But, the students at St. Peter's High School have gotten creative with delivering their message. Samantha Lehman and Alexander Cavaliere are among the driving force of student-led change at the Orléans high school. They say, it's all about being positive.
"We don't like using the term 'anti-bullying', we don't want to be anti anything," said Lehman. "Everything we do is positive."
Lehamn approached teacher, Sylvie Laconi, last year to express frustration about how adults talk about ways to stop bullying but nobody ever asks the students.
Laconi's response was to create a group, which she agreed to supervise. "I became really interested in the idea of fighting it by empowering students."
Lehman, along with friend, Cavaliere, took the reigns in establishing a group called Knight Lights.
"Knight Lights promotes social acceptance within our school," explained Lehman. "What we wanted to establish was a chain reaction of small, kind actions."
Every Monday a group of about 10 - 15 students meet in the art room of the school. They chose that room because they liked the open concept idea. It's open to everybody.
"What we're really trying to do is create a positive atmosphere, to make it a safer place in general," added Cavaliere.
Rachel's Challenge
One of the first major things Knight Lights helped bring to the school was a presentation by Rachel's Challenge.
Rachel Scott was the first person killed at the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado. She left behind her a legacy of kindness and compassion coupled with the contents of six diaries which have become the foundation for an international school program that tours different cities.
"It touched everybody," said Cavaliere of the presentation which showed powerful audio/video footage of Rachel's life and the Columbine tragedy. Rachel's Challenge visited St. Peter's on the day of Jamie Hubley's funeral. Hubley was an Ottawa teenager who took his own life after being bullied for being gay.
"Something like (Rachel's Challenge) was needed here and now everything has fallen into place," said Laconi.
The assembly's goal is to create a want for positive change, which is exactly what Knight Lights is trying to do for their school.
"Quite a change has already come over our school since Rachel's Challenge," said Lehman.
One of the creative initiatives Knight Lights has taken from <@Ri> Rachel's Challenge <@Ri> is that they erected posters all over the school which contain little strips of paper. Students are invited to write little actions of kindness they've experienced which will eventually come together to make a long paper chain.
Flash Mob
Knight Lights also wanted to draw attention to their initiatives by way of a Flash Mob that took place on Oct. 21, the day after the Rachel's Challenge presentation.
About 50 students surprised the rest of the student body in the atrium when they began a choreographed dance routine to Lady Gaga's Born this Way.
"It was nice because I heard no negative feedback about it," said Lehman. "All the comments were positive. No one made fun of it."
Lehman, Cavaliere and Laconi all agree that the change in the school is noticeable. On the day after Halloween, students were greeted with warm, positive messages on the courtyard outside the school. Student council had written messages that said things like, "You are loved," and "Live, laugh, love."
A leadership team in the school also launched a workshop style environment called Love is Louder.
"The balls just rolling on its own," said Cavaliere. "We just do our best to keep the momentum going,"
An issue at every school
Lehman and Cavaliere both agree that it is about time a tangible plan was put in place to improve the atmosphere at the school.
"I think it's an issue in every school," explained Lehman. "There's more territory for bullying now," suggests Lehman pointing to cyber bullying and emotional bullying at new taunts that students have to contend with.
Laconi admits that while teachers at St. Peter's are very cognisant of anti-bullying practices they sometimes forget that it's a revolving door of new students, so initiatives have to be consistent instead of once in a while.
"A school climate survey revealed it was a much bigger problem than teachers have been aware of," said Laconi. "So many of the reactions were 'Wow, we had no idea.'"
She explains that research has shown that it needs to come from the students and that's what they've been doing at St. Peter's.
"It's incredible, it's beyond anything I could have expected. I've realized when you give the students a voice, a lot more can happen."
