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Tackling Lunchtime Bullying
Courtesy of Sit With Us (App); ©Carolyn A. Hampton (2015). All rights reserved (Natalie Hampton)
Natalie Hampton’s app helps students find lunch buddies.
Natalie Hampton was looking forward to making new friends as she started seventh grade at an all-girls school in Los Angeles. But it quickly became obvious that she didn’t fit in—and she soon became the victim of relentless bullying. Whenever she tried to join a cafeteria table, she was told to leave. “If I’d had one person to sit with at lunch, it really would have made a difference,” she says. Luckily, things improved once she got to high school—and when she was 15, Hampton created Sit With Us, a free app that encourages teens to branch out during their midday meal so others won’t go through the same ordeal she did. Students can invite classmates to join their table or look for a welcoming group to connect with. And the app’s popularity is growing; it’s now available in eight countries and is being translated into languages such as French and Spanish. “Lunch may seem like a small thing,” Hampton, now 18, says, “but I believe that incremental steps to improve the overall dynamic of a school community can bring about change.”