Commonwealth of Massachusetts
A Proclamation
His Excellency Deval L. Patrick

Whereas On May 3, 2010, Governor Deval L. Patrick signed An Act Relative to Bullying into law to strengthen Massachusetts schools’ efforts to keep students safe; and

Whereas Bullying is defined as the repeated use by one or more aggressor of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a target that causes physical or emotional harm to the target or damage to the target's property; places the target in reasonable fear of harm to him/herself or of damage to his/her property; creates a hostile environment at school for the target; infringes on the rights of the target at school; or materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school; and

Whereas Name-calling is considered to be a form of verbal bullying, where it results in emotional and psychological harm to the target; and

Whereas Research has shown that children and youths who are bullied are more likely than other children to become anxious, depressed, lonely and have low self-esteem; and

Whereas Bullying is an early warning sign of anti-social behavior that is not limited to school settings, but continues in other settings and into adulthood; and

Whereas Through public awareness the Commonwealth of Massachusetts seeks to provide an opportunity for all people to learn more about the causes and warning signs of bullying and to offer clear strategies for adults, new support for students and better communication among state agencies to prevent, report and effectively address issues related to bullying,

Now, Therefore, I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby proclaim January 23, 2013 to be

NO NAME CALLING DAY

And urge all the citizens of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston, this twentieth day of January, in the year two thousand and thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

By His Excellency

Deval L. Patrick
Governor of the Commonwealth

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth

God Save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts