St. Thomas More students address Delaware legislators

Students from St. Thomas More Academy in Magnolia joined Rep. Timothy Dukes, R-Laurel, in Delaware's Legislative Hall June 15 to show support for a proposed anti-bullying law they helped write. The legislation Dukes sponsored this past legislative session is to create the crime of bullying. The bill was released from the Judiciary Committee following testimonial support provided by student members of the criminal justice class at STMA. The Law and Society class at STMA embarked on a project to research bullying, and discovered that while there were anti-bullying programs in the Delaware schools, there were few legal consequences outside of school discipline for the bully.

After conducting the research, the class drafted a bullying law. The research papers and draft law were given to Dukes, who polished up the wording of the law and introduced it into the Delaware House of Representatives as House Bill 386. Dukes invited members of the STMA law class to appear before the House Judiciary Committee in support of the bill. Class members Alaina Robinson, LaDell Bush and Travis Ziegler spoke before the Judiciary Committee in support of the bill.

Dennis Lahiff, a retired attorney who teaches the Law & Society class at STMA, said, "I am extremely proud of the students. Their work and their support of the bill before the legislators demonstrates their academic excellence, using the teachings and values promoted by STMA for community service to develop individuals who share their God-given gifts, and graduating well-rounded civic minded citizens." For more information, go to www.saintmore.org.