Middle-schoolers'
summit stresses caring, self-respect
Thursday, October 20, 2005 • BY
JOE MOSZCZYNSKI • Star-Ledger
Staff
They say something good usually follows
something tragic, and the organizers of yesterday's summit
aimed at stopping bullying are hoping the summit turns out
to be that good thing.
Taking Flight to Change IV, a seminar on
school violence designed to address bullying and ways to
reduce it, began after the 1999 tragedy at Columbine High
School in Littleton, Colo., site of the worst school
shooting in U.S. history.
"We started the summit here after
Columbine when there was a lot of violence going on in the
schools," said Pam Melyan-Bratton, youth educator with the
Sussex County Center for Prevention & Counseling, as
more than 900 middle school students shuffled into the
McNeice Auditorium at the Sussex County Technical School in
Sparta.
The nearly full auditorium was adorned
with a sign that read: "Kindness is the key. Respect is the
door. Friendship is the reward."
But Melyan-Bratton added that the youth
violence has not stopped since Columbine, citing two
separate child-on-child assaults that occurred recently in
Sparta and Wantage.
"It's here in Sussex County. It's
everywhere," she said.
On Friday, a 17-year-old boy was arrested
for beating another boy with a baseball bat outside a
Wantage home. The 15-year-old victim had been struck in the
head with the bat.
Last month, in Sparta, three teenage
girls were arrested for beating a 13-year-old girl in a park
near a crowded youth football game. Police said the victim
was "savagely" beaten in the unprovoked attack.
"Bullying is a problem that creates a
climate of fear, that affects the whole school, and in some
cases, the whole community," said Becky Carlson, coordinator
for the Sussex County Coalition for Healthy & Safe
Families, a program of the Newton-based center for
prevention and a sponsor of the summit.
The summit, which included 100 high
school students who acted as facilitators, was aimed at
middle school students from throughout Sussex County because
it's at that age when acts of bullying usually
occur.
"That's where it's starting. We're trying
to teach them how to be kinder to one another and hope it
carries on through their high school years," said
Melyan-Bratton. "It's a 'Do unto others as you would have
others do unto you' kind of a thing."
During the summit, the students heard
keynote presentations from Kellum Smith, a brain-damaged
victim of gang violence, and Tom Malloy, a motivational
speaker who spoke about students improving themselves
individually. The students also participated in various
workshops, including one called "What's Happening in My
School," during the all-day event.
"When you tell somebody else, 'Hey man,
you're ugly,' it really means that you think you're ugly.
Bullies are weak," said Malloy, who is also a standup comic
and who kept the students entertained with his antics
throughout his 45-minute presentation.
Both Smith and Malloy stressed the need
for the students to stay positive about their lives. By
staying positive, the desire to put down others would be
eliminated.
"Through it all, I remained strong and
positive," said Smith, who was beaten nearly to death in
1997 by six members of an Irvington street gang for looking
at them the "wrong way."
"You don't have to follow the crowd. It's
OK to be different," he said in closing his presentation,
which brought a standing ovation from the crowd.
Joe Moszczynski may be reached at
jmoszczynski@starledger.com or (973) 383-0516.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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