CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - People living in downtown Charleston said they got tired of hearing and seeing bullying happen in their community, so they got together and held a rally Saturday afternoon in an effort to bring it to a stop.
“Teasing, fighting in school or grabbing your hair or hitting you just a lot of things,” Michelle Miller said this is what she observed at the Arthur Christopher Community Center where she works. “More needs to be done because kids are committing suicide and not going to school and it’s not good for the kids right now.”
Miller organized a rally and brought people in as part of an effort to crack down on the bullying she bears witness to.
One of the people she brought in to talk to kids and parents was New York City basketball player Larry Legend.
“We use basketball as a vehicle to educate our community about alcohol, drugs, and things of that nature,” Legend said.
Legend said he wants kids to know that somebody cares and brought in Charleston County deputies to reiterate that.
“We want to stop the bullying and the only way we can do that is if you guys band together and decide you won’t ‘take it anymore,” a deputy said to the crowd. “You don’t have to respond in violence, but you can tell somebody.”
More than out of five kids across the country report being bullied and Charleston is no exception. Half of the hands when up when the deputies asked if they had ever been the person bullying someone else.
For more information on how to stop bullying in your child’s school,click here.
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