Ellen DeGeneres and Bella Thorne Help “Stomp Out Bullying” During National Bullying Prevention Month

By Paige Miller

The month of October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Bullying is happening all over the world and needs to stop. Stomp Out Bullying, is a national anti- bullying and cyberbullying organization for kids and teens in the United States. One important female ambassador is Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen Degeneres, the TV talk show host, is a former victim of bullying. When Ellen came out on national television she began receiving hateful messages. As a result, Ellen became depressed and canceled her show. However after a few years she started to write again and brought her show back. After experiencing being bullied first hand, Ellen is a true advocate for Stomp Out Bullying. Ellen DeGeneres tweeted, “It’s National Bullying Prevention Month. Think what it’d be like if everyone decided to #StopBullying.” Degeneres speaks out about bullying on her TV show and broadcasts her own story to show young kids that they need to ignore the people who are treating them harshly.  

In comparison to DeGeneres, Bella Thorne, was also bullied, except when she was younger. Thorne was home schooled as a child but dropped out because kids were bullying her too much. She struggled to read and learn English because she was a native Spanish speaker; however, many kids showed no sympathy for her. They said that she was dumb and would get nowhere in life. Throne proved them wrong. A few years later Bella Thorne became a known actor and is most famous for her Disney show, Shake It Up! Bella believes that she could not have become the superstar that she is without those “haters”. One thing that Bella told herself was that no one should be treated the way she was treated. She launched the “Thank You” campaign which encourages young women to thank their haters for motivating them to be great. Bella Thorne wants everyone to think that they are awesome women who can accomplish great things and to not let the haters bring you down. She is also involved with Stomp Out Bullying.

If you want to support or get involved with Stomp Out Bullying, you can check out their website at https://www.stompoutbullying.org.  Other celebrities who are involved with the charity are Allison Janney, Brittany Snow, Chloe Grace Moretz, Debra Messing, Demi Lovato, Ellen DeGeneres, Faith Hill, Hilary Duff, JoJo, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Selma Blair and Zendaya.

Planned Parenthood Has a New President – Meet Dr. Leana Wen

By Eliza Fogel

Planned Parenthood announced their new president, Dr. Leana Wen, a doctor who is filling the significant shoes of former president, Cecile Richards. Dr. Wen is Planned Parenthood’s first Asian American president. The organization is particularly meaningful to Dr. Wen as growing up as an immigrant family in Compton, California, she and her family went to Planned Parenthood for their healthcare.

Dr. Wen joins Planned Parenthood during a particularly volatile time due to threats to abortion and reproduction rights, both major concerns based on Brett Cavanaugh’s Supreme Court hearing where he made it clear he wanted to defund Planned Parenthood. According to The New York Times, Wen is the 6th person to serve as the president of Planned Parenthood and assumes her position on November 12, 2018. Dr. Wen, a remarkably bright individual, embarked on her academic career at just 13 years old, graduating summa cume laud with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and was offered 8 scholarships for medical school, choosing to attend Washington University in St. Louis. She later took time of from medical school to work for the World Health Organization in Geneva, and finally went to Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar earning two degrees in Economic and Social History as well as modern Chinese. She currently is the Commissioner of Health for the CIty of Baltimore. Dr. Wen spends much of her career advocating for patients rights and privacy, and is known for her fierce work in combating Baltimore’s opioid crisis. She was named one of the Governing’s Public Officials of the year in 2017.