Stop School Violence Campaign

Good afternoon,

My name is Anthony Vargas, a current undergraduate student here at the University at Buffalo, studying Sociology and Criminology.

The purpose of this email is to reach out in regards to a Stop School Violence Campaign that I’ve started. The campaign’s objective is to urge our legislators to implement peer-to-peer mentoring programs in our schools. As a student who experienced bullying in middle school, this is an issue that is very dear to me. My work on bullying has led me to present at the United Nations for the International Day of Peace in September 2014, and place as a Semi-Finalist for the Peace First Prize Award in April 2015.

The purpose of my campaign is to implement these peer-to-peer mentoring programs in our schools. The peer-to-peer mentoring program ideology has been proven to be successful, and I was apart of the pilot program to institute this at my high school. The petition currently has 1,400 signatures, including support from organizations such as: Teach For America, The Robin Hood Foundation, Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, NY Local Officials, and many more.

It would be my sincere honor to have UB’s Graduate Student Association help support, and promote this campaign. The more support the petition gets, the more awareness for this issue, and the quicker we can help create a prevention plan for bullying in our schools. Every signature counts, and everyone’s opinion does too.

I know that we can’t end bullying, but we can sure help in preventing it, and aiding those going through these issues.

Below are some articles from the New York Daily News on the campaign:

Thank you very much for your consideration on this matter. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do.

Very Respectfully,

Anthony J. Vargas
University at Buffalo ’20
Sociology ll Criminology Minor
Resident Advisor ll Clement Hall ll UB Campus Living