Matthew Zbitniff listened intently to Donny Parenteau’s performance at James L. Alexander School.
Parenteau, a Saskatchewan born singer-songwriter launched a new anti-bullying campaign, Bully Free Zone, on Tuesday, and Zbitniff admired his message.
“It’s usually older kids that you see bullying,” said the Grade 8 student. “So it will take a lot more to make them stop.”
Zbitniff said he believes people bully because they’re insecure, and that online mediums make it easier. “People take advantage of it. They say it online because they don’t want to see the person face to face or they’re scared to see them in person.”
Bully Free Zone is about changing behavior, Parenteau said. He was a victim of bullying as a child, and wrote a song to bring attention to the issue and to empower other victims.
“If you acknowledge the bully and try to say something, they will feed off your fear. That’s what they’re going to try to do. That’s what I’ve noticed. So that means having that on off switch. Your laptop, your cellphone, it’s easy to shut them off too,” he said.
Parenteau said the same tactics that discourage other bad behaviors like smoking or not wearing a seat belt should be applied to bullying.
“They made posters, they made billboards, it was on commercials, it was everywhere, when people sat back they went ‘OK I get it. I’ve got to wear a seat belt.’ Guess what? We are doing the same thing with bullying.”
Students hope this type of mass messaging could help transform school yards into bully-free zones.
The province is currently writing a report on bullying which is set to be released in November. The federal government is also taking action and is planning legislation to combat cyberbullying.
Parenteau’s song is now on Youtube and can be downloaded for free on his website. He hopes the song empowers kids to take action against bullying and work towards creating a bully-free zone.
