D.A. launches annual anti-bullying campaign in Midland Beach

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Standing before a group of her peers and a handful of unfamiliar faces, a young student read aloud to District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.

“A majority of people around the world face bullying often from discrimination,” the fourth-grade student said. “Personally, when I experience it, it makes me feel that I have to change just so I can please other people. It can make others feel insecure, sad, and angry.”

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to bullying, but in announcing the eighth annual “Stand Up. Stop Bullying.” art and writing contest at PS 38 in Midland Beach, McMahon called upon students to do just that.

Each year, the contest invites students from all over Staten Island to submit entries expressing their feelings and personal experiences with bullying through art and writing.

THE KICKOFF AT PS 38

McMahon paid a visit to the “little school with a big heart” Thursday morning to kick off the anti-bullying campaign. The school was one of the very few on Staten Island with 100% participation in last year’s contest; a major factor in selecting the school for this year’s launch.

Once inside, McMahon was welcomed at the door by a trio of student ambassadors who escorted him to the library, where nearly a dozen more students sat around a carpeted area and an awaiting podium.

Before formally speaking to the students and staff in attendance, McMahon briefly sat alongside the group of fourth and fifth graders, surveying support for school breaks and the like.