A message every student should hear

The Valley Stream Central High School District welcomed John Halligan to its schools last week to spread a powerful message about the dangers of bullying. His message wasn’t easy for everyone to hear, but it is a lesson that students need to learn.

In 2003, Halligan’s 13-year-old son, Ryan, committed suicide after years of being bullied by classmates. Halligan said that Oct. 7 is a day he’ll never forget, because he was away on business and his wife called him to tell him their son was dead. On the plane ride home, he kept asking himself, Why?

Halligan wasn’t short on details — the only information he won’t share is how Ryan died. But he gave students an honest accounting of Ryan’s experiences, how they tried to cope as a family and the range of emotions they felt. He spoke of Ryan’s developmental issues as a child, how he tried so hard to fit in, and even how he and Ryan learned tae bo together so the boy could stand up for himself.

Seventh- and eighth-graders at North and South high schools heard Halligan’s message on Feb. 25. Most listened intently. Some cried. The students’ questions were thoughtful, insightful and respectful. After the presentation, many students went up to Halligan to shake his hand and thank him.

Unfortunately, presentations to district parents and Memorial Junior High School students were canceled due to the inclement weather. Halligan has graciously agreed to come back in May to meet with those groups. We encourage parents to attend his evening presentation, scheduled for May 13.

He talked extensively about cyber-bullying, in which children and teens use the Internet to harass, humiliate and threaten one another. Ryan was a victim. Over the summer, a girl from his class pretended, online, to like him. The two had extensive conversations, and Ryan shared his secrets with her, his father said. Little did he know that she was sending what he told her to her friends. When the school year started, she told him it was all a joke and that he was a loser, while her friends stood there and laughed. Shortly after that he took his own life.