Good Morning, As you all know last night I attended the Onslow County School Board Meeting in support of Mr. Laughinghouse. There were several people there who joined me, some students from other schools in the community, and also a young lady by the name of Hope Conn. She is a current French student at Swansboro High School, and an amazing person. I spent much of the meeting just getting to know her, and I know that she is going to do great things with her life. I was so proud to see a student stand up and speak at the meeting in support of Mr. Laughinghouse, and I took the time after the meeting to speak with some of his other supporters. Thank you all so much for coming out. I'm not featured in the story attached, and I have my reasons for that, but I will say that I think WCTI did a great job of telling the story, and I am so thankful that they arrived to cover it. Hope did an amazing job! She spoke to the board members about her experiences with Mr. L, and his support of her education. She also spoke about the change in the classroom since he has been moved to virtual teaching. She touched on the difficult transition for students accustomed to having a teacher in the classroom to answer questions, now having to communicate virtually. I know that Mr. L would love to be back in the classroom with his students so I think we should all congratulate Hope for standing up for his wishes. As for me, I spoke about the impact of Cyberbullying on school environments, and how important it is for change to start at the top. I challenged board members to step up and blaze a new trail. Help teachers and administrators learn how to approach instances of cyberbullying, and assure that every student in Onslow County understands the laws and consequences that participating in this type of behavior can cause. I do believe that if we start making changes now, learn a lesson from this incident that we might be able to save lives. I also want to thank, Kat Howell, another supporter, for her speech at the meeting. Mrs. Howell stood up for members of the LGBTQ community. All too often we hear instances of discrimination based on sexuality, and it's important that we all learn to be accepting of everyone. Let's fight hate with LOVE. Be brave, and embrace your fellow man, because every person you meet, every conversation you have, is an opportunity to learn and grow. What a world we could live in, if we all simply learned to listen instead of judge, to hug it out rather than argue, and to respect each individual's right to privacy and freedom. Belief shouldn't dictate community; rather, community, should embrace EVERY belief and difference. Again, I want to continue to thank you all for the support, and ask you to please continue to share this petition. Our job is far from over. Let's try to get Mr. L back in the classroom where he belongs, and be a force for change at the district level combatting Cyberbullying. If you would like to see what each of us said in support of Mr. L, I know that the board does eventually post meeting videos to their website. That has not been posted yet, for now take a look at News Channel 12's story. Thank you,