managed by individuals, and the individuals we cultivate within our organizational and…
-
When someone’s getting hurt, whose business is it?
— By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, Saturday, March 20, 2010 On Jan. 28, a 15-year-old female was seen brutally beating another girl in the Seattle bus tunnel. The incident was captured on video by surveillance cameras. As shocking as this vicious attack was, the camera also revealed a different sort of…
-
Changing bystanders to ‘upstanders
—By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, Wednesday, November 18, 2009 On Oct. 12, 15-year-old Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, Fla., was set on fire by five of his peers. The five teens were subsequently arrested for the assault on Michael, which resulted in second-degree burns that covered 80 percent of his body.…
-
Inaugurate change very close to home
— By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, January 10, 2009
-
Film abets intolerance
— By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, Saturday, September 27, 2008 “Retard. Imbecile. Moron. Idiot.” A top- grossing movie, “Tropic Thunder,” still in some theaters after its release more than six weeks ago, is the pop culture vehicle that perpetuates cruelty, stereotypes and disrespect for persons with developmental and mental disabilities. The…
-
What we can learn from
— By Lynne Azarchi, Special to the Times of Trenton, Saturday, May 17, 2008 Miley Cyrus’s topless photos (but for a satin bed sheet) appear in an up coming issue of Vanity Fair. Britney Spears is addicted to drugs and lost custody of her children. Jamie Lynn Spears, a child, is pregnant with a child,…
