Patrick Kohlmann, grandson of Mary Cronin and nephew of Shelter Island Police Officer Tom Cronin and Sergeant James Cronin, has recently become a celebrity of sorts. A 13-year-old honors student from West Islip, Patrick just finished the 7th grade at Udall Road Middle School. Like so many other kids his age, he has been a victim of bullying at school. Though many victims of bullying stay quiet, Patrick has shown the world how bullying is affecting the lives of children everywhere through his video, posted on YouTube, called “Through My Eyes.”

Middle school has been far from easy for Patrick. He has been assaulted multiple times, and even was sent to the hospital with a concussion after he was hit over the head with a rock. His parents, Beth (a Shelter Island School grad) and Harry Kohlmann, had told the school that their son was being threatened and harassed, but the attacks continued. “I told the administrators what was going on, but they would just sit us in a room and tell us to say sorry,” said Patrick. Eventually Patrick began trying to defend himself, but then he got in trouble. “They kept saying, ‘You can't hit,'” said Beth. “He kept saying, ‘I have the right to defend myself.'”

Patrick decided that things had to change. He wanted to find a way to show his school what a serious problem bullying had become. His first idea was to deliver a speech to the faculty, but because the end of the year was so close, he was unable to schedule a time to deliver it. He then had a new idea: to create a video.

Patrick spent a month preparing his video, which he intended to show at the next PTA meeting. “I kept checking and rechecking everything, to make sure I had the best information,” said Patrick. The video, entitled “Through My Eyes,” consists of a series of images set to music that illuminate the terror felt by so many students like Patrick every day. His video reads, “I have gone to the school before for help, yet the violence got worse ... Now I am here telling you what is going on ... asking you for help ... Not only for me, but for all the people out there who are being bullied.” However, the principal wouldn't allow him to show the video, claiming it was too graphic. So instead he posted his video on YouTube.

The video caught on almost immediately. Since his video was posted a month ago, it has been viewed over 98,000 times. The video has over 1,400 comments posted beneath it, from both bullies and victims. One user commented, “I used to bully kids and call them mean names, but within the past few years I really regret what I did ... I've realized how bad it affects people ... great project you put together.” A fellow victim commented, “I've been bullied ... well ... let's just say a lot ... I know what it feels like to be an ‘outcast.' Thank you for this video! It's very powerful.” Another comment reads, “This is such a simple presentation, but it speaks with such volume. Thank you so much for putting this together.” There are also video responses posted, including a video made by kids from his school and neighborhood expressing their support for Patrick.

Patrick has received quite a lot of attention from the press: a full page article was written about him in Newsday, and he has been on News 12 and “Good Morning America.”

“They're taking him off to Manhattan and putting him up in suites,” said Beth. His video is being shown at schools around the country. Patrick has even been called a hero. “I don't feel like a hero,” said Patrick. “I just feel like a victim who needs to speak out.”

The easiest way to find Patrick's video is to put his name into the search prompt in YouTube.

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