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Prescott Elementary Students Take Up Anti-Bullying Campaign

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Prescott Magnet School near Ashland and Wrightwood avenues has seen discipline problems decrease after students started an anti-bullying campaign.

As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, students at Prescott, 1632 W. Wrightwood Ave., are wearing rubber wristbands with anti-bullying slogans.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports

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"Everybody's wearing them, and everybody's trying, I think, to make an effort to be kinder," says teacher Kimberly Gow.

Her colleague, Jennifer Brennan, says this is an everyday conversation.

"It's not always about getting beat up on the playground or getting physically bullied," Brennan said. "Sometimes (it's) if you just feel uncomfortable."

"Even little things – writing mean notes to one another, calling each other names, not allowing kids to sit at your group," Gow added.

The kids came up with the slogans on the bracelets – "being cruel isn't cool," "niceness is priceless," and "don't be mean behind the scene."

"We wanted to come up with something like, cool, and edgy," said Keishana, a seventh grader, who is one of the leaders of the efforts. "Like, I'm setting an example for them to stop doing what they're doing."

Some of the students who are wearing the bracelets pointed out that bullying can lead to suicidal thoughts among its victims, and "kids feel, like, trapped, and they don't know what to do."

Prescott principal Erin Roche says since the effort started, disciplinary problems at Prescott are down.

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