Go Big Read Extra Credit - Matthew Reich

For my extra credit opportunity, I decided to attend a go big read event. I went to Vilas Hall on Wednesday December 3rd from 6-7:30. The event consisted of honors public speaking class students speaking out about experiences and stories that have left an impact on them. Why? The event was based on the kindness and impact Malala has made on the world. Malala has various inspiring stories that portray her bravery and poise. The students that were presenting tried to emulate the type of impactful actions that Malala has done throughout her life. There was six to seven speakers and the one that was most impactful on me was the first one about bullying. Not that the other speeches didn't leave an impression on me, but I think bullying relates to me the most. I have personally never been bullied excessively but I've watched my brother grow up getting bullied. It's a problem through

out the world that needs to come to an end. The student speaking made very interesting points on how to further prevent bullying. He emphasized that the reason bullying keeps persisting is due to harshness of their punishment. He was very adamant that the harsher we punish kids, the stronger urge they will have to repeat their actions. Having a zero tolerance policy on bullying makes sense, but he believes that it has come back to haunt our society. He believes that instead of paying more attention to the one getting bullied, in order to further prevent bullying we need to try and help the bully. They are the root of all of this, and if we ever want to fix this issue we need to get these kids help and get to the root of their emotional issues that urge them to inflict pain on fellow students. I actually agree with what he presented as he provided stellar evidence, with the most compelling evidence being that bullying throughout the world has only worsened with the no tolerance policy.