Students Fight Back Against Bullying

October 29, 2010
Filed under News

Although the issue is nothing new, the age-old conflict of bullying has become a national topic of conversation in recent weeks. After several suicides, the topic has sparked a You Tube video campaign and even a Presidential speech.

President Obama addressed the nation and with a message to teens that they are not alone. In his speech he specifically addressed bullying:”You are not alone. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything to deserve being bullied.”

The message is clear: bullying is not okay and there are resources for anyone being bullied.

“If you’re being bullied, you don’t have to put up with it. Report it to your assistant principal so they can take care of it,” Counselor, Carolyn McLemore said.

Even though anti-bullying is more advertised now, many students suffered from it through the years.

“When I was in the fourth grade, people bullied me by making fun of the freckles on my face,” Senior, Megan Deats said.

With the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, cyber bullying is a negative trend that has grown.

“I think cyber bullying just proves how much of a coward the bully really is, since they won’t say the things in person,” Senior, Brianna Colvin said.

Since bullying has been on the news a lot lately, people seem to be getting ideas on how it can be stopped.

“I always try to stand up for people. It shows that it really is cool to be nice,” Senior, Raelynn Cockrell said.

Others have their own ideas on how to end the bullying tirades.

“I would try and tell people how it affects other’s lives, and show them what the kids being bullied go through,” Senior, Sarah Lannin said.

Everyone takes bullying differently, but some people try to turn it around and make it positive.

“Kids used to say really rude things to me. After a while, I didn’t really care what they said about me, so I just started being myself,” Junior, Ryleigh Hopcroft said.

Though not easy to deal with, some students think it may have changed them for the better.

“I do have to say it has made me a stronger person,” Cockrell said.