By Rachel Belle

Listen to Feature: Bully Slam: Fighting Hate With Art

The word ‘bully’ has become an everyday headline since events like Columbine and teen suicides started making the daily news. But I wondered if the word has just become white noise; if things are actually getting better with of all the anti-bullying campaigns we keep hearing about.

At Kirkland’s Finn Hill Junior High, it seems like it has.

“One year after the program was implemented, the number of kids at Finn Hill who reported being bullied dropped by 45 percent,” says language arts and social studies teacher, Jack Donley, who heads the schools anti-bullying program.

Mr. Donley has also taken a unique approach: Using art, music and theater to combat bullying through a competition called Bully Slam at schools throughout Kirkland and Redmond. Basically, kids create anti-bullying art, and the best pieces will be performed and shown at this Saturday’s event.

“It gives students a voice and it gives students an opportunity to sing songs, create artwork, write essays, poetry, create videos, all designed for students to take a stand against bullying. It teaches other students about bullying, so it’s not just adults lecturing them.”

Freshman Leah Marone wrote a song called “I’ll Say Goodbye,” for Bully Slam, about a girl who commits suicide after being bullied.

“Before she leaves, she leaves a letter for the bully. That bully reads it, it’s actually really sad, then the bully, she just feels awful and she realizes it was all her fault. But all she can do is kind of have that guilt and say goodbye.”

Marone says she had been bullied by students, who spread rumors about her and posted inappropriate photos of her on Facebook. She said the school’s anti-bullying program taught her what she should do in situations like that.

But none of the other kids I met said they’ve been bullied. Mr. Donley says that’s because of Finn Hill’s proactive approach.

“Students believe that if they tell somebody, it’s going to make the problem worse. But all the research shows that’s not the case. What we tell the kids is, ‘Think about it: If you knew that every time you slam a kid against a locker, that was going to be reported to an adult. Getting kids to trust that their names are going to be kept anonymous, that it’s not going to get out that they’re the ones who reported it.”

Everyone is invited to attend Bully Slam this Saturday.

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