Anti-bullying rally Sunday in Elgin
It was a group discussion on Facebook last summer that alerted Elgin parents to a growing threat to their children's well-being: bullying.
"A number of parents were commenting about a spate of bullying incidents," said Eric Rubin, who describes himself as a concerned Elgin father of two school-age children.
Rubin said the stories he heard were so powerfully moving that he joined forces with Sandy Reeves, a Hanover Park mother, to organize an anti-bullying rally 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin.
The rally will feature speakers and information aimed at increasing awareness and arming parents with tools to deal with the problem.
Rubin said community leaders and groups are expected to attend, including Elgin Police Chief Jeff Swoboda, representatives from the Elgin Fire Department, the Community Crisis Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin, the Elgin YMCA and YWCA, Elgin City of Peace, the Kiwanis Club of Elgin, the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Elgin, American Legion Post 57, Elgin Area School District U-46 and faith-based groups.
Rubin said several hundred people should be on hand, and some will talk about their personal experiences with bullying.
One of those is Reeves, president of the Illinois chapter of Stand for the Silent, a nonprofit bullying prevention organization.
"We started our chapter when our daughter was hospitalized twice," Reeves said.
Reeves said her daughter, now 16, was bullied when she was in sixth grade. Reeves said she and her husband noticed their daughter's mood changes and declining grades. They scheduled a meeting with the school principal and social worker. The underlying bullying problem was discovered, and their daughter got the help she needed.
"She's gotten past a lot of it. I've gotten past a lot of it," Reeves said. "But I still remember."
"I look through the prism of my own children's eyes, and it pulls on my heart. Children deserve to have a peaceful and pleasant childhood," Rubin said of bullying. "This is something I feel strongly about."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' website, stopbullying.gov, defines bullying as "unwanted aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance."
The website cites two studies on the pervasiveness of bullying; one says that, nationwide, 28 percent of students in grades six through 12 experience bullying.
"The number of bullying incidents nationally as well as locally is alarming, the potentially devastating impact to children's lives is alarming, and the level of denial across the system is alarming," Rubin said. "Children at this age are so sensitive and impressionable."
Rubin said bullying in and outside of school has long been a problem, and social media exacerbates the problem.
"Cyberbullying in perhaps more toxic than physical bullying or verbal bullying because it can be broadcast," he said.
Rubin said people who attend the rally will learn more about the problem and how to combat it.
"I hope we inspire young people to stand up and get involved when they see bullying occurring," Rubin said. "When kids stand up, bullies are less apt to do it in the future."
If you go
What: Stand for the Silent Anti-Bullying Unity Rally
When: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Outdoors at Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin. Rally indoors in case of rain.
More: standforthesilentillinois.org