Symposium Aims to Banish Bullying at Bowie High

If you go by the numbers, there's a bullying problem at Bowie High School. 

The school had a total of 17 incidents of bullying reported in the 2012-2013 school year, according to a report issued by the Prince George's County Board of Education. That's the highest number of reports at any single school in the county. 

After seeing these numbers, Prince George's County Councilwoman Ingrid Turner (District 4) decided to take action by hosting an an anti-bullying symposium for Bowie High School students on Sept. 30.

"Reporting is good, but I wanted to build awareness and engage the community," Turner said in an interview.

Monday's symposium, entitled The  Leadership: Stop the Madness II – Anti-Bullying Symposium, is specifically target at student leaders at Bowie High School, to help them learn how to identify and report bullying in school.

"My goal is to build awareness. We want the kids to be able to understand the steps to stop bullying. We want them to have a safe environment," Turner said.

The symposium will be made up of a series of workshops lead by various speakers, including Turner herself, that will teach the students about the impact of bullying, conflict resolution and mediation. 

Approximately 100 student leaders, identified by school staff and PTA members, will be in attendance. 

"With the support of elected officials, Principal Drewana Bey, Bowie High School staff, teachers, and parents, the students can set the example in the school. If we all come together to directly address this issue, we can effectively teach our young people that bullying is harmful and must stop,” Turner said in a statement.

This is Turner's second anti-bullying symposium. She held a similar symposium last year at Benjamin Tasker Middle School.

Monday's symposium will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, which is adjacent to Bowie High School.