BERKELEY – “Look at him using one notebook for two classes because his family is broke.”
“Did you find those beat-up shoes in the garbage?”
These are the kinds of insults that kids could hear any day of the week in school. The author of this article certainly did.
Here in the Garden State, the latest statistics of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) incidents show that close to 7,200 young people have reported being bullied – and that’s just those who report it. It also doesn’t include cases of teasing that don’t qualify under the state definition of a HIB – making fun of a kid for something like their skin color, sexuality, ethnicity, or religion.
And on a Saturday, a day that was almost as dark and gloomy as the topic of bullying itself, the local D.A.R.E. took up the fight against the negative statistics of bullying with an anti-bullying walk.
Every year, there’s a fundraising car show for D.A.R.E. in Veterans Park, but this was the first time there was an anti-bullying walk. Merging them created the slogan “Drive Away Bullying.”
Many parents, students, and educators circled the Car Show to bring attention to the topic and to show support for the victims.
And even though the weather failed to bring any positive energy to the event due to high winds and dark skies, that did not stop every single participant from taking one or more laps around the park. The strong spirits of everyone who came showed they were eager to fight bullying in an attempt to make a real change.
For Officer Mikki Baranyay, who oversees the D.A.R.E. program in Berkley, the fundraiser from the car show and the participation during the walk mean everything to her.
Gatherings like this can be a helpful place for students who have faced a similar fate of bullying to get together and feel comfortable with one another, and be able to share their struggles without being judged, she said. It can also help kids get to know each other so they don’t bully.
“It’s all about communication, getting kids from different environments to feel comfortable about talking about their experiences,” she said.
She also stated that in order for bullying to be better handled, the issues that create it should be identified, and everyone should strive to help create a happier and healthier environment.
As stated by Jim Roselli, the superintendent at the Berkley Township district, the tragic passing of Adriana Kuch served as the main reason for the introduction of the anti-bullying walk. The 14-year-old student from Central Regional High School took her own life in February, after being bullied.
The heart-wrenching passing of Kuch, and the way it was handled by the school district, became a worldwide issue, raising some serious questions about how bullying is being handled in schools.
With this event, Roselli wanted to be proactive about a problem many students in our county face every day.
“We wanted to do a nice community event to show appreciation to our kids,” said Roselli.
