This is the pro argument on the HS Memes assembly. To ride the con argument, click here.
Was it different than every other assembly that I have experienced during my four years at JC? Yes. Was it a little bit crowded and stuffy? Yes. Was the HS Memes assembly completely necessary? Yes.
Principal Madelyn Ball held the HS Memes assembly Monday, April 16, 2012 to teach the students of JC a little lesson on cyber bullying. Many students believe that this assembly was a waste of time and no one was affected by it, but I believe that if it only affected one person, then it was completely worthwhile.
Ball was firm and authoritative during her speech, and this helped get her point across very clearly. Cyber bullying is a problem in America, and people need to finally realize this, especially teenagers. According to the National Crime Prevention Council, in the last year, forty-three percent of teens have been victims of cyber bullying. Teenagers seem to think that everything they put on the internet is anonymous and that no one will ever be able to trace it back to them. News flash to those people: we are currently in the 21 century. Everything on the internet leaves a trail.
Ball was completely correct when saying that cyber bullies are just cowards. They are too afraid to say something bad to a person’s face, so instead they write it online where the whole school can read it.
The way that the school is handling this latest predicament and dealing with cyber bullying is very reasonable. They shouldn’t have let this blow over. They shouldn’t have blocked the site and never said another word about it. We deserved this assembly and to be taught a lesson for what we, as a school, did wrong.
Ball also stated that she will be making some students make face to face apologies to the people that they hurt. This is a great idea, not because they are making the person who wrote the rude comment on HS Memes embarrassed and uncomfortable about what they said, but because they are making them see who they hurt.
A couple of weeks ago, it was embarrassing to say that I went to the school that completely misused HS Memes, but now I think the school is doing a good job trying to turn this around and make it into a positive lesson for past, present, and future students.
The only real complaint I have about the assembly is that we need to get a bigger auditorium.
Amanda Graziano is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.