YOUNGSTOWN Pupils tackle bullies with love

YSU football players helped send an anti-bullying message.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Joshua Moore remembers when he was a kindergartner and couldn't tie his shoes.
Older kids bullied him.
Antoniya Brock said her sister picked on her when she was small.
And Zanah Hassen said her brother used to make fun of her when she couldn't understand her homework.
The three Harding Elementary School pupils said bullying happens on the playground and in class when the teacher isn't looking. At its worst, they say, bullying can be pushing or tripping, or even fighting.
Now that these pupils are fourth-graders -- the big kids on the block at Harding -- they decided they won't be bullies themselves. Instead, they've decided to try to help nip it in the bud.
As Harding peer mediators, the three joined others on Friday to present skits about bullying to other Harding pupils, showing how youngsters can defuse bullying situations.
Joshua portrayed a bully who asked Antoniya "What trash bin did you get your shoes from?"
"I just don't get it," Antoniya answered.
"You don't fit in."
"That's so sweet of you to want to help me to fit in. It's really sad the way some kids get left out because they can't buy the right stuff or aren't concerned about style."
Zanah portrayed a bully who has a religious prejudice: "You Jew. I knew you wouldn't pay me my money."
Show of hands
School counselor Linda Cassell helped youngsters explore prejudices based on color, religion or how someone looks.
"How many people know what it's like to be bullied?" she asked.
Most of the pupils raised their hands. So did the Youngstown State University football players who helped out with the event.
"Even big people get bullied," Cassell told the children.
The YSU players told the pupils how they had been bullied too.
"If you're in a situation where someone's trying to bully you, what you want to do is walk away from it," said cornerback Waymann Peters. "Try to avoid confrontation. Violence is not good."
Linebacker Jeremiah Wright said he got bullied all the time when he was a child. One day the bully caught him when he was all alone.
"I didn't know what to do, so I stopped and I screamed," he said. "He ran away and he didn't bother me anymore."
Why they do it
Tight end Mike Roberts said he knew a bully when he was in grade school -- when he wasn't as big as he is now.
"The reason they bully you is because they're insecure with themselves .... What I learned is to kill them with kindness. Be nice to them," he said.
"Tell them 'I love you,'" he added as the youngsters laughed. "They'll think you're so crazy; they'll never come around you again."
YSU Assistant Football Coach Brian White left the school with a message and a suggestion.
"Your next step is to do something nice for somebody you've never done something nice for," he told the children. "If everybody in here does something nice, then we'll get rid of all the bullies."