Cyberbullying addressed by expert panel, Jan. 28

The College of Journalism and Mass Communications will host a discussion about the growing national problem of cyberbullying on Jan. 28 at the Nebraska Union. The college is partnering with the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) as sponsors of this event.

“We look forward to a vigorous discussion about how cyberbullying particularly affects diverse students,” said journalism professor Gary Kebbel, who is organizing the panel.

The discussion will be led by expert panelists: Sue Burzynski Bullard, associate professor of journalism at UNL; Zach Myers, doctoral candidate whose research specialty is cyberbullying; Abi Beatty, counselor at Scott Middle School in Lincoln, and Jason Lucht, former staff member at the LGBTQ Resource Center at UNL. Journalist Bobby Caina Calvan will moderate.

The public discussion is part of the Heartland Project, a joint initiative of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, the AAJA and the NLGJA to increase media coverage of minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in Nebraska. Bobby Caina Calvan, a former national political writer in the Boston Globe’s Washington bureau, is the lead reporter for the Heartland Project. The project is funded by the Ford Foundation. Kebbel is the UNL partner in the grant.

The panel discussion will be at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, in the auditorium of the Nebraska Union. The discussion is open to the UNL and local communities. A reception will follow the event.