The Doings - Chicago Sun-Times

April 21, 2010

Churchville students taught to 'build each other up'

By KIMBERLY FORNEK (kfornek@pioneerlocal.com)

ELMHURST -- With skits, music and dancing, a troupe of area teenagers talked to the students of Churchville Middle School about bullying, physical abuse, violence and texting while driving.

The group, comprised of about a dozen 10- to 19-year-olds, is called MWAH!, which stands for "Messages which are hopeful."

The performers recounted true tragedies and interspersed them with both contemporary hits and their own songs.

The troupe talked about the shootings at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb in 2008, and at Virginia Tech University three years ago to the day; and how Phoebe Prince, 15, whose family moved to Massachusetts from Ireland, hanged herself in January after classmates bullied her, apparently out of jealousy.

"They saw Phoebe as an outsider and a threat to their own popularity," said Chris Oechsel, 16, a member of MWAH! from Naperville.

Six students from Prince's high school have been indicted in the case.

"Bullying is a crime against humanity, against people ... it is destroying someone's life," said Elmhurst Police Det. Frank Visconti, who participated in Friday's presentation. Visconti paraphrased a famous quote: "When a few good men do nothing, evil will rise."

"You are the people who must do something," Visconti told the students. "Be the person that stops it. Build each other up, don't tear each other down."

During the performance, the people who make Churchville a better place with their caring and dedication were singled out, including Ramona Osgood, who received the Middle School Counselor of the Year Award from the Illinois School Counselors Association.

The troupe also serenaded Churchville English teacher Nancy MacLeod, who is retiring and is always ready with a smile, with Martina McBride's song, "Anyway:"

"You can spend your whole life building something from nothing.

One storm can come and blow it all away.

Build it anyway."

School officials singled out four students for working hard, making positive choices, being good students and making a positive contribution to the school community: seventh-graders Audrey Kosman and William Wittstock, and eighth-graders Emily Simo and Anthony Santos.

Students said they enjoyed the show, with several mentioning bullying as the topic that hits closest to home.

"It happens a lot," said eighth-grader Molly Schlecht.

"Definitely," Simo said.

If someone starts taunting or picking on you, it's not your fault, but you're not helpless, the troupe reminded the students.

"You have control over how you react," Simo said.

"You can help yourself," Schlecht said. "You can talk back to the bully and stand up for yourself.

Wittstock said the performers also urged children to look out for each other.

"If you see someone getting bullied, you should say something to stand up for that person," Wittstock said. There's a lot of bullying at the school, he said. "Kids have mood swings and personality changes."