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<p>WILKES BARRE &#8212; &#8220;My life is torn apart. My life is torn to pieces,&#8221; sang Leasia Smith.</p><p>Smith, a student at Hazleton Area High School, is part of Radio Kids, a local music group. She wrote and sang the song to raise awareness about bullying.</p><p>&#8220;Bullying happens every day in everyone&#8217;s lives and it should stop, because it&#8217;s not fun and it&#8217;s kind of boring now,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Radio Kids took the court during halftime of a NEPA Stars and Stripes basketball game at GAR Memorial High School on Sunday. An anti-bullying rally was held in collaboration with the semi-pro game.</p><p>Isiah Walker plays for Stars and Stripes and also coaches girls&#8217; freshmen basketball at GAR. He organized the event, combining his love for basketball and mentoring children.</p><p>Walker, who graduated from GAR in 2000, interacts with young people on a daily basis and has seen the negative effects of bullying on their self-esteem.</p><p>He sees social media playing a big role.</p><p>&#8220;It seems to be the more and more that social media seems to rise or become more popular, the easier it is for someone to hide behind sometimes anonymity to make fun of someone or make them feel low about themselves,&#8221; said Walker.</p><p>Heather Engle, who was volunteering at the rally, has a daughter who participates in a youth summer basketball league managed by Walker. She &#8220;supports him one hundred percent&#8221; in raising awareness for the cause, because she works as a long-term substitute in Wilkes-Barre Area schools and sees firsthand how bullying hurts children emotionally and mentally.</p><p>&#8220;Over the past eight years, I have seen a decrease in positive behavior in the schools,&#8221; Engle said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve seen a lot of negativity &#8212; children putting each other down.&#8221;</p><p>She gets very emotional when thinking about bullying victims. She said students can get picked on for anything from their financial status to the way they look. &#8220;My heart breaks for children,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Even though many kids attended Sunday&#8217;s event, Walker pointed out that bullying is an issue that people of all ages deal with. &#8220;At this point and age, you can see adults that are suffering the same consequences or the same actions or reactions of others.&#8221;</p><p>Caring for bullying victims has been a passion of Walker&#8217;s since he was a child himself. As a student at GAR, he and a close friend would always try to defend fellow students who were bullied or seen as outcasts. They would try to include them in activities and initiate friendships with them.</p><p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;m just drawn to youth and their development overall and for them getting the most of what they can out of life.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">NEPA Stars and Stripes team manager, player, and anti-bullying event organizer Isiah Walker is introduced before a game against the Pottstown Flames at GAR High School in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday afternoon. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL011518Hoops_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>NEPA Stars and Stripes team manager, player, and anti-bullying event organizer Isiah Walker is introduced before a game against the Pottstown Flames at GAR High School in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday afternoon. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL011518Hoops_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Radio Kids lead singer Jakiya Kroon, center, raps an anti-bullying song with cousins Leasia Smith, left, and Laila Smith at a NEPA Stars and Stripes basketball game at GAR High School in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL011518Hoops_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Radio Kids lead singer Jakiya Kroon, center, raps an anti-bullying song with cousins Leasia Smith, left, and Laila Smith at a NEPA Stars and Stripes basketball game at GAR High School in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL011518Hoops_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Isiah Walker, of the NEPA Stars and Stripes, addresses the crowd about bullying before an ABA basketball game at GAR High School in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL011518Hoops_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Isiah Walker, of the NEPA Stars and Stripes, addresses the crowd about bullying before an ABA basketball game at GAR High School in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kulsoom Khan</p><p>kkhan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Stars and Stripes team hosts anti-bullying event at GAR