Island Coast High stands up to bullying
If there was one thing that Richard Hagy couldn’t stand it was a bully, and until the very end of his life he was the one who stood up for those who felt they couldn’t stand up for themselves.
On St. Patrick’s Day 2010, Hagy, a high school principal, broke up a fight in the school cafeteria.
Not too long after, Hagy, 64, suffered a heart attack and died in the parking lot. But that didn’t end his legacy. His wife, Nancy, took up the mantle to make sure all his work did not go in vain.
On Wednesday, students at Island Coast High School made a stand in recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month and of National Unity Day.
The school sold more than 200 anti-bullying orange T-shirts, while many others wore orange to school. The class that had the most students wearing orange would get a doughnut party.
“Orange was the color that brings people together. Those who wore orange were all trying to make people aware of bullying. That’s unity,” Hagy said. “It was cool to see everyone, including teachers and administrators, wearing orange shirts, including the starting quarterback.”
The Key Club members all bought orange shirts, and the TV production class, which has run programming all week about bullying, also played a huge part in spreading the message, Hagy said.
Every day, Hagy has tried to open dialogue about bullying among teachers and students.
She also talked about what her husband did to curb that behavior.
“That was a real pet peeve of his. Boy or girl, it didn’t matter. A fight broke out between two types and he had a massive heart attack. With that, I had to make sense out of it,” Nancy said.
The statistics on bullying are alarming, which Nagy explained to students. She said one in four children will be bullied this year, and nearly half of that takes place in the lunchroom, hallway or restroom. Also, 160,000 children will skip school because they don’t want to be bullied.
Bullying has also been a contributing factor in school shootings, particularly in Columbine, Colorado, in 1999 where 13 people were killed and 21 wounded. The shooters were students who were bullied.
Among the celebrities who were bullied are Lady Gaga and Michael Phelps.
One of the lasting legacies of the late principal was the establishment of a memorial scholarship to help curb the costs of college for graduating seniors.
Last year, through generous donations from many people that sometimes amounted to pocket change, more than $4,000 was raised for the scholarship fund.
“We had people giving us money before we even knew what we were doing. As word got around the county the day he died I had a teacher give me $1,000 to do what we wanted,” Hagy said. “After 48 hours there were so many caring people, we had to find a purpose.”
Seniors from Island Coast, Riverdale and Mariner high schools are eligible. They must have a minimum 2.5 weighted GPA, have a financial need, be involved in high school sports, exhibit integrity and sportsmanship, participate in school/community activities and plan to attend a college, community college or technical school.