Published: April 09, 2008 09:24 am            

Silver Creek High School students spread the word about child-abuse prevention

SELLERSBURG — In front of a cafeteria filled with students eating lunch, Casandra Bisson and two other Silver Creek High School students stood on a makeshift stage, waiting for their song to start.

Bisson, who is 16, has only sang in front of a group one other time in her life, but decided to take the microphone to raise awareness on the effects of child abuse.

The group sang “Runaway Love,” by Ludacris featuring Mary J. Blige. The song is about three young girls dealing with physical and sexual abuse and neglect.

“It was amazing,” Bisson said, describing the performance. “I got to spread the word about child abuse in a song that comes on the radio every day.”

She knows a lot more about abuse than some other kids her age. One of her closest friends is in a youth shelter, because she left an abusive home.

“I see it now from a whole another point of view,” Bisson said, with her eyes tearing up. “You have to stop and think, just because it doesn’t happen in your home doesn’t mean it’s not happening somewhere else.”

Bisson is just one of Jan Jackson’s students. Jackson, who teaches child development, said after her students learned about how prevalent child abuse is in Indiana, they decided to do something more to raise awareness.

Starting in February, they started collecting articles from newspapers that were about child abuse in the area. They filled an 6-foot by 8-foot board and another large poster.

They also baked one cookie for all the approximately 650 students at SCHS. Each had a blue ribbon — which stands for child abuse awareness — in icing on the top.

In addition, students made a PowerPoint presentation that aired on the cafeteria TVs that showed pictures of abused children.

“It’s crazy,” Dustin Huhn, 18, said. “I’ve never really thought anything about it before until I saw these videos. I guess I never realized things like this happen in America.”

“I think it’s good, because they’re getting it out that this stuff really happens,” Molly Voyles, 15, said. “People do hateful things.”

Jackson’s students handed out blue ribbons for people to wear on their wrists and also released balloons at the end of lunch, each representing one child killed a year because of abuse or neglect. They said through this they have learned so much about child abuse and prevention and hope to pass those lessons on.

“I hope that it can stop,” said Jazmin Jurado, 15, who sang “Concrete Angel” by Martina McBride. “I just hope that people here will send out the message and it will get better.”

        

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