Des Moines anti-bullying rally honors memory of Kenneth Weishuhn
25 Apr
View a photo gallery from the vigil.
Kenneth James Weishuhn Jr. came out to his family and peers as a gay teen about a month before his family discovered April 15 that he had committed suicide. Relentless bullying at school and on Facebook filled the final weeks of Weishuhn’s life. His death, coinciding with the arrival of the documentary “Bully� in Iowa theaters, has led to a statewide outcry for more effective anti-bullying tactics in schools.
Four local activist groups that routinely combat bullying — One Iowa, Iowa Safe Schools, the Iowa Pride Network and the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa — convened tonight’s Des Moines vigil while others had been scheduled in Cedar Rapids and Davenport.
A previous vigil took place in Cedar Falls, while a “No Bully Rally� is scheduled for Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol.
A lineup of three adult leaders, a high school student and a college student each took the microphone at Gray’s Lake. A moment of silence followed at 7:55 p.m.
Stephen Boatwright, 19, a student at Des Moines Area Community College as well as a board member for Iowa Pride Network, noted that like Weishuhn he divulged to his fellow students at age 14 that he was gay.
“Growing up gay and being bullied so much, you almost fear authority figures,� Boatwright said to explain why he never once reported the bullying to a teacher or school administrator.
Ninth grader Kaija Carter from North High School stood in front of the still waters of the lake, gripped her notebook and read a moving, handwritten speech about being bullied by male classmates so persistently that she switched middle schools. The boys beat their chests and called her “gorilla� as they passed her in the hallway, or asked brazen questions such as, “Why do you look so ugly?�
“We live in a society of hidden pain,� Carter told the audience.
Twelve-year-old Anna Keeler sat in the crowd and was so moved by Carter’s speech that she scribbled out a supportive note to the fellow bully victim on a yellow sheet of paper and walked over to give it to her.
“My daughter wanted to be here — seemed like a good thing,� said Keeler’s father, Wes.
“I just feel people’s pain,� said Keeler, who is openly bisexual and has endured bullying for the last couple years.
“My only advice for people,� she added, “is stay strong and live for your friends and family.�
Tags: bullying, Gray’s Lake Park, Kenneth James Weishuhn Jr., Kenneth Weishuhn
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