MESMS Students Empowered to Combat Bullying

What if bullying prevention was practiced as regularly as fire drills? This intriguing idea came alive at Mildred E. Strang Middle School, where our remarkable students discovered that heroism doesn’t require capes or superpowers!

Members of Sweethearts & Heroes, a “student empowerment and empathy activation team,” came to Yorktown on Monday, October 16, as part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.

Our enthusiastic students participated in the engaging assembly, captivated by the wisdom of Tom Murphy, the passionate founder of Sweethearts & Heroes, and the inspiring Ret. U.S. Army Sgt. Rick Yarosh, who has triumphed over severe adversities from his time serving in Iraq.

Murphy told the students that it takes “a tremendous amount of courage” to help someone who is in trouble. Most of the time, students only have a 10-second window to act, and less than 10 percent of students ever do.

Murphy added, “We’re heading to Yorktown Heights to cultivate compassion and empathy. We aim to stop students from making destructive decisions and help them treat each other with kindness. We also make our messages sustainable in schools, so that they have an eventual and sustainable effect on the local community.”