By Being Aware Students Can Help Put an End to Bullying

By Dylan Monahan

It’s all around us, sometimes we don’t see it or even notice it. What am I talking about? It’s bullying. Let’s not pretend that we don’t know what it is, or that it isn’t right in your face. Some of us just see it as “joking around” but sometimes it’s taken too far. Everyone is susceptible to bullying, including adults, but how do you deal with it? What do you do if you see it, or if it’s happening to you?

Bullying is a broad term; a lot of us see it as physical damage, cyberbullying, or name calling. It’s so much more than that though, just words can hurt someone emotionally and even cause physical damage. According to the anti-bullying website MBNBD the different types of bullying are: physical, verbal, indirect, and cyber. Some of us don’t know what these are; let me explain. Physical bullying can range from pinching to punching. Often people who are physically bullied, whether it’s because the way they act, talk, dress, or even who they’re friends with.

Verbal bullying can start with a teasing remark and work its way up to threats. It’s no better that physically harming somebody. Bullies may think may not think they’re harming the victim because they look at it as “messing around”, but some do it with intentions of trying to hurt people.

Indirect bullying is when the bully doesn’t say things to the victim personally. A good rule to follow is if you’d don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. It’s not that hard, just keep it to yourself. It doesn’t really matter what people are wearing, doesn’t have proper grammar, or doesn’t look “perfect”. People should think about what they say before they say it.

Currently, cyberbullying is one of the most common forms of bullying out there now. It’s basically the same as verbal bullying; the difference is that the bully is hiding behind a computer or phone screen.

What do you do if you see it though? What if you’re a victim? First, report it. Go find a trusted adult and tell them about it. Don’t hide your feelings. Second, try to stay away from places where the bullying is happening; staying away from where the bullying is going on, will lessen the chance of getting bullied. Third, try staying in a group of friends or adults; most bullies will try to target people when they’re alone.

While bullying has always been around, recent statistics show that it is becoming more widespread. According to dosomething.org over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year, 160,000 students miss school every day because they are scared of going to school. 1 for every 10 students drop out or transfer schools because of this issue. Roughly every 1 in 4 teachers don’t step in for their students. This results in more cases; about 1 in 7 K-12 students are victims of bullying or bullies themselves.

Bullying has become a huge focus throughout the United States and even in our school. Everyday there are new victims; it’s important for everyone to do something and not sit there and let it happen. Stand up for someone if you see it going on; it could make a difference in their lives.