Alicia Harris remembers being bullied in elementary school.
There was a group of girls who would constantly pick on her.
“They made school something that wasn’t fun,” she explained. “A place I didn’t enjoy being at very much.”
Harris would simply try to ignore the girls who chose to pick on her.
In Grade 8, she switched schools to H.D. Stafford, away from her tormentors.
“It was a fresh start, where no one knew me,” she said.
Harris is now a Grade 11 student at Langley Secondary.
And while the bullying issues may be behind her, the memories haven’t faded.
That’s why she is part of the school’s Students for Change program, which consists of six LSS students.
“I like to be as part of as much as I can,” said Nathan Copeland, a Grade 9 student who is also part of the program.
“I just like to help people who may have been bullied,” added Jared Bailey, a Grade 10 student.
The group’s goal is to help students feel more comfortable at school.
They are also a part of a larger group — along with Me to We, Social Justice and the Gay/Straight Alliance — at LSS, called the Shameless Idealists.
This larger group was the driving force behind the Stand Up … Don’t Stand By initiative at LSS on Feb. 27, national anti-bullying day.
As part of the initiative, which included selling pink T-shirts, the school had a commitment banner, where students could sign their names in a pledge to follow the Stand Up … Don’t Stand By motto.
