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Middle school student starts her own anti-bullying program

No matter what school, and no matter what age, bullying is hard to escape. Teachers try to manage it, but at a school in Golden, an eighth grader decided to take matters into her own hands.
Credit: Corky Scholl
Students The Manning School in Golden wrote on strips of paper one thing they can do to stop bullying.

GOLDEN — Inside The Manning School in Golden, eighth-grader Jasmine Collins wants to solve a real-life problem -- bullying.

"What they'll do is they'll write down one way they could stop bullying," Jasmine said.

She started her own anti-bullying program to get every student at Manning to write messages on paper links that will be turned into long chains posted around the hallways of the grades 6, 7, and 8 school.

"I was a little nervous to see if kids were going to do it," Jasmine said.

To her surprise, Jasmine says most kids are taking the project seriously writing profound and positive messages on the links.

"Treat people the way you want to be treated," one link said.

"Prevent bullying by including people," a student wrote on another.

Principal Jeena Templeton loves that her student decided to do this on her own.

"Absolutely, I'm excited she felt empowered to do that," Templeton said. "She felt like she was in an environment that would welcome and encourage her initiative and encourage her courage."

Collins says she had to do it.

"I felt like it was my responsibility because I'm already a natural-born leader, and I want to make change," she said.

Having been a bully once herself, Collins wants to see it come to a stop for her classmates now.

"I've been on both sides actually," she said. "In elementary, fourth grade, I was kinda the bully. In fifth grade, I got bullied which made me realize it wasn't okay to bully."

Templeton is impressed with the courage it took for Collins to admit that about her past and likes that Jasmine is taking a holistic approach.

"I think that's awfully brave of her to admit that," Templeton said. "I like that the message is that she's asking people to write is how they can be a part of the solution."

The anti-bullying chain links should be up in the hallways by Friday afternoon. Collins believes her efforts are making a difference.

"I think it works because it makes like aware and kinda makes them feel like they're taking part," she said.

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