Students shine light against violence

Students and parents showed their support for a national anti-bullying campaign with “Don’t Let the Fire Out,” a luminaria event Wednesday night at Glen Crest Middle School in Glen Ellyn.

“I’m here because I want to stop bullying” Karen Parkinson of Glen Ellyn said.

Parkinson’s son, Jerry, was a student at Glen Crest Middle School when he was first bullied many years ago, she said. Despite the bullying, he has become a productive member of society and now is a high school teacher, his mom said, adding that she feels blessed her son didn’t commit suicide like some bullying victims have.

At the event, participants paid $1 for a luminaria kit with a paper bag and glow stick. They then decorated their bag, pinned on a note of remembrance or a message, then put the glow stick in the bag and carried it into the school gym for a short ceremony. A few words were said about Rachel’s Challenge, the national group that organizes the anti-bullying campaign, and about the school’s FOR Club (Friends of Rachael Club) that organized this event. The school chorus sang for the occasion.

The symbolic event is intended to honor those who have been impacted by school violence and to take a stand against all forms of mean-spirited behavior.