Teen issues challenge to fight cyber-bullying

PLEASANTON, Calif. (KGO) -- Bullying is an old problem getting new attention lately.

A teenager from Pleasanton is raising awareness by recruiting young people across the nation for something called the "Great American No Bull Challenge." When it comes to spreading the anti-bullying message at schools, Nicole Edgington is somewhat of a rock star. Her followers include 7th and 8th-graders from Parkway Heights Middle School in South San Francisco.

"We're going to start something from a grassroots movement where the teens are the ones that are getting involved. So, we started the No Bull Challenge in hopes of getting 25 million teens inspired to stand up and take a stand against cyber-bullying with us," activist Nicole Edgington said.

She and her mother Shawn started the Great American No Bull Challenge asking schools across America to produce amateur videos on bullying. The students of Parkway Middle School have produced five. "We all chose different topics about it like cyber-bullying, physical bullying," student Jesus Garcia explained. Eight winners will be selected on July 21 at the Teen Video Red Carpet Awards event at the Masonic Center. "We kind of wanted to leave like a legacy here. We wanted to make something different that nobody has ever done," student Jose Murillo said.

According to the National Education Association, on any given day, an estimated 160,000 children in the U.S. miss school due to fears of attack or intimidation. "When you keep it to yourself, it can just build up over time and it can lead to a lot more serious problems like depression and even suicide," student Kelsey Englert said. One of the supporters of the campaign is Zoe Oz, daughter of TV personality Dr. Oz. "I've definitely had my own experiences online, through text, on Facebook, on Twitter, where I've had people mean to me or very hurtful to my friends," she told ABC7.

The deadline to submit the videos is March 31. The winning video will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival. For information on how you or your school can participate visit the No Bull Challenge website .

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