Movement urges kids to respect each other's differences

By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Chris Weaver knows what it's like to be taunted at school.

NO-TAUNTING PLEDGE Here is the no-taunting pledge being made by students around the world: I WILL pledge to be part of the solution. I WILL eliminate taunting from my own behavior. I WILL encourage others to do the same. I WILL do my part to make my community a safe place by being more sensitive to others. I WILL set the example of a caring individual. I WILL eliminate profanity towards others from my language. I WILL not let my words or actions hurt others, and if others won't become part of the solution, I WILL.

The 18-year-old senior at Green Mountain High School also feels especially touched by the Columbine shootings because he had met Rachel Scott, one of the slain students, at debate competitions.

Weaver wanted to do something to channel his grief and to reverse the violence and hatred he feels have seeped into youth culture.

So he is helping lead a drive to get kids to pledge they will stop taunting and encourage kindness. The movement started in Tennessee and is spreading around the globe.

Supporters held a rally Saturday at Clement Park, where the memorials to the dead still draw hundreds of weeping visitors every day.

Weaver and 1,200 classmates at Green Mountain have signed the wallet-size pledge cards so far. The movement has been infectious, with thousands of Coloradans signing on and interest coming from as far away as South Africa and New Zealand.

Already, Weaver has noticed a difference at his school.

"People who've been tormenting me my entire high school career aren't anymore," he said. "People are a little more kind to each other."

Amanda Krut, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Ken Caryl Middle School, decided to sign the pledge.

"I wanted to remind myself to say to other kids, 'You're OK even if they make fun of you; I think you're pretty cool."'

Krut is slated to attend Columbine next year. She's determined to make her current and future schools nurturing and nonviolent places.

"Unless you work to prevent it, it can happen anywhere," she said of violence.