Photos by Shawn Nowlin
A combination of guardians, area residents, police officers, students and parents met at Salem’s CommUNITY Church on June 1 to openly discuss the topic of bullying. Vice Chair of the Salem City School Board Dr. Mike Chiglinksky, Delegate Greg Habeeb, Roanoke County Sheriff Eric Orange, Roanoke County Chief of Police Howard Hall and former Roanoke County School Officer Brent Hudson were among the notable attendees.
The meeting began with Pastor Tom McCracken addressing the nearly 200 people in attendance. “The concept of bullying is something that I am very familiar with,” he said. “I think we would all agree that children are truly a gift from the Lord. That is why I am so passionate about this issue.”
After the opening remarks, questions were taken from attendees. Multiple people made it abundantly clear that the proliferation of bullying poses a perennial problem for parents and schoolteachers. One parent asked what should she do if her daughter continues to get bullied after reporting it. Another parent sought advice on how to deal with cyber bullying.
“This is an issue that has been going on for a long time so I hope none of us are naïve enough to think that one community meeting is going to solve all of our problems,” said one adult. “I do believe that we can affect change. I want to continue to implement policies and create a culture that has absolutely zero tolerance for bullying in our schools for future generations.”
Pastor McCracken says he was bullied as a youth. “When I was in elementary school I was tied six feet up on a tennis court fence, had my pants pulled down to my ankles and given a wedgie,” he said. “While this was not the only incident, it was the moment that I realized what it was like when an imbalance of power is abused.”
“As a Pastor, I have seen a cultural shift in America’s history that finds the church being looked to less and less for guidance, direction, discernment, power and love,” Pastor Tom said. “Being aware that our community has been affected by the hurt caused by bullying in our public schools, I felt it incumbent upon me to engage the hurting, demonstrate the love of Christ and help our community work toward a solution.”
In order to seriously tackle a problem, Pastor Tom is of the belief that it takes a collaborative effort. “I think one of the reasons that bullying has stronger teeth than ever before in our history is that there is no safe place for our young people to fall and no sanctuary to find refuge,” he said. “Our children need direction and guidance from those they look up to in positions of authority, and they need to know that they are not alone.”
