CDC Study: Bullying Begins at Home
The CDC teamed with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to look at data gathered across a state that has been thrust into the bullying spotlight, and a state that responded with one of the more strict anti-bullying laws nationwide. Both 15-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley in 2010 and 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover of Springfield in 2009 committed suicide after repeated episodes of being bullied. Last weekend, in rural Minnesota, two best friends followed though with a suicide pact, both victims of bullying at school. The issue has become the rallying cry for parents and educators alike, with a number of different studies on the subject being published in the past year. The most recent, "Bullying Among Middle School and High School Students — Massachusetts, 2009," reports that 30 percent of high school and 40 percent of middle school students in Massachusetts admitted to being involved in or affected by bullying. One possible link suggested by the CDC is violence in the home. According to the study, 13.6 of middle school victims and 19.4 percent of bullies reported being "physically hurt by family member in past 12 months." supra shoes Of the high school students polled, 12.7 percent of victims and 13.6 percent of bullies reported the same. The report also suggested links between alcohol and drug use and needing to talk to someone other than family members about their feelings or problems.If the Maloofs still wanted to leave, they would be in the position of having to ask the same committee and league officials for approval. The only other option is the nuclear one: an antitrust suit. An official close to the Maloofs said they had been torn over the same issue: whether to move now or stay another season and then reassess their options. Strapped for cash with the family business, the Palms casino in Las Vegas, in dire financial straits and no faith in Sacramento officials, the Maloofs were intrigued by Anaheim's possibilities. Nevertheless, there was no missing how bad the timing was. Moving next season would mean bringing down a young Kings team that went 24-58 this season and finished 14th in the 15-team Western Conference. In addition, the looming possibility of an NBA lockout would threaten to shorten or cancel their debut season in Anaheim. Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, a member of the relocation committee, visited Sacramento this week and was received as royalty by city officials, Sacramento County officials and Darrell Steinberg, the president pro tempore of the State Senate, as well as Johnson, a former NBA star. Officials say Bennett's initial report noted that Johnson's pledge of $9.2 million in purchases of luxury suites and season tickets by local businesses has been exceeded. Suggesting the importance of the welcome, league officials contrasted the situation to the one in Seattle, where political support never materialized and the team — owned by Bennett — bolted to Oklahoma City in 2008.