Students Speak Out About Bullying on Stand 4 Change Day

Fourth-graders at made it clear that when it comes to bullying, they're "armed with words."

At , students plan to wear black T-shirts and pledge to "treat others respectfully... (and) create a better learning environment, free of fear, humiliation and disrespect."

At , students will leave the building at noon Friday and stand in a "circle of change."

All around the , students will be making a stand against bullying as part of Stand 4 Change Day, a national initiative looking to draw attention to bullying.

At noon Friday, students and teachers across the country will be encouraged to "stand up," an image the anti-bullying group hopes will "let the world know that we will no longer tolerate bullying in our schools and our communities."

Stand 4 Change was developed by Ken Kragen, creator and organizer of "We Are the World," and Defeat the Label, the locally launched anti-bullying nonprofit. Defeat the Label was one of the and hosted the .

To mark Stand 4 Change Day at Birmingham schools, teachers and administrators will go over the district's updated anti-bullying policies, adopted by the Birmingham Board of Education on April 17. The policies were updated to align with Matt's Safe School Laws, which passed the Michigan Legislature in December.

To check out Birmingham Public Schools' board policy on bullying, administrative guidelines and talking points, visit http://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us.