District attorney contest combats cyberbullying
Winning poster will be part of countywide digital safety program
SAN JOSE — A countywide campaign sponsored by Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen to highlight the dangers of social media for teens will include a compelling poster of a young woman weeping bloody tears, underscored by the slogan, “Virtual bullets cause real pain.’’
The poster by 16-yearold Abraham Lincoln High School student Jessica Jones won first place in the annual District Attorney’s Justice for All contest, whose theme this year was the risks and dangers of social media.
In a brief ceremony Monday in the breezeway of the County Government Center, Rosen awarded Jones and two other San Jose students cash prizes, using money known as asset forfeiture funds seized from criminals.
Embedded in each dripping tear Jones drew were insults, such as “ugly,’’ “fat’’ and “gross,’’ which teens have been known to use on Instagram, Twitter and other social media.
The poster will be incorporated into a digital safety curriculum that Rosen’s office is presenting to all county school administrators, students and parents.
“Our goal is to celebrate the exciting value of social media and learn how to navigate the waters safely,’’ prosecutor Angela Alvarado said in an email. “This includes educating (students) on the impact of cyberbullying and sexting, both emotionally and criminally.”
Jones won $1,000. Second-place winner Anthony Nguyen, a 17-year-old graduate of Andrew Hill High, won $500 for his poster comparing the dangers of social media to smoking. And Sabrina Tian, a 15-year-old Presentation High student, won $300 for her poster of a young girl trapped in her phone.
Rosen told the students and their families and friends Monday that the Audrie Pott case helped inspire this year’s contest theme and the digital safety curriculum that local law enforcement agencies helped design, which includes the slogan, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Send, Don’t Pass It On.’’
Pott was a 15-year-old Saratoga teenager who took her own life in 2012 after she was sexually assaulted by three teenage boys while unconscious during a Labor Day weekend party. After the assault, photos of her were shared via text with other students. The boys who later admitted to sexually assaulting Audrie were ordered to serve 30-45 days in juvenile hall. Their names haven’t been released because they are minors.
In 2014, Gov. Brown signed Audrie’s Law, which increased punishment for juveniles convicted of sexually abusing unconscious and disabled victims. Under the law, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, a minor convicted of a sex crime against an unconscious victim will be required to complete a sex offender treatment program and will no longer have the option of paying a fine or participating in community service or a treatment program for the charges to be dismissed. In addition, juvenile sex crime court proceedings will now be open to the public and the media.
“Today, I think of the tragedy of Audrie Pott,’’ Rosen said. “I wish that she had felt — as I do — the profound power and empathy of all these excellent artworks.’’