Hundreds Attend North Hempstead Bullying Awareness Walk

More than 200 people attended the first Bullying Awareness Walk at North Hempstead Beach Park on Saturday.

Wanting to put a stop to bullying and the destruction it causes were students, school faculty, and parents from nearly 12 North Hempstead middle schools and high schools. Together, they joined community activists and North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman and other elected officials lending support.

The event first featured speeches by activists and musical performances by local students.  

Keynote Speaker John Halligan, who will speak Monday evening at Weber Middle School in Port Wasthington, delivered a moving speech about his son Ryan, who committed suicide in 2003, after suffering from the effects of bullying.  Students, he said, must take the lead and be “upstanders” rather than “bystanders” when their peers are being bullied.  Halligan now travels the country to alert students, faculty, and communities, about the potentially devastating consequences of bullying.

Next, the students participated in the walk, followed by the chance to participate in discussion groups with counselors who offered expertise in coping with bullies, and where to seek help.

Disha Singh, a junior at Herricks High School, and one of the chief organizers of the event, said she experienced bullying personally. That experience, she noted, inspired her to organize this event and spread bullying awareness among her peers.