Fight Back—Make a Film About Bullying

“If you’re horrible to me, I’m going to write a song about it and you won’t like it,” the noted American country-pop singer and songwriter Taylor Swift once said. “That’s how I operate.”

Not everyone can write a song about bullying, however, even though most of us have endured that particular form of mistreatment.

If you have children who have been bullied, you might want to encourage them to make a film about the universal scourge that helps spread the word about it in the form of a public service announcement.

There's plenty of encouragement for such an undertaking. It's not just that the Beverly Hills Human Relations Commission is accepting submissions for an anti-bullying video contest. It's also that contest winners will be formally recognized at a City Council meeting and will receive an Embrace Civility Award from the commission, not to mention a framed proclamation from the mayor and council. (Videos must not be longer than 90 seconds and may be aired on the city's website and other municipal media.)

What's more, on March 28 and April 18, the Beverly Hills Public Library will offer two free classes about video production and editing for teens and tweens. Although the classes are for teens and tweens, anyone can enter the video contest. The deadline for submitting the film has been extended to May 15.

Click here and then scroll down for details, including a link to an electronic application form for the free classes.