A day-long conference on bullying on the UB North Campus attracted nearly 800 people Wednesday.
The 9th Annual Safe Schools Initiative Seminar was sponsored in part by the Secret Service and the office of U.S. Attorney William Hochul. He said statistics indicate most students will be victimized at some point during elementary school and 35% of 'chronic bullies' end up in prison.
"For those reasons, today's summit is particularly important and it will provide tools and insights into what causes bullying, as well as approaches to try to disarm a situation and empower educators and parents in making sure that their children achieve their dreams, or conversely engage in activities which really harm other children," said Hochul.
Workshop topics included "How interpret non-verbal behavior." Teachers, administrators, school board members and law enforcement officials from across the region were among those in attendance.
"All of here in Western New York are joined together and we will continue to work to address not only bullying, but [also] making our schools safer in the future," said Hochul.