L.A. students taken to see anti-bullying film
Administrators hope it will start a movement
Thousands of Los Angeles-area students were bused downtown Tuesday to view a screening of the documentary film “Bully,” which focuses on the issue of bullying in schools.
“There is no place for bullying in L.A. schools, and as teachers, parents, administrators and students, we all share the responsibility to stand up and say enough is enough,” Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said. “With middle schools and high schools representing every corner of LAUSD in attendance, the movement to end bullying in LAUSD continues today.”
The students were taken to the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles for a screening of the film, which was followed by a “town hall” style discussion about the issue.
“Bully” has garnered a large amount of media attention in recent weeks, beginning with the battle over the R rating it initially received from the Motion Picture Association of America. Officials with the Weinstein Co., the film’s distributor, and anti-bullying advocates protested the rating, saying it would prevent a large number of young students from being able to see it.
The film was eventually re-edited, earning it a PG-13 rating.
“Bully” follows a handful of students who are victimized by bullying and focuses on responses by teachers and school administrators to the problem.
Today’s screening was organized in part by the nonprofit L.A. Fund for Public Education.
“We want to challenge students to be agents of change by taking action in their schools and ensuring that their peers aren’t allowed to be victims of bullying,” said L.A. Fund board chair Megan Chernin. “We believe these students can start a districtwide movement to ensure all students can learn without fear of physical and emotional abuse.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Fees to film in downtown’s Grand Park will remain $20,000 per day per block for now, as county officials today postponed a decision to temporarily drop or dramatically reduce the charge.
Sarah Walsh of the Motion Picture Association of America said the fee has created “a major disincentive to film in the county of Los Angeles.”
A former South Los Angeles-area elementary school teacher who allegedly took photos of blindfolded and gagged students with a roach on their faces or spoons of semen held to their mouths pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of committing lewd acts on nearly two dozen children.
Mark Henry Berndt, 61, is due back in court March 28 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial. Berndt, who taught for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary, remains jailed in lieu of $23 million bail.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy suspended a new district policy that allows homework to count for only 10 percent of a student’s grade, saying he wanted more input from parents, teachers and school board members on the issue.
“We cannot and will not implement a policy of this magnitude without actively soliciting and incorporating recommendations from our constituencies,” Deasy said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Hollywood's top studios filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit today against the movie-streaming service Zediva for allegedly offering movies on the Internet without obtaining the required licenses.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the Motion Picture Association of America on behalf of its member studios, names WTV Systems, the parent company of Zediva, and Venkatesh Srinivasan, Zediva's founder and chief executive officer.
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