Bullying In America Reaches Home

Everyday, 160,000 students in America don’t want to go to school because of the fear of being bullied. Everyone has experienced, witnessed or caused some kind of bullying in their lives. Bullying is sparked by the ignorance and hatred of an individual. It is a nationwide epidemic, and the effects of it are frightening.

“Being bullied is not an unpleasant rite of passage through childhood,” said Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “It’s a public health problem that merits attention. People who were bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem, well into adulthood, and the bullies themselves are more likely to engage in criminal behavior later in life.”

One in seven kids in schools is a victim of bullying. Over half of all students have witnessed some kind of bullying. This not only leads to problems at schools, but also drastically affects the overall life of the victim. Most of the time bully victims are afraid to speak up, and they feel alone and abandoned. This mix of feelings can lead to suicide, homicide, self injury and much more.

Forty-seven states now have anti-bullying laws. Georgia was the first to pass an anti-bullying law in 1999. In 2010, Georgia also passed Senate Bill 250, which states that a person accused of bullying will be transferred to a different school.

New Jersey, however, has the toughest anti-bullying law in the country. Its law states that all bullying cases in a school must be reported to the state, and the state will rate each school based upon the amount of bullying cases reported. Teachers must report any and all kinds of bullying they see, and the offenders risk suspension or expulsion, whether it is physical violence, or teasing.

The organization, Bully Police U.S.A., acts as a watchdog organization for the three states without anti-bullying laws: Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota.  

Several studies have found suicide to be the third greatest cause of teen deaths in the United States. In fact, teen suicide has had the highest increase of victims during the past 10 years. Five thousand kids take their lives every year. Bullying accounts for a large percentage of the reasons why students have contemplated and committed suicide. 

Recently, a 14-year-old boy named Jamey Rodemeyer in Buffalo, NY, committed suicide after being consistently bullied at school. He created a video, It Gets Better, and posted it on YouTube, and talked about his troubles at school. He talked about Lady Gaga, and how she was his hero, and how her music gave him the confidence to try to be himself. He often quoted Lady Gaga’s song Born This Way in his video.

“That's all you have to do. Just love yourself and you're set. And I promise you, it'll get better,” he said.

When asked if she had ever been bullied, Paige Jennings, a student at , replied, “Yes, it used to happen everyday. I was called ugly and other horrible things. I stopped showering and I stopped caring about anything.”           

Ms. Leopard, a counselor at , was asked about how counselors deal with bullies.

“Education is the most important tool we can give students, because most cases of bullying go unreported. Most incidences that are reported are a one-time issue, and not an actual case of bullying," she responded. "The school recognizes bullying as repeated, intentional and power-fueled behavior. is the most common among teenagers, and once again, adults usually have no idea it is going on.”

There are several reasons why a person would be bullied by his or her peers. Race, religion, sexual orientation and appearance seem to be the main reasons most students are bullied. Being laughed at, insulted or physically harmed because of who you are is too much for some people. Sometimes, a group of supportive friends is all it takes to make victims of bullying feel safer and more welcome, and that’s what some national groups are providing.

All across America, there are anti-bullying organizations whose goal it is to make schools more inviting places and to provide a supportive environment for students. These organizations include: The Safe School Coalition, The Gay-Straight Alliance, Operation Success and many more. One study in Oregon showed that school districts with a Gay-Straight Alliance branch had a teen suicide rate decrease of 20 percent. 

Many celebrities endorse anti-bullying campaigns around the world. One example of this is the "It Gets Better" campaign. This campaign is a YouTube sensation, and anyone from celebrities to regular people who have been bullied have submitted videos for it, including Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Bieber, Daniel Radcliffe, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Nicki Manaj, Katy Perry and many others, including President Barack Obama.

Companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Adobe Systems and Sony Pictures Entertainment have also entered videos. Regardless of how or why the individual is bullied, "It Gets Better" has helped many bullied youths to keep going and to realize that everything that might seem like a big deal now won’t last forever.

Another Woodland High School student, who would like to remain anonymous, was asked about her experiences with bullying.

“Don’t be afraid of who you are. Don’t look down on yourself for showing your true colors,” she replied, also expressing that she had not been personally bullied, but many of her friends have, and she had offered advice to her friends previously.

She is an example of what so many organizations have tried to encourage in students: acceptance, friendship and supportiveness.  

Bullying is a growing epidemic in the United States. It takes the combined efforts of the school staff and the students to make the school a more inviting and accepting place for every student. Although bullying has always been a problem, and will certainly not disappear any time soon, it might improve with the help of the few who have chosen to combat it.