Taking a stand against bullying (05/05/06)

The sound of gunshots rang through the Jay County High School auditorium Thursday when a group of students took matters in to their own hands to stop bullying — intent on using the sound effects to change perceptions instead of ending lives.

Jay County High School Theatre presented an all-school presentation Thursday of “A Life Never Lived,” a compelling drama adapted from William Mastrosimone’s play “Bang, Bang You’re Dead,” about the factors in a young man’s life, including bullying and parental pressure, that lead him to commit an act of unthinkable school violence.

Though JCHS principal Dr. Wood Barwick said all-school assemblies are not usually held for theatre productions, the serious subject matter made this one an exception.

And while school officials are in the midst of the two-year initiative to reduce bullying in schools, this effort was a direct result of kids who care.

“They’re an amazing group,” said drama teacher Shannon Sweeney. “They’ve seen the pain and they want to make a difference.”

Sweeney said the original script was brought to her by several students, and after reading the powerful story, she agreed that it would be the final project of the year. “I started adapting it and adding scenes and situations that were more relevant for these kids,” she said. “I think it is something that my kids can relate to. Honestly, kids in drama are the ones who get picked on a lot.”

Throughout the adaptation process, Sweeney met several times with Barwick, and it was decided that the program was one the students should be required to see.

“It’s a major disciplinary concern and I think it’s a major issue,” said Barwick.

Obviously, bullying doesn’t always result in Columbine-scale shootings, nor can such incidences be blamed solely on bullying, but Barwick said its prevalence in schools across the nation made it an issue worth addressing.

“It’s a major reason kids don’t come to school, a major reason kids get poor grades,” said Barwick. “It’s a major reason for student misery. For just plain not liking school.”

The question of whether or not bullying is a problem in schools has already been answered. When a small group of students was asked if they ever feared attending school because of the threat of violence, heads nodded vigorously, but eyes averted quickly.

“It’s a problem no matter where you go,” said student Traci Bickel, a self-proclaimed quiet girl who tends to observe rather than participate. “You just kind of sit back and see how people treat people. You try to tell them to stop, but there is only so much you can do.”

When asked what she thought would improve bullying at Jay County High School, Bickel seemed at a loss for words.

“I’m sure there are lots of things that could be done, but ... some kids don’t listen to anyone,” she trailed off, echoing the question mark that so many teachers, parents, administrators and students face when trying to teach and foster respect for one another.

The Indiana Department of Education recently defined bullying as “overt, repeated acts, including physical, verbal, or any other behaviors, that are committed by a student or group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate or intimidate the student.” JCHS added that definition to its student handbook at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.

Though public schools have long been required to report disciplinary infractions to the Indiana Department of Education and the types of categories in which they fall, this is the first year JCHS has included a separate category for bullying.

The state currently does not have a separate category for bullying.

Dean of Students Jeremy Gulley said he has received reports of 33 incidences in the 2005-2006 school year which he felt fit the description of bullying.

Though that number is a mere .14 percent of all 2,296 disciplinary infractions recorded this school year, the number can be misleading in that bullying is only one of 36 categories, which include even the most minor parking infractions.

“This is a baseline year for us,” said Gulley. “We decided we needed to get some quantifying information recorded.”

Barwick added that in addition to recording this information, meetings have been held with teachers to help them recognize bullying and encourage students to report bullying incidences as well.

Reaction to the production is as one would expect. Most students were quiet and attentive, and some dabbed gently at tears, while for others, the seriousness of the subject matter seemed to be lost.

Student Nicole Pfeifer said that while she liked the play and hoped it would bring awareness to the issue, she wasn’t sure the results would be lasting.

“I think in the long-run, things will just go back to the way they were before,” she said.

Dane Rowles, who played a student afflicted with Tourette’s syndrome, was met with nervous giggles and even laughter when his character twitched on stage.

“Maybe it was just nervous laughter, like they didn’t really know how to handle it,” said Sweeney, “but it’s like ‘this is why we are doing this!’”

Castmembers said the heavy nature of the production made for a difficult rehearsal period. During the audition, each student was asked to present a personal account of how bullying affected their lives or the lives of someone they knew, and why they felt the production was important.

Chassity Caldwell, who played a victim in the play, said each rehearsal included a silly exercise or game to help lighten the mood.

“Sometimes we would just have to stop rehearsals because someone would start crying,” said Caldwell.

In addition, students had only four weeks to prepare, making immersion in their characters a necessity.

“There had to be a lot more emotional involvement,” said cast member Lauren Whitesell. “There was a lot more stress because we really wanted to get the point across.”

But cast members were hopeful, and answered a unanimous “yes!” when asked if they felt their performance made a difference.

“Until we did the show, I didn’t really realize how much every little name hurts,” said Sarah Garringer, who did publicity for the play. She added that she hopes students will think twice before calling another student a name, even just in teasing.

Ian Shannon, who played the main character, Sam, admitted that the problem was too big for one small group of students to fix, but that perhaps the seeds of change have been planted.

“It’ll probably take a revolution (to stop bullying),” he admitted, “but every revolution starts small. Maybe this will be one of those things.”

Rowles agreed that the potential for influence was limitless: “Even if it’s just one person, one life, who isn’t living in Hell everyday, it’s worth it.”[[In-content Ad]]