On May 7, the stars came out at noon. Alex Libby, one of the teenagers featured in the documentary, “Bully,” and pro football’s Anquan Boldin offered advice and encouragement to 210 student stars at the 2012 Do the Write Thing Challenge luncheon at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
The luncheon recognized the finalists among 19,659 middle school students who participated in class discussions and wrote essays recounting their experiences with school violence and recommending ways to stop it.
The challenge is a program from the National Campaign to Stop Violence and is the largest and most comprehensive program in Palm Beach County that addresses youth violence.
More than 630 students, parents, teachers and administrators attended, as well as such community leaders as State Attorney Peter Antonacci, Public Defender Carey Haughwout, Superintendent of Schools E. Wayne Gent, Honorable Ronald Alvarez, County Commissioner Paulette Burdick and West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio.
Libby, now 15, lives in Oklahoma City. His story was one of five profiled the film that has generated nationwide discussion about abusive behavior and violence that often carry well into adulthood.
With lawyer and Do the Write Thing Challenge chairman Bill Bone, who spearheads the program in Palm Beach County, asking the questions, Libby related his experiences with bullying and as a “star” in the film.
Boldin, an All-Pro wide receiver with the Baltimore Ravens, grew up in Pahokee. As a star athlete, he was never a victim of bullying or violence, but he wasn’t immune to it. He told a story about a smart, “nerdy” friend who was continually bullied until he took a stand and told the other kids to stop. “You can do the same,” he told the audience.
“When I was a kid we didn’t have programs like this to help us,” Boldin said. “For me, it was more about staying focused on school and sports, and surrounding myself with positive activities as much as I could.”
From the nearly 20,000 entries, committees of school and community leaders selected the 10 best essays from each of the 21 participating middle schools and from that group chose the best three essays from boys and girls as finalists.
David Dunleavy, an eighth-grader at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School in Boca Raton, was the top boy and will be an “Ambassador” at the annual Do the Write Thing Challenge” conference in Washington, D.C., in July.