Constitution Day Essay Contest - 2014

• The Question with Research Links

• Contest Rules

• Entry Form

2014 ESSAY QUESTION

Bullying always has been an unpleasant and harmful part of growing up. Combining bullying with the pervasive presence of social media – cyberbullying -- allows taunts, insults and harassment that once circulated around the school yard to circulate around the world, 24 hours a day, and stay alive indefinitely. The documented growth of cyberbullying has prompted much discussion about its causes, its effects, who should be responsible for curbing it and what consequences cyberbullies should face.

 

Considering the significance of our constitutional right to free speech, please discuss whether punishment or other consequences should be imposed on someone who conveys hurtful comments about another person via social media or cellphone texting (cyberbullying), what those ramifications might be, and who should impose them.

 

For example:

• In view of the potential impact of hurtful comments conveyed through social media and texting, should our First Amendment rights become more limited? How?

• What is a school’s role in both protecting free speech and protecting students from cyberbullying?

• What responsibility, if any, do students have to take action when they witness cyberbullying?

• Is it still true that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”?

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