Jackson-Milton students fight cyber bullying with art project

Every year, ODOT has its Paint a Plow contest and schools from all over the state enter. At Jackson-Milton High School, art students also use the contest as a chance to make a difference.

It's a unique canvas and once a year, students use it to send a message and get people talking.

"I think what's awesome about this project; it brings everyone together to develop different perspectives on a topic," said art teacher Katelyn Amendolara.

This year, that topic is cyberbullying; just in time for national bullying prevention month.

"I think it is a very important subject to talk about and spread about, so it will eventually stop," said junior Grace McDevitt.

"Everyone has a phone or computer, some type of technology and every day almost for everyone there's some sort of cyberbullying happening," said junior Kent Gross.

But getting students to actually talk about that fact isn't always easy. That's one of the more hidden benefits to taking on a project like this.

"Especially while we're painting, a lot of students that were painting shared their stories about being bullied and offered solutions and what they could do," said Amendolara.

"There was even a bit of a debate in the classroom if it was real for some of the kids. I've seen the effect it has on some kids," said senior Andrew Zimmerman. "It definitely is real and it needs to be talked about and shown more."

This is about as a visible as you can get. The plow will literally be plowing the streets around town throughout the winter.

"Most school projects are in the classroom and just focusing on something that you're making for yourself or it's just for a grade, but this is something that has a message and it's going to be seen by a lot of people," said Zimmerman.

Putting the anti-bullying conversation on display quite literally, and starting a conversation among teenagers; part of something far bigger than a single art project.