Media

Papa John’s Pizza locations in San Antonio are teaming up with a local organization to help in the fight against cyberbullying. The David’s Legacy Foundation was formed after the suicide of David Molak. Molak was 16 years old and attending Alamo Heights High School when he took his own life nearly 3 years ago. Leading up to his suicide, Molak had been bullied online.

We at David’s Legacy Foundation are grateful for the support of our friends, neighbors and partners, like our locally owned Papa John’s stores. As we work to increase awareness of teen cyber bullying and the life-altering affects it can have on families, we raise a higher bar for communities. Papa John’s does the same.

It’s been over a year since anti-bullying legislation known as David’s Law passed. Now plans are in the works to consider revising the bill and enhancing certain parts.  “There’s going to be a lot of conversations this legislative session regarding school safety and bullying I believe will come up in part of that conversation,” said Maurine Molak.

Two years ago, Maurine Molak was an accountant with a fear of public speaking. Her life changed when her youngest son, David, died by suicide. Now, she travels the state sharing his story, which was the basis of new statewide legislation called David’s Law.

“Hack the Bully,” calls upon hackers to create an online tool diminishing the power of cyberbullies by helping victims and raising awareness of the issue to bystanders in the community.  Tacky Box, which offers a multi-sensory program to improve children’s treatment of their peers, is hosting an anti-cyberbullying hackathon beginning Friday at The Dallas Entrepreneur Center.

Star Belmonte, a 7th grader at Joel Harris Middle School, is a victim of bullying. She says her situation causes her pain every day. The 12-year-old claims she is physically and verbally attacked at school. “When I walk in the hallway, the girls make gagging faces like they want to throw up because they think I’m ugly,” said Belmonte. “They call me ugly a lot and they call me fat, stupid.”

Near the end of October, it’s not unusual to find people wearing the color orange. They do it to match the festivities of Halloween but on Oct. 25, the students of Sealy Intermediate School and Sealy Junior High School wore the color for a very different reason. Intermediate students combined their jersey day of Red Ribbon Week, another show of unity against drugs, with Unity Day by wearing orange shoelaces while the junior high students wore all orange outfits.

Throughout Texas, San Antonio is well  known for having some of the most  deliciously authentic Tex-Mex cuisine. Now, you can celebrate your favorite childhood throwback with an entire festival in its honor: Fideo Loco.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 179, also known as David’s Law, into law on Friday. “Cyberbullying is an epidemic in this country,” said Sen. Menéndez. David’s law will focus on prevention efforts in schools while offering consequences to those who wish to exploit and harass our children on the Internet. Read the full article at News4 San Antonio

By Justin Warren, The Beta Theta Pi Magazine Summer 2017 A Family’s Darkest Day – For a year beginning in 2014, bullies tormented David Molak, a 16-year-old Sophomore from San Antonio, Texas.  See the full article here >