Tri-Cities students create programs to curtail peer harassment

Illinois lawmakers and parents have begun speaking up about an issue kids have always known existed - bullying in schools.

But two local teens aren't letting the grown-ups makes all the changes. Kelsey Nulph of Batavia and Michael Fairbanks of St. Charles are fighting back against peer harassment.

Nulph, 17, says she was bullied in middle school, citing emotional and verbal attacks about socioeconomic status, type of dress and intellectual ability. Fairbanks, 16, had to stop taking physical education classes because of the stress he experienced with peers calling him derogatory names, refusing to play on his team and harassing him in the locker room. Both teens decided enough was enough and took matters into their own hands.

During her senior year at Batavia High School, Nulph started the "Stand Up, Stand Out" program within the student council. The program spurred from a survey Nulph took of her classmates, 19 percent of whom said bullying was a big problem at the school. "Stand Up, Stand Out" is focused on stopping bullying at its root, and it's most successful program was a mentoring initiative for Rotolo Middle School students who suffered from effects of being bullied, such as low self-esteem or lack of confidence.

While Nulph said she had a supportive base of parents, teachers and counselors to turn to when she was bullied, she knows other sufferers who are not as lucky.

"What concerned me the most was that some kids are being bullied, and they might not have that support system," Nulph said.

The middle school initiative, called "Big Brothers Big Sisters," was an adapted version of the national organization. Rotolo teachers would recommend students to Nulph and the other volunteers, and they would work with the selected kids weekly.

"It's a place for them to hang out and relax after school with upperclassmen," said Alex Santoro, who will be on next year's "Stand Up, Stand Out" executive board. "The kids say it's their favorite program. They look forward to the activities and discussions."

While Nulph was looking to keep bullying from reaching high school, Fairbanks was fighting for equality and awareness among his peers at St. Charles East High School.

His freshman year, Fairbanks worked with the administration to get "sexual orientation and gender" added to the school's harassment policy. As the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, he has been working to develop the St. Charles East GLBTIQA safe zone. The safe-zone stickers tell gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer or questioning students they are entering a nondiscriminatory haven.

But Fairbanks' biggest breakthrough came during a suicide prevention panel at school in March. He shared suicide statistics with his peers, informing everyone that gay students are four times more likely to be suicidal.

"When I said the risk factors and brough it to everyone's attention, people started to understand," he said. "Because I used to hear things like, 'That's so gay,' everyday. I don't hear that so much anymore."

Both Nulph and Fairbanks admit they are far from conquering bullying completely. However, the teens say building trust and taking action is the only way to stop harassment from spreading. They aren't interested in finger pointing. Rather, they are striving to acknowledge and tackle the problem.

"I think the responsibility should fall on everybody," Fairbanks said. "It takes the whole community to make change."