Founder of bullying.org Bill Belsey spoke to students last Wednesday as part of the anti-bullying conference held at the University of Lethbridge.

Belsey began the session by asking students to raise their hands if they’ve bullied, been the receiver, or known someone who’s been affected by bullying. All students raised their hands to the three questions.

“It doesn’t matter what age, background, or status, virtually everyone in the talks I’ve had around the world raise their hands to those questions,” said Belsey.

Belsey’s teaching philosophy consists of helping students achieve their potential by creating an optimal learning environment.

“How can students achieve their potential when they’re too afraid to come to class?” Belsey asked.

According to the U.S. National Education Association, 160,000 children skip class each day in the U.S.A. due to intimidation by their peers.

Belsey, a father and middle school teacher in Calgary, created bullying.org in the wake of the Taber and Columbine school shootings. According to Belsey, research has proven that many of the youth involved in school shootings were regularly teased and bullied.

Bullying.org was created to give students a safe place to speak out on bullying issues and see that they’re not alone. It’s since grown and become a place where students can receive help, post stories, poems, photos, and even play a video game.

The website’s main aim is to create an awareness of bullying and to prevent, resolve, and eliminate bullying in society.

Though bullying can be perceived as solely a school concern, Belsey stressed the importance of it being seen as a community health and safety issue.

Bullying.org has become the number one bullying awareness website in the world with 35 million hits last year alone. Belsey shared a few inspirational stories about how people have changed their outlook on bullying after viewing his website.