Showing their ‘grit’ (Page 3 of 4) “We need to develop an
alternative energy source that is environmentally friendly,”
said Chen, who conducted his research at the Garcia Center at
SUNY Stony Brook under the direction of Dr. Miriam Rafailovich.
Presumptions about what bullies looks like and why they act the
way they do led Kay to this topic. “There are preconceptions
society has about bullying, then there is what we really see,”
he said. “On TV the bully in the playground is a big, brawny
kid. In my school there’s a different perspective: Everyone
bullies because, from my perspective, everyone is competing for
social and sexual advantages.” Kay didn’t have to leave his home
during Sandy, but dealt with a loss of power for close to two
weeks. He surveyed ninth- through 12th-graders at Hewlett High,
and found that stress, anxiety, frustration and disappointment
facilitate bullying. His project mentor, Dr. Patricia Nardi, a
Hewlett science teacher, said that Kay’s work underscored the
importance of both enabling