Troupe delivers messages of hope at Mannheim Middle School
August 18, 2014
(Chicago Sun-Times Media)
By Kevin Beese, Chicago Sun-Times Media
State Rep. Kathleen Willis, D–77th of Addison, tells Mannheim Middle School students about efforts made in Springfield to crack down on bullying.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times Media
Mannheim students applaud the MWAH! performers.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times MediaClick
MWAH troupe members perform a song during Friday's assembly.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times Media
MWAH troupe members perform a song during Friday's assembly.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times Media
MWAH! troupe members sing "Hero" to Mannheim Middle School teacher Suzanne Forsyth (seated) during the school's eighth–grade kickoff assembly last week. The assembly focused on anti–bullying and other positive choices.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times Media.
Male members of the MWAH! troupe serenade Franklin Park resident Clarissa Bueno during the troupe's performance.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times Media
Mannheim Middle School students join MWAH! members for a song.
Kevin Beese/For Sun-Times Media.
Holding up photos of teens who took their own lives after being the victims of bullying, members of the MWAH! performing arts troupe delivered a powerful message at the kickoff assembly for Mannheim Middle School students.
Sharing their own stories of being bullied, having a cutting addiction, and being a child of divorce, members of the troupe, whose name stands for Messages Which Are Hopeful!, stressed students are not alone in any issues they may be facing.
"I was made fun of because of my size or for being a quiet guy or for being nice, said troupe member Levi Ballard, 13, who was bullied. "Nobody said anything about the bullying. What happened to me shouldn't happen to anybody."
"There can be physical pain … I know how hard it can be for individuals to decide to do the right thing. Know that all the pain goes away."
Ballard, who is now home–schooled, said his brother was the one who stood up for him and got the bullying to stop.
"He told them it was not cool," Ballard said. "He told them they would not bully me or others."
Mannheim eighth–graders listened attentively Friday afternoon as Ballard and other troupe members talked, sang and danced from the heart, driving home the message of acceptance and standing up for others during the District 83 school's kickoff assembly. Earlier in the day, sixth–and seventh–graders received a similar message.
Troupe director Ray Moffitt, who has been organizing the troupe's performances for 31 years, said the messages given in the performance are ones students need to hear.
Mannheim Principal Tim Daley agreed, saying the anti–bullying message was a key one for students as they start a new school year.
"The kickoff sets the tone for the year," Daley said.
Daley took photos of students raising their hands, committing to being a force for putting a stop to bullying. He said the photos will be a Facebook reminder throughout the year of the students' commitment.
As the district transitions into a new anti–bullying program, Daley felt it was great that MWAH! troupe members sent a strong message.
"It re–enforces the message with our sixth–graders," the principal said of the earlier presentation. "It tells them that we are concerned about their learning."
Troupe member Jillian Gomez, 15, shared that because of self–image issues she began to cut herself.
"I cut myself and eventually it became an addition," Gomez said. "Through counseling, I became comfortable in my own body. Help was there for me. Life, love it."
Mike Elkins, executive director of the Cebrin Goodman Center, which offers drug and alcohol abuse prevention, told students his desire is for them to lead healthy and productive lives.
"It is my hope and dream that all of you in 10 years, 15 years, are well," Elkins said, "that the number one thing is that you are thriving, that you are happy, that you love life and that you live life to the fullest."
Elkins told students about his cousin who called him one day concerned that his 19–year–old daughter living in New York City was becoming mixed up in drugs. He noted that three times she went through treatment for her heroin addiction but that ultimately, addiction to the drug took her life.
State Rep. Kathleen Willis, D–77th of Addison, told students that action has been taken in Springfield to ensure that students are not continual targets of bullies.
Stricter regulations require Illinois schools to report incidences of bullying within 10 days, she noted.
"No one should be bullied because of the way they dress," Willis said. "No one should be bullied because of the way they look. No one should be bullied because of their sexual orientation."
Troupe members pointed to Sebastien de la Cruz, a Latino–American, who sang the national anthem before an NBA Finals game in 2013. Despite being born in America and his father serving for 21 years in the U.S. Navy, de la Cruz's performance brought a Twitter explosion of racial slurs, suspecting he was in this country illegally.
Rather than firing back with hate of his own, the then–11–year–old responded with grace and poise.
"I knew that one day when I sing, people were going to judge me," de la Cruz was quoted as saying.. "And that's why, over the time that I have grown, you don't really care about what people say about you. It's about what you think about yourself."
For more information about the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, visit MWAH! .