Surfside Beach teen shares story of bullying

SURFSIDE BEACH - It's no longer just about wanting lunch money. School yard bullying is becoming an epidemic.

According to AutismNews.com last year, 14 kids committed suicide nationwide after being bullied.

Now the Horry County School District and parents are joining forces to put a stop to it.

"I'm just doing what I think is right," said 16-year-old Patrick Kohlmann, who was bullied at 13.

Kohlmann said he was picked on, pushed, made fun of and taunted.

"I just thought, 'Ok, this happens with every kid and I'll just let it go on and ignore it," he explained.

It wasn't just the pushing and shoving that Kohlmann endured, he said he was also getting death threats.

"My mom went it one day and told the school that this kid threatened me and said he was going to kill me, they said they were going to take care of it but the kid threw a rock at me anyway and I got a concussion."

The experience wasn't just a nightmare for Kohlmann but also for those who loved and cared for him the most.

"Absolutely there is no excuse at all for that to happen to anybody's kid," said Beth Kohlmann, Patrick's mother, "And I felt horrible because I re-assured my son, that I called the school and the school said that everything will be fine."

At the time the Kohlmanns were living in New York where Patrick said even after his mother's complaint, the school didn't do anything about it.

"So I made a video that I wanted to show how I felt when I was in that situation," he said, "I went to my principal and I asked her if I can show it, I gave her a  copy of it and she told me it was too graphic."

Kohlmann said that's when he decided to put the video on YouTube.com.

"I got the word out there that bullying isn't right and now people understand why bullying should not be allowed," he said.

The 16-year-old's personal story is just one more example of why Cookie Goings, director of guidance at Myrtle Beach High School said the county school district  has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to any kind of bullying.

"We do not tolerate bullying when we are aware and that's the key we have to be made aware," Goings said.

She said communication between the victim and those willing to help stop this type of violence is the first step to ending it once and for all.

"We are dead on it there's no big incidence or bullying or little incident, anything that makes a student uncomfortable, makes them feel like they are being  harassed we take it very very seriously," Goings said.

Ron Cassidy an adolescent program director at Light House Care Center of Conway said he sees parents whose child is either a bully or is being bullied, come to  him for help.

There are some signs he tells parents to look for if and when their child is being bullied.

"Changes in appetite, look for changes in sleep patterns kid not wanting to go to activities that they normally would," Cassidy said.

He said bullying can happen in several different ways and can start in the third grade and continue all the way to to high school.

"It could be a push it could be a shove it could be exclusion from the group you know you're not good enough to be in the group or you are not invited to the  table, it could be comments, it could be throwing things," Cassidy said.

It's that type of harrassment Kohlmann said he stood up to and now is the teen ambassador for the organization 'Stomp out Bullying, based in New York.

"The victims aren't alone, I remember feeling that when there's nobody is there to help you and you're just there by yourself against these big people but there are others out there like you," he said.

Kohlmann's mother said if she could give one advice to every parents out there it would be to just listen before it gets too late.

"Harry (husband) and I were very fortunate that Patrick felt comfortable to come to us and it wasn't easy for him and it wasn't easy for us," she said, "Your child is your job."

Goings said the county's school district has a 24-hour-hotline called, 'Safe Schools' which parents can access and report anything that's related to bullying.

Angela Gore, the assistant principal at Loris Elementary School said, the school  is making a 3 year commitment for a pilot program where teachers will be trained  to implement the program and lead class meetings every week designed to address  issues with bullying.