We, the residents of Madison, Connecticut and the students, parents and teachers of Madison Public Schools, are saddened by the seven teen suicides in September 2010 because of anti-gay bullying:

Billy Lucas (age 15, Indiana, died September 9th),

Cody Barker (age 17, Wisconsin, died September 13th),

Justin Aaberg (age 15, Minnesota, died September 13th),

Seth Walsh (age 13, California, died September 19th),

Asher Brown (age 13, Texas, died September 21st) ,

Tyler Clementi (age 18, New Jersey, died September 22nd),

Raymond Chase (age 19, Rhode Island, died September 29th). 

Some of the dead teens were openly gay. Some of them may not have been gay. All of them had been bullied in school for years.

We request that our school district support No Name-Calling Week during January 24 - 28, 2011. Schools can participate in many ways. Teachers can use activities to help students understand how hurtful verbal bullying is, and teach them how to cope with and stop name-calling. There are activities such as reading and writing assignments, a poster and essay contest, a school assembly, and discussion groups. No Name-Calling Week can also be used as time to provide special training to school staff on responding to verbal bullying. Families can help by talking to their kids about mean words and caring about the feelings of kids who are different.  Information and resources for No Name-Calling Week can be found at www.nonamecallingweek.org

Let's make Madison a bully-free zone where all kids feel great just the way they are.

Signed,

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