http://youtu.be/Jg_I-b3JPc8
(LAS CRUCES) -- Daran Goetz, 12, is reading something he posted on Facebook not too long ago. Goetz is giving a voice to the many victims of bullying.
“I feel bad for the kids that get bullied, like I feel really bad for them, like it shouldn’t happen to them,” said Goetz.
He created a page where his classmates at Sierra Middle School can go and vent, but mostly to support the end to bullying.
“It’s not right,” he said.
Goetz says bullying happens before and after school and especially during lunchtime. He’s also seen it happens off campus.
“You see a bunch of stuff happening around like kids getting pushed and stuff and that’s sad and you’ll see at the mall, kids getting put down,” said Goetz.
Goetz use to be bullied and wants to help others overcome it. He says taking a stand is the first step.
“I really don’t care I mean, it wasn’t that bad for me, I just ignore them and it went away and they stopped bothering me and they start kissing up to me,” he said.
Everyone’s circumstance is different. Goetz’s father Don says being bullied can often be a difficult thing to walk away from. The Facebook page called “Stop Bullying. Act Now,” is giving young people a new avenue to find that needed support.
“He’s always helping kids, younger than him and he’s got a good head on his shoulder. We don’t help him write any of his papers, he thinks of it all by himself. He comes up with these ideas,” he said.
The webpage is getting a lot of attention and bringing the issue to light, which Don Goetz says is a good thing.
“A lot of parents don’t pay attention. For instance, he filled out his schedule for classes last year for school for this year and we weren’t even aware of it and I asked the school about it and they said they already did that and I said well, I’m sorry my son is not going to decided his life, I do. Well we just had the kids do it. The parents have to pay attention,” he said.
For now, the prevention campaign will be online. Students plan to make posters and create flyers to bring even more awareness to other young people.
“You look around Las Cruces, you look around other places, it just sad. It hopeless around here, no one ever stands up about bullying you see cartoon network and no one is going to pay attention to that so I’m just going to take a stand and get my friends to do it with me, get more people and get support,” he said.
