HOUSTON – Hundreds of high school students gathered Tuesday to find ways to stop bullying.
Almost 600 students from 60 schools around Houston and the surrounding area attended the Ant-Defamation League's "No Place for Hate" youth summit at the George R. Brown.
Recommended Videos
Students and teachers watched an anti-bullying play called "True Confessions of a Bully" performed by Dionysus Theatre.
"There are several personalities in the play that everyone can relate to," Artistic Director Deborah Nowinski said. "The play is beneficial because the students will be able to see the problems associated with bullying. They may even see themselves in the play."
"I can definitely relate to the play," said Brandon Smith, an eighth-grader in the "No Place for Hate" campaign at his school. "Words can really hurt. People have said stuff about me in the past, and that really hurts."
After the play, students were separated into small groups for break-out sessions where they participated in team building exercises and brainstormed their ideas on how to recognize and respond to bullying at their schools.
"Bullying is not just in the hallway of schools anymore," said Martin Cominsky the executive director of the Anti-Defamation League. "Students are dealing with it everywhere, and we wanted to give the tools and resources to stand against bullying."
"I used to be bullied," said Jordan Nassif, a seventh-grader. "Everybody has feelings, and they deserve to be treated right. I just want people at my school to know that they don't have to take being treated badly."
The ADL introduced the No Place for Hate campaign in Houston and surrounding area schools in 2001 with the goal of providing administrators, educators and students with the necessary resources to make anti-bias education an integral part of the school curriculum.