A new and inviting club to surface at Ballard

James Kerrigan, Staff Reporter
Originally published January 15, 2019

A new club has surfaced due to the quick action of history teacher, Alec Aeschlimann, and founder and president, sophomore Danny Welsh. The Anti-Bullying club began when Welsh came to Aeschlimann with the idea of starting a club where students could build new relationships and discuss their experiences as victims of bullying.

“There’s so many people that I’ve felt like I wanted to help,” Welsh said. “I felt like it was my job  to help them… to this day I thought it would be cool to come up with a club which has always been in the back of my mind, and it’s become a reality.”

The Anti-Bullying club began when Welsh came to Aeschlimann with the idea of starting a club where students could build new relationships and discuss their experiences as victims of bullying.

“The second he mentioned it I was enthusiastic about it, thinking it would be a great resource…a great place for people who want somewhere where they can share their story,” Aeschlimann said. “The staff does a good job of trying to be aware of what’s going on and will try to root out those issues in general but there are always things that go unnoticed.”

According to stop bullying.Gov, an estimated 160,000 students miss school everyday out of fear of attack or intimidation by other students. 6 out of 10 students witness an act of bullying everyday, and 1 out of 10 students who drop out of school do so because of bullying. Yes, schools are prepared to take action when it goes noticed, but when it doesn’t, bullying can take control over a victim’s life, often leading to self harm.

“People die from bullying, people dropout of school, people develop scars and experience traumas that last their whole lives,” Aeschlimann said.

Victims of bullying often feel the need to find a place where they can feel comfortable being themselves and sharing their experiences as a method of healing.

Meetings have focused heavily on members becoming comfortable with each other through meaningful discussions, powerful moments and club activities, including poster making as a form of advertising the club across the school.

With only a few members and a handful of meetings, the club is still within its beginning stages with meetings focusing on sharing experiences with bullying and developing friendships amongst each other.

“Anything we can do to make people’s experiences at Ballard better, I’m happy to be a part of that.” Aeschlimann said.

Meetings for the Anti-Bullying club are every Tuesday after school from 3:35 to 5:00 in S100.