WHEREAS, more than 13 million American kids a year are affected by bullying, with some driven to suicide; and

WHEREAS, teens in grades 6 through 10 are the most likely to be involved in activities related to bullying; and

WHEREAS, approximately 30 percent of students in the U.S. are involved in bullying on a regular basis, either as a victim, bully or both; and

WHEREAS, mayors are the civic leaders of the nation’s cities and can be tremendously impactful to effect positive change in their communities; and

WHEREAS, the Bully Project, the social action campaign inspired by and developed in conjunction with the film “Bully”, with the support of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, has successfully reached its goal of reaching one million students and educators across the country – building resolve for local communities to come together to improve school climate and create safer schools; and

WHEREAS, bullying still impacts far too many of our nation’s youth – about 1 in 4 children in the United States are bullied on a regular basis; and

WHEREAS, mayors across the country have and continue to raise awareness about the issue of bullying and resolve to double their efforts to help eradicate this problem,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors fully supports anti-bullying activities such as The Bully Project and 1 Million Kids; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that for National Bullying Prevention Month, October 2013, mayors across the nation pledge now to convene screenings and discussions with stakeholders in their communities to send a strong national message and drive real change at the local level; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the nation’s mayors will do all they can to call attention to the issue of bullying in schools, and work to develop city-wide programs to combat the problem of bullying to ensure that all students have access to a safe and secure educational environment.