nayira_muhammad_web.jpgTALLAHASSEE – Fifteen aspiring teen journalists from Florida, Georgia and Alabama have completed a multimedia workshop at Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) School of Journalism and Graphic Communication with a special focus on tackling bullying. 

Workshop atte dees produced blogs, multimedia slideshows, news articles, video testimonials and a public service announcement. The students’ work is available online at tacklin gbullying.wordpress.com

“What I enjoyed the most was the fact that we were able to make blogs and prepare ourselves for our future in a career,” said Kennington Smith, a rising senior from Fayetteville, Ga.

Tomás Monzón, a recent high school graduate from Miami, said “Success depends on your ability to make friends, and this workshop allows you to do just that and more.”

Nayirah Muhammad, a rising junior from Birmingham, Ala., said, “Being a bully is worthless and has no benefit and needs to be stopped.”

Inesha Carruth, a recent high school graduate from Athens, Ga., said, “Bullying can destroy or end lives, so stand for something or fall for anything, stop the bullying.”

The workshop, a partnership of the FAMU SJGC, Dow Jones News Fund and NBC Universal, gave the students a chance to learn more about themselves and about technology

for their future careers, said Leonard  Horton, co-director for the workshop and an assistant FAMU Journalism professor.

Bullying was selected as the focus for the workshop because it is a hot discussion topic in the news.

“Florida A&M University’s hazing problem has become a national discussion, and I think it is important to understand the psychology of bulllying to stop it,” Horton said.

A variety of speakers participated in the workshop ranging from Rocky Hanna, the former Leon High School principal who was bullied as a teen, to Angela Whitaker, aide to Tallahassee Mayor Pro Tempore Andrew Gillum, who discussed workplace bullying.

Photo: Nayira Muhammad