The red, yellow, blue and green dots, no larger than a quarter, were clustered together on one side of a simple white poster board. Each dot represented the voice of a seventh-grade student. Boys, girls, short, tall, black, white – it didn’t matter. According to the dots, they all had one thing in common: they had all been bullied at least once in their lives.

This exercise, which was led by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), was one of many activities in which the Benjamin middle school students participated on Thursday, August 18. Each grade level met in separate locations and were led in a three-hour workshop by various ADL representatives. The eighth grade convened in the BPAC, the seventh grade gathered in the library, and the sixth grade met in the gym. ADL representatives

Ms. Tracey Grossman and Ms. Cassondra Thaddies ran the presentation for the seventh graders, aiming to make the School a place where students feel they can ask teachers for help when it comes to the issue of bullying. “I hope to give a voice to any student who’s feeling like they don’t have a voice,” said Grossman.

The dot activity, mentioned above, allowed each student to place a sticker on one of several posters that contained answers to a number of questions. Some of the those questions were “Have you ever seen bullying take place at Benjamin?”, “Are you biased?”, and “Have you ever been an ally?” Students also participated in an activity where the ADL representatives asked them what an “ally” is and helped them define the term.

Mr. Doug Cureton, another ADL representative, led the eighth-grade assembly in the BPAC. He talked about the importance of being an ally and also had the eighth graders sculpt objects out of pipe cleaners (or , as he called them,“chenille stems”) that represented where or why they had been bullied. The sixth graders participated in an exercise where they drew original characters that possessed specific traits an ally would have (i.e. a big heart which allows her to care for other people).

Even the best events need tweaking, however, and the students did have some feedback about the ADL assembly. “It was a very good and organized assembly, but it was very long,” said seventh grader Kiley Malmberg, who is new to TBS this year. Mrs. Oster a seventh-grade science teacher who attended the assembly, said, “I thought the assembly was wonderful and it is an important concept. I think it is important that we teach and understand empathy and compassion.”

Although many students thought the assembly was too long and suggested that it should be held every other year, as opposed to each consecutive year, assemblies such as these help foster a culture of understanding, kindness, and respect amongst the TBS students and community. That is why the ADL has named the Middle School a No Place for Hate for the past two years. “ I hope the students will go out and make the world a better place,” said “Head of Middle School Mr. Charles Hagy after the ADL’s presentations. “[I hope] that they will bring people up instead of bringing them down.”