Dear Editor:
Re: Burnaby school district dealing with spike in high-risk behaviour following Amanda Todd case (Burnaby NOW, Oct. 19).
As a Burnaby high school graduate, I believe preventing students from seeing Todd's video won't help with the issue of bullying.
Students need to know that bullying is happening. Up until this June before my graduation, I did not realize that bullying to this degree could exist in the Fraser Valley. It seemed too distant to be real.
There were lighter cases in my high school years, but students couldn't empathize with the situation because not enough information was given to increase awareness. Bullied students were never given peer support because no one knew about the incidents.
These students would want support and help, but it's impossible when their situations are kept from their peers. Amanda Todd's case certainly raises awareness, but without guidance from teachers, this could be another case that can be dismissed from students' lives. We shouldn't let that happen. There are other students like Amanda who need help, and I can say there are definitely people who would help only if they knew about it.
In essence, by showing the video to raise awareness, more students can actively support the cause to help decrease local bullying incidences and their devastating impact on affected students.
Clover Mei, Waterloo, Ont.
