Madison County, AL -
By Monica Rix - bio | email
MADISON COUNTY, AL (WAFF) - Some Madison County students are speaking out about bullying in their schools. They're hoping to combat the problem by showing others its effects.
"Where I moved from, the style was different and since I didn't dress like them or act like them, I was ostracized. I wasn't cool," said Madelynn Marr, a tenth grader at Buckhorn High.
Madelynn said she's dealt with her fair share of bullying. She said she has lots of friends now, but that wasn't the case when she moved to the area a few years ago. Back then, Madelynn said kids were cruel.
"I didn't want to come to school some days because it was so hurtful to me," she said.
Madelynn teamed up with more than a dozen other students at Buckhorn to make a short video about bullying. True to life, Madelynn played a girl who was picked on for being different.
[Click here to watch video]
"The video we made was to protest bullying. It's very harmful in school because it's happening everywhere," said Madelynn.
Aaron Brazelton, another student at Buckhorn, helped produce the video. He entered it in a contest, along with about 500 other schools across the country. Buckhorn's video got first place.
Aaron's working on a new video while encouraging others, including lawmakers, to take a closer look at the problem.
[Alex Moore Anti-bullying act (PDF)]
"Bullying is often times a gateway to more violent crime," said Aaron. "[Look at] the Columbine shooting. Those kids were bullied and, in turn, they brought guns to school. So, in order for students to be and feel safe in their school environments, there needs to be an anti-bullying law because hurt people hurt people."
Madelynn said she's on board to help Aaron with his new anti-bullying campaign and hopes it raises even more awareness this time around.
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