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Bully victim shares his experiences with other students
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Drew Landry lobbied for a new anti- bullying law. Â Now his experience is helping others beat the bullies
By Molly Lovell
Staff Writer-Courier
A couple of years ago, Saco Middle School student Drew Landry never would have thought that it was his experience as the victim of a bully that would be
instrumental in the passage of a law requiring schools across the state to implement anti-bullying programs.
With his help, his mother’s support and support from others like him, Governor John Baldacci passed LD564 in July 2005, which aims to create a safe school
environment in relation to bullying.
A copy of Maine’s Best Practices in Bullying and Harassment Prevention from the Governor’s Child Cabinet was mailed to every school superintendent and principal in the state.
Drew, his mother, Deb Landry and a panel of experts presented Creating A Culture of Tolerance, Bullying: Moving from Policy to Practice last Tuesday, Oct. 24
at SacoMiddle School.
“When I started sixth grade I was confident things would be fine,” he said. To his dismay, he soon began to be bullied by a boy on the school bus.
“I was afraid of getting hurt because he was bigger than me and weighed more than me,” Drew said.
After being threatened, Drew did what any child who’s become the victim of a bully should do, he told someone.
He told the school’s assistant principal as well as his parents. From there, Deb was able to contact the bully’s parents and have him removed from the bus
until Drew felt comfortable.
As time passed, Drew was still feeling the effects of what had happened to him.
“Everyone seemed to be happy . . . except me,” he said.
Drew fell in to a three-month depression and said he was afraid to go anywhere alone.
“It’s hard to explain how bad I was feeling. I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone,” he said.
It was during Drew’s depression that Deb began to research laws on bullying. Drew also found a friend who had experienced a similar situation and soon their
stories were being told in Augusta.
“We didn’t know we could make such a difference,” he said.
The two began by testifying at the Educational and Cultural Committee.
“Some of the people on the committee had tears in their eyes as we told our stories,” Drew said.
The media soon picked up on their story. “I told everyone that would listen,” he said, and added, “We didn”t realize the impact we had on the lives of children in Maine.”
LD564, which Deb likes to call “Drew’s law”, became effective on Sept. 18 of this year, making Maine the 23rd state to pass an anti-bullying law.
After Drew’s presentation the audience, made up mostly of area educators, had the opportunity to ask questions.
Drew was asked if Saco’s school system does a good job preventing bullying.
He said they do, but need to focus more on bullying among girls.
Drew was also asked if he’s seen a decrease in bullying at his school.
“People that are bullied see it more than other people. I see it all the time and I usually report it”, he said.
Drew was also asked if his grades fell during his depression, which he said surprisingly, they did not. In fact, his grades were excellent.
Deb said the reason his grades were so good was because he didn’t do anything except study and play his cello for sometimes four hours at a time.
She said she was happy about his grades, but worried about his depression, which is why she joined Bully Police USA, a committee of concerned parents all over the country.
Deb corresponded with the group mostly via telephone. “I realized that I was the only mother on the telephone whose child was still alive”, she said.
The others had succumbed to what is referred to as “bully-cide”, she said, adding that Maine is ranked No. 11 in the country for its suicide rate.
“Why stop bullying?” she asked. “Students who don’t feel safe can’t learn”, she said.
She pointed out that bullying can take many forms and can be either physical or verbal. Cyber-bullying, spreading rumors and stereotyping are considered to
be bullying. Students are frequently bullied because of race, gender, social class and sexual orientation, she said.
She encouraged educators to become more knowledgeable about these categories and said bullying is everyone’s issue from school principals to custodians.
They way in which teachers deal with such situations also needs to be changed, she said, and added, “you do not put the victim in the room with the people who are tormenting them”.
She also encouraged ongoing training for students, teachers, staff and parents not simply “one-time fixes”.
She said it would be in the best interest of all schools to gather ongoing data on bullying in order improve their school climate.
Deb will continue to promote her book, Sticks, Stones and Stumped, which is a children’s book based on her son’s experience. Schools also hire Deb to address staff and faculty.
As for Drew, he has made it his mission to tell his story to as many schools in YorkCounty as he can, free of charge.
Deb said two years ago, Drew didn’t even want his name or picture published in news articles concerning his story.
“This has been very, very good therapy for him:, Deb said.
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