Somerville High School students and staff participated in the signing of the “Black Out Bullying” banner, signifying their support for the “No Name Calling Day” initiative. – Photos by Kevin Ma

By Savath Yong

On January 25, “No Name Calling Day,” a provision of the anti-bullying legislation signed by Governor Deval Patrick in May 2010, was recognized in schools throughout the state, as students pledged to take a stand against bullying with organized efforts by the Youth Council Members from the Governor’s Statewide Youth Council.  Kevin Ma, a Somerville High School student and one of the Youth Council Members appointed to represent Middlesex County, promoted awareness about the effects of bullying and encouraged classmates to wear black to empower his school to work against this harmful behavior.

Ma was involved with Somerville Positive Forces since eighth grade in community efforts to help prevent drug and alcohol abuse. His youth leader encouraged him to apply for the Youth Council Member position and he feels grateful that he was selected to participate in Governor Patrick’s anti-bullying campaign.  Ma said many of his teachers and classmates were instrumental in making “No Name Calling Day” successful. Charles Gerlach, Ma’s graphics teacher, gave him immense support and helped him design the “Black Out Bullying” banner that says, “I pledge to take a stand against bullying and name calling.”

“I thought that midterms would get in the way of ‘No Name Calling Day’ but I saw so many people dressed in black in the hallways and I really appreciated all of their support.  So many of my friends, teachers, guidance counselors, and even the Principal signed our banner to represent how we will not tolerate bullying at our school.”

Ma said that with the height of social media, he’s seen fights and arguments break out over Facebook statuses and his peers become victims of cyberbullying. He said many of his friends showed their support by posting Facebook statuses to help advocate for anti-bullying on “No Name Calling Day.”

“I understand that everyone is going to be bullied to some extent in their lives but when you are going to school, you want to know you’re going to be in a safe environment and I feel that anti-bullying should be reinforced in every school.  ‘No Name Calling Day’ is a day for everyone to demonstrate that they will not tolerate this dangerous behavior.  I hope this ‘holiday’ becomes a yearly tradition and I’m excited to see how the anti-bullying movement will progress in the future.”