Brianna Smith

November 12, 2014

Notebook Activity (6L)
Infographic
Im really happy with how this is turning out so far, this is how I am translating one of my
papers into different media. This is just part of it so far, but I figured for the notebook this
time around it would be relevant to what I am doing for the magazine project too! Ive
wanted to create an infographic for awhile but I didnt know what or how to really put it
together. This is the draft, I am going to add a few more boxes for the magazine, but I
really like it so far.

(Ive inserted it below the document because it kept showing up blurry!)

Brianna Smith
November 5, 2014
Notebook Activity (5d)
For my groups final project, we all have very complex social justice issues. The
issues we are addressing are bullying, gun control, rape in the military and the death
penalty. Several of these are very complex issues that are widely debated, the others
such as bullying and rape in the military are issues that I feel people are widely against.
With our writing projects, we want to use pieces that are going to be able to connect to the reader the best to give them an idea about the issue, or why we feel the way
we do about it. My group has decided that we should all use our profile essay along with
either a report or a proposal. The main reason for us wanting to use the profile is because we feel its going to be the best choice to really connect the reader to something
more personal. The profile gives you an example of somebody who has had to deal with
one of these issues before which can be extremely persuasive.
The reason for choosing to use a report or a proposal is because these types of
writing give a little bit more in-depth research related to the issue. It will show statistics,

surveys, etc. which could be just enough to really make a statement. Combined with the
profile, I think that these types of writing would be the most effective to persuade a
reader to feel a certain way if the information is presented correctly.

Brianna Smith
October 22, 2014
Notebook Activity (6b)
LGBT Bullying in Schools
Did you know that schools are considered to be an unsafe climate for LGBT students?
Did you know that 65% of students heard a homophobic remark such as fag or
dyke?
Have you ever heard one of these words used in school?
Did you do anything about it?
Did you know that 18% of LGBT students could not bring a same-gender date to a
school dance because of school policies?
Or that 28% were punished for public displays of affection that non-LGBT students were
not punished for?
Does that seem fair to you?
Would you help stand up for a LGBT friend?
Propose LGBT inclusive support systems in schools!
They can make all the difference.
Based off of information from glsen.org

Brianna Smith
October 15, 2014
Notebook Activity (6d)

Haikus
1.

Kids should not be scared.

Why are we not helping them?
Bullying affects their minds.

2.

Today they still feel,

The pain that you have caused them.
Will it ever leave?

Brianna Smith
October 8, 2014
Notebook Activity (2l)
Interview
My

friend from

high school,

Brooklyn,

has been a key

attribute to

my research as

for my social

justice issue,

bullying. The

information be-

low is from

my interview

with her.

When did bullying start

for you, or when did you begin to notice it?
I started to notice it in about 5th or 6th grade. Girls would come over to my house to
hang out, but they would leave shortly after getting to my house to go hang out with the
next door neighbor boy. He was cute and popular. One time, I was throwing a birthday
party and almost everybody left me there. I was also told that I was ugly, weird, 4 eyes.
Things like that hurt for a child, kids dont realize how bad their words hurt and they
should.
Did your parents know about it?
No, my parents didnt know much about it up until the time I was in high school. That
was when they started to realize how real the issue actually was.
What made your parents realize that the issue was real?
I had tried to commit suicide. My sister, who was 11 at the time, had found me. I had
taken pills to try and overdose. I still feel bad to this day that my sister found me. I was
in the hospital and missed school for several months. I told my parents and my therapist
about one boy in one of my classes who would bully me almost every single day. He
even told me once that I should just kill myself. When I actually disappeared, he approached my brother to find out what happened to me.

When Brooklyn told me about the boy actually approaching her brother asking about
what happened, I imagine that he was scared. Scared that his threats and comments to
her may have actually caused her to harm herself and the fault could have laid in his

hands. Its pretty amazing how someone could say so many hurtful things and not feel
anything at all until something may have actually happened.
When the bullying was happening, did you ever approach teachers about it?
Before I went back to school, me and my parents went and talked to the principal because my therapist said that I could not go back to the class that the boy who picked on
me was in. The principals best suggestion was that he could move ME from the classroom, but not the boy. I thought that was stupid, because I mean, Im the one who felt
threatened, was being bullied by him and all they could do was give him a slap on the
hand.
Was anything ever done to the boy?
They did actually call his parents I guess, I continued to go to the same class and he
never said another word to me. I guess his parents probably said something to him.
Do you still feel like a victim of bullying?
I dont necessarily feel like a victim but it still does play a part in my life today.
How has it affected you in your life now, several years after graduating?
I still struggle with confidence. I struggle with meeting new friends and talking to people
because Ive been hurt by so many people. I dont want to tell people about myself because I dont want to be cut down. I still look in the mirror everyday and feel ugly, fat. It
definitely still plays a role in my life today. Thats why I want to start a non-profit to educate people about bullying, because no one should experience what I have. I dont want
anyone to feel the way I have.
Brianna Smith
October 1, 2014
Notebook Activity (8b)
Connection to an Image

I remember a couple of years ago hearing about 18 year old Tyler Clementi. Tyler
Clementi, a student at Rutgers University, committed suicide after his roommates set up
a webcam on his computer that filmed Tyler kissing another man. His roommates took
the footage they had captured,posted it to the internet and urged friends via Twitter to
watch a second meeting that would be captured live on the webcam between Clemti
and his friend. This happened one day before Tyler committed suicide by jumping off of
the George Washington bridge. The suicide of Tyler Clementi brought attention nationally to the issue of cyber bullying specifically.
This incident brought attention to me personally because I have gay family members, and I think it is so sad that someone could drive someone to the edge with their
actions that they feel the need to end their own life. I chose the image above because
we dont understand how bad our actions and words can hurt others until it does exactly
that, actually hurts them. People need to open their eyes to the issue of bullying and the
different types as well. There have been countless other suicides that were caused by
bullying and it is so sad. This is one of the primary reasons why I feel so passionate
about anti-bullying campaigns and putting an end to bullying as a whole.

Brianna Smith
September 24, 2014
Notebook Activity (6b)
Questions for Change
Why cant everyone see the problem with bullying?

Why is most administration blind to the issue?

When will we put more effort into our school systems to prevent bullying?
When will bullying be looked at as a real issue instead of just normal childlike behavior?
And will we be able to put change into our school systems before we hear about more
suicides on the news?
Have you heard about these suicides?
Have you heard of cyberbullying?
What about verbal abuse?
Did you know that bullying is not always physical? And that words can hurt too?
I bet not everyone knew that.

Brianna Smith
September 17, 2014
Notebook Activity (3b)
Talking About My Writing Project
I am a pretty social person and talk a lot about anything and everything. I like to
share my thoughts and ideas and hear other peoples thoughts and ideas as well.
When I chose my topic, bullying, I was very open with my friends about what topics I
was thinking about and it came down to racism and bullying. When telling people about
why I chose a certain subject, I really want to help them understand why the issue really
matters.
The first think I talk about when it comes to bullying is think about how you would
feel if people were talking about you. Among my friends are a lot of coworkers that Im

very close with, my workplace is like a little family. But I have noticed that there is a lot
of workplace bullying that does take place there and I have noticed it even more now
that I am doing this project. I try to give my friends the why of why bullying is an issue
because a lot of people just think, Oh, well if you stick up for yourself then the bully will
back off, but sometimes the victim doesnt even know they are being bullied which is
still really sad. Imagine people just laughing at you and you smiling, waving at them like
everything is okay, but really you have no idea what is going on behind your back. That
is so unfair and cruel.
The second main point I talk about when telling my story is the effect that bullying has on children, teenagers and adults alike. Bullying can cause severe depression
which can lead to suicide or other kinds of self harm. I dont think people realize how
badly words can hurt others. After being called fat, four-eyes, too skinny, wimp, etc. so
many times you start to believe that these words may actually be true which is the worst
part. People believe these awful things about themselves when really, they are beautiful
people on the inside. Bullying is not just a joke, or just kids being kids, its a serious form
of harassment and need to be addressed.
I like to talk to people about bullying because it spreads awareness and I truly
believe that more awareness needs to be spread. The two points I talk about above are
some of the largest points that I feel need to be brought up into the air and talked about.
Other things like types of harassment, what administration does as far as to protect kids
from bullying, when bullying is most prevalent in ones life are probably little details that I
leave out of conversation but may put into a paper.

Brianna Smith
September 10, 2014
Notebook Activity (5i)
Posting on Facebook

For this notebook activity I utilized my Facebook to ask some questions in regards to my social justice issue, bullying. The questions I asked were these, What are
your thoughts on bullying today in our school systems, whether it be physical, verbal, or
online bullying? Have you experienced bullying yourself? Have you witnessed somebody being bullied? Did you do anything to step in? Do you feel that sometimes bullying
is dismissed as "kids will be kids.", or isn't monitored as well as it should be by our
schools/peers/teachers?. This question definitely opened up some great opportunities
to get some responses from people who may have experienced bullying first hand,
which is exactly what I got.
Not only did I get some really great answers, it also kind of started a debate in
the Facebook comments which tends to happen whenever I post about a touchy subject. It was pretty productive, but shows deeply the main disagreements people have
about bullying. The majority of people that commented said they have indeed experienced bullying themselves and that when it was taken to school administration it was
basically dismissed. An example someone gave was that the two girls she had experienced the worst bullying from were called into the office, asked by the principal if they
had been bullying others, they said no and they were sent on their way.
Another lady I know has worked in a school as a lunch lady. She said from personal experience, which Im assuming that is what she means, that administration really
doesnt want to be bothered when it comes to bullying. I like posting about social justice
issues on facebook, or really just issues in general. It is interesting to get an idea of other peoples perspectives on certain issues. I also created a wordle for this assignment
and you can see it below!

Brianna Smith
September 3, 2014
Notebook Activity 2 (3a)
Researching Bullying
While researching my topic, bullying, there has been a lot of very interesting statistics brought to my attention. Some of these statistics definitely surprised me more
than others. There are a lot of interesting websites out there that provide information
from surveys given to students which is really helpful. Its nice to know there are also a
lot of organizations that you can get involved in to present projects to different schools. I
like that there are initiatives being put out there to help students that feel bullied.
One statistic that was brought to my attention was that, 75% of school shootings
have been linked to harassment and bullying against the shooter. This specific statistic
is one that makes me very passionate about anti-bullying campaigns. Each time I hear
about a school shooting I feel absolutely heartbroken. I will follow the story as closely as
I can to try and comprehend what can make a young mind become so corrupt to act on
such a cruel thought. This shows us that it is bullying, something so simple to stop.
There were two other statistics that I believe are directly related that I also found
extremely disappointing. These are, 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying
and will only intervene 4% of the time, and Over 67% of students believe that schools
respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is

infrequent and ineffective. I feel really sad and shocked that teachers do not understand how bullying can severely affect a child and that they do not do much to help stop
it. Its that kids being kids mentality that needs to have an end put to it.
The statistics above were the ones that I would say surprised me the most and
would be the biggest turns my research took. It makes me more passionate about bullying, anti-bullying campaigns and that there needs to be more done in our schools to
get the word out.

Brianna Smith
August 27, 2014
On Bullying in America

After a huge debate with myself on what subject to choose to talk about over the course
of the semester, I think I am going to have to go with bullying in our schools. It is an issue that
has always bothered me a lot, but never one that Ive really researched into too deeply. I have
watched many documentaries on the issue, but I think it will be a good one to look even more
into. Bullying in our schools is something that needs to be talked about more and more awareness needs to be spread.
Bullying is still a huge issue in todays school systems. I think it is an issue that gets
widely ignored, therefore not much is done about it when it is brought about to a teacher, principal, etc. Kids will be kids, seems to be the phrase that is used when it comes to bullying, like it
doesnt have some kind of real significance or effect on the victim. Bullying hurts. Think back for
a second to the times when you were in school. Was bullying prevalent or was it something that
you just walked right by? Ive never seen the harm in reaching out to others and if only everyone
could feel the same, we could change the way people feel about themselves.