Norwich — About 70 people rallied at the Chelsea Parade park on Saturday to raise awareness and motivate schools and students to do more against bullying.

Students, parents, interested parties and politicians gathered in the driving rain Saturday under a collection of tents. After a couple speakers, students promptly began marching around the park chanting “I will back you up,” among other phrases, and holding signs.

The rally came after a 70-minute lockdown at Norwich Free Academy in response to two fake guns being found on school property, as well as a plastic-tipped bullet found in a student's backpack, according to school officials, police and phone records.

Those incidents prompted parents and students to demand the school take action in response to what they say are increasing bullying, violence and threats at schools throughout the state. In recent months, students and parents have sounded the alarm about student behavioral problems, lack of communication and policy decisions made by city schools.

Youth and mental health advocate Marcela Lee organized Saturday’s rally in part to make sure students understand they’re not alone in their feelings.

“School violence is at such an all-time high right now. You’ve got schools being shut down and being thrown into lockdown on a daily basis. There’s got to be change,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of kids reach out to me telling me they’re afraid to go to school every day because the anxiety is so high ... The idea today is to create awareness and change and bring some people to the platform — like we have the NFA basketball team here — kids who typically wouldn’t get bullied but can definitely lead by example and be part of that change.”

NFA basketball coach Dave Cornish was in attendance with about 10 students on the team. He said he was glad a lot of team members showed up.

“I talked to them yesterday before practice, and I reiterated after practice, that this is a big deal,” he said. “A lot of them probably don’t realize that because it doesn’t affect them directly, but it could affect them indirectly. ... I told them, this here is something real. They might think it’s just making jokes — not everybody can take that. You may not understand how big this is, but it really is something. People are losing their lives over this. Kids are losing their lives over this.”

Jayden Desilus, a senior who is on the basketball, football and track teams, led his peers and other demonstrators in chants by shouting into a megaphone Saturday. He said he made sure his teammates would be at the rally.

Desilus said his mother is friends with the mother of another student who was being bullied. He read a Facebook post detailing that bullying, “and I felt it was crazy how that’s going on in my school, and I felt like I had to say something. I had to stand up.”

“I don't see it because I’m not really the type of person to get bullied or bully people, but I hear stories, stories of people having a hard time in school,” he continued. “School shouldn’t be a place they’re scared to go. I’m just trying to make a difference, trying to make sure everybody feels safe in my school.”

Bella Hill of Bozrah, 15, had been attending Lyman Memorial High School in Lebanon. “I got bullied in school; that’s the reason I don't go to school right now,” she said Saturday. “It was kind of hard to even make it in the hallways sometimes. I spent most of my time in the bathroom.”

Hill’s experience informed her immediate “yes” when asked by a friend to come out on Saturday.

Kailey Beaudet, a sophomore at NFA, said she’d also been bullied before, and she was on board with doing something about it.

“I think other students are aware at this point, I just don’t think they all care. I know the administration is aware,” she said. “It’s just a matter of making people care at this point, which is hard to do, so the only thing we really can do is show, we’re not going to stop talking, we’re going to keep rallying or protesting or whatever it takes. You can bully people, but you’re not going to silence them. We can’t change other people’s actions, but we can change how we respond.”

Kerri Sisson, a therapist at the Joshua Center, which offers youth treatment programs, and representatives from United Community and Family Services were in attendance. Sisson passed out a resources sheet for suicide prevention and anti-bullying hotlines and organizations: The Trevor Project, thetrevorproject.org; Stomp Out Bullying, stompoutbullying.org; National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1 (800) 273-8255; Crisis Text Line, crisistextline.org; Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, rainn.org; and the National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1 (800) 656-4673.

Lee had people in attendance sign a pledge that reads: “As part of my community, I pledge to always be an ally to those who are being bullied and to let all other students know, ‘I will back you up!’ If I see someone being bullied, I promise to speak up, and to be an ally both in person and on social media. I promise I will not let you be alone. I promise to get help if the situation is bigger than the support I can offer you. I promise to help find a peaceful resolution because I recognize that doing nothing is the same as being part of the problem. If I see something, I will say something, and I WILL BACK YOU UP.”

s.spinella@theday.com