In the commons there are tables set up in a row, and every morning when he walks in, he taps someone on the shoulder.  Then he walks away.  He pears back, trying to hide his smile.  He wore Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer glasses the day before Christmas break.  He always has the best Halloween costumes.  And he always smiles.  His name is Andy.

As Andy walked passed the lunch tables, he stopped at the last one.  This table was filled with boys.  As Andy was about to tap one on the shoulder, he stopped and made his hand into a puppet.  He pecked the puppet hand over the boy’s shoulder and the table of boys laughed.  When Andy did not stop, the table laughed louder.  When another boy made a puppet out of his hand and turned toward Andy, the table exploded in laughter.

I was sitting a couple of tables over with a group of girls who knew Andy.  What was laughter at the hand puppet was turning into laughter at Andy.  The boys were laughing at Andy. What the boys didn’t know is that when someone laughs with Andy or distracts him, he will not stop whatever he is doing. As I watched things unfold, my friends and I knew it was time to step in.  We walked over to the table.

We said, “Hey Andy! Don’t you think you better be going to class? It starts soon.  Would you like us all to walk you to class?”

He smiled. This is always Andy’s response.  As we walked with Andy I thought, should we have said something to those boys? 

Andy has Down’s Syndrome.  My friends and I met Andy through Best Buddies.  He is the happiest person I have ever met in my life. Those boys should be ashamed of themselves for laughing at him. He does not know any better. 

Many people at my school are accepting of everyone.  But there are always going to be bullies until bystanders stand up for what is right, like my friends and me. If more people stood up to bullies, people like Andy would not have to suffer. At my school, many students stand up to bullying through kindness and positivity.  And that’s what we need--more people to stop being bystanders and stand up for what is right.