President Barack Obama urged students, parents and schools at a White House conference yesterday to take steps to reduce or end bullying in schools
President Barack Obama urged students, parents and schools at a White House conference yesterday to take steps to reduce or end bullying in schools. 
Hitting home: US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama deliver
remarks at the Conference on Bullying Prevention. Pic/AFP
"Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people," Obama will tell about 150 students, parents, teachers and nonprofit leaders, according to an advance text of his remarks. "And it's not something we have to accept."
"If there's one goal of this conference, it's to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It's not," Obama will say. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are being joined by officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services at the conference.
In a video message posted on Obama's Facebook page, the president says that bullying "affects every single young person in our country." As the parents of two daughters, the Obamas say the issue has personal resonance. "Putting a stop to bullying is a responsibility we all share," the president says in the video.
"As parents, this issue really hits home for us," Michelle Obama says. "It breaks our hearts to think that any child feels afraid every day in the classroom, on the playground, or even online."
FB tackles bullying
Facebook has unveiled 'Safety Centre', an improved way for victims of bullying to report offensive images.
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