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<p>NANTICOKE &#8212; A number of students who contend school bullying and racism are being ignored have formed a group dubbed the &#8220;Stop the Hate Project,&#8221; sophomore Cydnee Dingman said.</p><p>&#8220;We feel the complaints are being neglected by the administration,&#8221; Dingman said. &#8220;We hear stories of being bullied and nothing is done about it.&#8221;</p><p>Dingman said a group of about eight students trade stories both via social media and in person during morning gatherings at the school. She posted screenshots of some of those comments on her Facebook page, with stories of hands being slammed in the door of a locker, a threat to kill a student, and suicidal thoughts.</p><p>&#8220;We are hoping to change the way people are seeing these things,&#8221; Dingman said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t like the hate going around in our school.&#8221;</p><p>Asked about the student concerns and postings, Superintendent Ron Grevera said in an email that all reports of bullying and harassment are investigated by the building principal, and that some of it starts outside the schools but is continued in them. He also noted &#8220;much of the bullying occurs on social media.&#8221;</p><p>If it does come into the school and reports of bullying are substantiated, Grevera said, &#8220;Students receive progressive discipline,&#8221; but that discipline is not made public, &#8220;and therefore I can see how sometimes students may perceive that nothing is being done.&#8221; Students who are bullied may be referred to the guidance department for counseling, he added.</p><p>&#8220;Currently,&#8221; Grevera wrote, &#8220;the district is waiting for state approval of an &#8216;in-school&#8217; based counseling service through Northeast Counseling whereby students can receive counseling during the school day rather than having to rely on parents or guardians to drive them to appointments.&#8221;</p><p>Dingman said students started noticing the problems about a month ago &#8220;but the group only started almost two weeks ago.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We want schools that feel safe,&#8221; she said,&#8221;Not to feel like we&#8217;re not worth anything.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Greater Nanticoke Area School District Superintendent Ron Grevera shows one of the new second grade classrooms in the Kennedy Early Childhood Center.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL082518newschool-mg_2.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Greater Nanticoke Area School District Superintendent Ron Grevera shows one of the new second grade classrooms in the Kennedy Early Childhood Center.   Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Students voicing concerns of bullying, racism at Greater Nanticoke Area