Students from all grade levels attended an anti-bullying assembly on Jan. 25 and Jan. 31 in the PAC during Academic Lab.

The assembly focused on the consequences of bullying on others. Presenter Tina Meier, a speaker who travels across the country to educate about bullying, was introduced by four upperclassmen at the start of the assembly.

“My hope today is that maybe you will listen,” Meier said.

Meier’s presentation revolved around her personal experiences concerning depression, especially in regards to her daughter, Megan Meier. Megan Meier suffered from severe depression and eventually killed herself on Oct.17 2006 at age 13 due to cyberbullying. Her daughter’s death motivated Tina Meier to begin speaking out about the dangers of bullying and to create a foundation against bullying, named the Megan Meier Foundation after her daughter.

Bullying is a leading cause of suicide in children and teens across the United States. However, Tina Meier said that many organizations do not accept bullying for the threat that it is, and that much cyberbullying may go ignored or unnoticed completely.

“We think that there’s something wrong with us [when we’re depressed],” she said.

Freshman Jasmine Cornillon said that she had experience with depression and suicidal thoughts in the past. She said that she connected with Megan Meier’s story, but formed less of a connection with her mother.

“I understood what she was going through,” Cornillon said. “[But] her mom still seemed really strict.”

Though he expressed doubts that the message would stick with the students for a significant period of time, math teacher Brian Archibald was deeply impacted by the message. As a father, Archibald said he felt concerned about the possibility that his own children would be bullied.

“As a father of two kids who will be entering the elementary school, it made me nervous,” Archibald said. “They both could become the bully or the one bullied.” #