reprint from New Trier News Online (the New Trier student newspaper, September 2003)

Columbine survivor speaks about bullying
   By Carley Groobman

  The only student who Columbine shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris intentionally spared shared his story with students this past week as part of New Trier’s new Building Allies program.

Brooks Brown, author of the book No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine, addressed juniors and seniors during their kinetic wellness periods last Tuesday.

As opposed to discussing the actual shootings, Brown focused on the question of what drove Klebold and Harris to murder 12 of their classmates and one teacher before shooting themselves.

Brown dismissed the media’s theory that Marilyn Manson’s music and violent video games influenced the boys into committing the shooting. “This can’t be true,” Brown told students, “I listen to Manson and play violent video games too, and I’m not violent”.

Instead, Brown believes the bullying of those students who were “lower on the social hierarchy” caused the events. He also said that indifference to the harassment on the administration was also a cause.
“It was one-hundred percent the administration’s fault,” Brown told students in an informal question and answer session. “As kids you try to get away with as much as you can. For the administration to not place rules on beating kids is irresponsible.”

Brown shared several personal anecdotes with student audiences, most of them relating to a student named Rocky who terrorized Brown in high school. Brown emphasized the lack of action taken by Columbine High School officials, even after his parents addressed the administration three times.
Brown made it clear to New Trier students that no one was spared from the bullying and violence that went on at Columbine. “Bullying at Columbine was something else,” he said.

While sports were heavily praised at Columbine and awarded the majority of the school’s extracurricular funds, such fine arts as debate and theater were given very little attention. “New Trier is vastly different,” Brown said, who happened to be very involved in both activities.

While he was mocked for participating in theater and debate at Columbine, Brown said he was very fortunate to feel that he was a part of something at school. “Eric and Dylan only had each other,” he said.

Brown said he believes that if someone had said ‘stop it’ to the individuals that taunted others at Columbine, the tragedy could possibly have been prevented.

Rob Merritt, co-author of No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine, agreed. “They [the bullies] are bullying someone for the benefit of someone else to try and impress them. If they’re trying to impress you, and you say stop, they’ll be embarrassed and stop,” Merritt said.

Brown said that too few of the Columbine students stood up against the harassment that was going on at their high school. “It comes down to enough of the student body stopping it [the bullying]—when it becomes a big enough issue, that’s when the administration will become involved.

In an effort to prevent bullying and discrimination, New Trier is creating the Building Allies program, which will consist of both students and staff working to maintain a safe atmosphere at school. The question is whether or not students feel bullying is a problem at New Trier.

Senior Adam Falkoff did not think harassment was a problem at school. “I would say no. There are so many individual groups, that for every kid that is picked on there are twenty kids surrounding him and protecting him. Almost no one stands alone,” he said.

Senior Gwen Faulkner had a different view on the matter. “I don’t think bullying here is of the nature it was at Columbine. I don’t think it’s as extreme, but there are definitely circumstances where people may feel vulnerable,” she said.

Any students who are interested in becoming involved in the Building Allies program should contact Mr. White in room 206, or Mr. Golebiewski in room 225.