Everyone has experienced or witnessed a form of bullying during their life. Commonly, bullying is thought of as an occurrence amongst school aged children.

Recently, about 100 students from nearby middle and high schools throughout the Heart of Virginia gathered at a Truth Empowerment Summit to facilitate the disarming of bullies and harmful behavior.

According to stopbullying. gov, “bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.”

During the summit, school counselors were also given the tools to implement action plans to combat the bullying.

Randolph-Henry High School student Emma Silver said she was motivated to use what she learned from the summit to help her peers.

“I am walking away from the Truth Summit with confidence,” Silver said. “I feel so empowered, and I have this drive within me to make everyone else feel as good as I feel.”

We commend the organizers and those who participated from the various school divisions across the heart of Virginia during the summit. Our hope is that a Truth Summit will be held in Lunenburg County in the near future.

Peers, teachers and administrators should recognize the early signs of bullying and take the appropriate measures to alleviate the situation as quickly as possible.

The Truth Summit is a step in the right direction and hopefully it will continue to spread its positive message in the future.

While bullying is typically centered around school aged children, it can take place in many forms, including at the workplace or in a personal relationship.

Let us work together to promote a bully free zone in all we do.