Having been bullied as a kid, anti-bullying is an issue that’s very important to me. It’s also one that’s very important to actress Chase Masterson. You may know her as Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or from one of her many other projects; however, she is also the founder of the Pop Culture Hero Coalition which works to educate and support children, teens, and adults to overcome bullying and social injustice, and to transform their struggles into strengths, using stories and characters from pop culture TV, film, and comics.
Using the message of inclusion from Star Trek, the Pop Culture Hero Coalition strives to create, promote and foster a culture free from the injustice of bullying, cyberbullying, hate crimes, and inequality based on gender, race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual identity or preference, physical disability, mental disability, learning disability, or any other perceived vulnerability.
The issue of bullying in schools is widespread and devastating to students of all ages. According to StopBullying.gov, 28% of students in grades 6-12 have been bullied. Even more shocking is that 70.6% of students and 70.4% of school staff say that they have witnessed bullying. However, when bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time.
Thanks to a growing awareness of the problem of bullying, studies suggest that rates of bullying may be declining. However, it still remains a prevalent and serious problem in today’s schools which is why the Pop Culture Hero Coalition is so important.
If you’d like learn more and see how you can help, be sure to check out their website. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also follow Chase on Facebook, Twitter, and ChaseMasterson.com.
Thanks to Chase for taking a few minutes out of her busy schedule to discuss this important topic!