Anti-bullying concert slated for Wednesday

Recognizing bullying as an increasingly significant problem for young people, Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray (seated, left) signs a proclamation making Oct. 26 through Nov. 1 Community Bullying Prevention Week in Greencastle. Signing the proclamation at Greencastle Middle School on Friday, Murray met with Greencastle Community Schools Superintendent Dawn Puckett (seated, right) as well as (standing, from left) GMS guidance counselor and OLWEUS anti-bullying organizer Helen Dunn; GMS Student Relations Committee members Jordan O'Neal, Erin Thomas, Mika Mozawa, Gretchen Weliever, Donovan Asbell, Sydney Lewis, Ben Parsons, Aubrey Barker, Tanner Sanders, Addison Hughes and Kasey Smotherman; and Director of Guidance Katherine Asbell. The Student Relations Committee takes an active role in preventing bullying at the middle school, having produced a number of anti-bullying videos. (Photo by JARED JERNAGAN)

Music has the power to espouse ideas and bring people together for anything from world peace and flower power to revolution.

The Greencastle Community School Corporation (GCSC) hopes to land somewhere in between those extremes with a night of live music to raise awareness on bullying prevention in Putnam County.

The night of music is slated for 7p.m. Wednesday night at Parker Auditorium, and will feature live performances from War Radio, Mike VanRensselaer, Gus Moon and Blues Side Up.

The anti-bullying message that "it takes a community" remains central to the theme of bullying prevention and takes the old adage "it takes a village to raise a child" to an extension that includes a very specific aspect of raising a child.

"Bullying doesn't just happen at school, it happens on the church bus, at the ballfield, at the skate park," and all over the community, Superintendent Dawn Puckett said.

Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray even signed a proclamation Friday morning to designate the week of Oct. 26 - Nov. 1 as Community Bullying Prevention Week in an effort to inform the community of the importance of the anti-bullying efforts.

Bullying prevention began at Greencastle Middle School in 2008, when GCSC received a Safe Haven Grant that provides money for programs and materials to encourage safe learning environments.

As part of the original grant, Bill Smith was trained in the OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program and although he has since moved from the middle school to the high school as a counselor, Smith is still providing his knowledge and expertise for bullying prevention in the district.

Recognizing and reporting bullying remain paramount to the anti-bullying movement.

"The whole focus is the bystander," Puckett explained.

"Typically you have a bully and a victim and a lot of people watching."

The program encourages students and adults (faculty are in fact, required by law to report any possible case of bullying) to "defend, support and report" any incidents of potential bullying.

Any report of bullying, whether it turns out to be true or false, results in a complete

investigation being conducted that provides a report to Puckett for records, that is also provided to the parents of the children in the incident.

Wednesday's concert is as much about fun as it is about awareness.

"What we really want to do is to celebrate our students' stand against bullying," Puckett said.

A Night of Bullying Prevention and Community Support is aimed to do just that.

Prizes will be awarded, students will be given free T-shirts featuring artwork from a previous anti-bullying contest and the message that "it takes a community" will be central to the night's festivities.

In between the musical sets by local musicians, students will share stories and speak to attendees about bullying and bullying prevention.

Proclamations and community support nights are "one more step toward drawing the community's attention," Puckett proclaimed.

"There's no such thing as too much awareness."

The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Parker Auditorium on Wednesday, Oct. 29. For more information, persons may contact GSCS at 653-9771.