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Galesburg Students Fight Back Against Bullying

Members of Lombard Junior High's "Take A Stand Club" meet in the school's auditorium.
T.J. Carson
Members of Lombard Junior High's "Take A Stand Club" meet in the school's auditorium.

Students at Lombard Junior High School in Galesburg created a club to lessen the impact of bullying.  Seventh grader Katie Dunbar came up with the idea for the "Take A Stand Club." Dunbar said she's well acquainted with the stress caused by being bullied. 

“I was left out a lot. And I was cyberbullied. Like girls would make statuses about me. And when I was left out, these girls would just leave me out of the group and push me away and call me names and stuff,” Dunbar said.The radio story

Other students in the club said they were bullied for their looks, or suffered through other forms of aggression from peers. Dunbar said one goal of the group is to help students who have been bullied feel like they have a friend and someone who has their back.

The "Take A Stand Club" has nine members. Students who want to join it must apply, have good grades, have a good discipline record, and show why they want to be part of the group. Teachers advise and mentor the club during its meetings. 

"Take A Stand Club" founder Katie Dunbar holds a card used during the school's "Act of Kindness Day."
Credit T.J. Carson
"Take A Stand Club" founder Katie Dunbar holds a card used during the school's "Act of Kindness Day."

Dunbar said the group is currently only for7thgraders. But she would like to expand it to6thand8thgraders in the future, as well as have other Galesburg schools look into starting their own club.

Lombard principal Nick Sutton feels the group's impact is greater because it was created by students and is run by students rather than teachers or the administration.

“It’s easy to get buy-in from kids because they understand this is coming from their peers, it’s not coming from the top down,” Sutton said.

Sutton said there has been a decrease this school year in office referrals, especially for bullying. He credits the "Take A Stand Club."

Copyright 2015 Tri States Public Radio

T.J. Carson is the Galesburg correspondent for Tri States Public Radio. His duties include reporting on current events in the cities of Galesburg and Monmouth, and Knox County. He returns to TSPR after serving as a student reporter and host in 2006. Before Tri States Public Radio, he was a news reporter for WSPL-AM in Streator, IL. At WSPL, T.J. earned two awards from the Illinois Associated Press; Outstanding Single Story Contribution in 2011, and Contributor of the Month for February 2008. T.J. is a native of Lacon, IL. He is a graduate of Midland High School in Varna, IL, where he participated in baseball and football all four years, as well as the Scholastic Bowl team. He received his bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University in the fall of 2006, where he participated in numerous activities for the student-run radio station, as well as public address announcing for the Western Illinois Leatherneck baseball and softball teams. In his spare time, T.J. enjoys baseball, golf, watching animation, and drawing. He has also been a Guest of Honor at fan-created conventions for the television program 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'.