Some say schools not doing enough to address bullying

By Julian Routh

*Bullying. There are so many facets to this word that it can't be effectively defined. Some say it's repetitive torture. Some say it's an imbalance of power. But no matter the constraints, the word is strongly connected to a feeling of terror. For some, it brings back memories of fear; a time when someone made them dread going to school. For others, it coincides with overwhelming guilt; a time when they caused others emotional distress, all to feel more powerful. The word has been linked to everything from suicides to problems in the NFL locker room, and in a perfect world, would not have to be such a prominent problem. But what is the problem, and how do we stop it?*
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on Sept. 10, the town of Lakeland in central Florida was silent. 

Early that morning, 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick jumped to her death from the top of an abandoned concrete plant. It was ruled a suicide, and the cause: Rebecca was repeatedly bullied and stalked by a 14-year-old classmate. 

Statistics from stopbullying.gov

Sedwick's suicide, tragic and unexpected, is just a single facet of an alarming statistic. A Yale University study revealed that victims of bullying are between two to nine times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims.  

It's even more alarming, given the nearly 160,000 children that stay home from school every day because they are afraid of being bullied. Alarming, given the nearly 30 percent of students that are victims of bullying or the bullies themselves. 

But what is it about these 160,000 children that makes them different from the rest? Junior physical therapy major Katie Auwaerter said the bullies go after the classmates who are "easy targets."

"The bullies usually choose the kids who won't fight back, physically or verbally," Auwaerter said. "Bullies do what they do because it makes them feel powerful, so if they have to work for it, it won't be as satisfying."

There is another similarity among the 160,000 children who live in constant fear: Every day, from early morning to afternoon, they are under the same roof alongside their bullies. 

The answer to the problem clearly resides in the American school system, and some think the schools could do more to prevent bullying and raise awareness for anti-bullying efforts. 

"I think part of the problem is the issue is not addressed enough to begin with," sophomore psychology major Kathleen Kerr said.

Sophomore biochemistry major Zach Kelley noticed this firsthand at his high school. In his junior year, a female classmate of his committed suicide because she was bullied. Instead of addressing the situation, the school "tried to hush it and move on."

"They barely even put anything in the yearbook [in commemoration of] her," Kelley said. "I think schools like to pretend that they prevent [bullying] but don't really know what to do when it happens."

This startling notion is brought up in filmmaker Marta Cunningham's Valentine Road, a documentary that aired on HBO as part of National Bullying Prevention Month in October. The film tells the story of Larry King, an effeminate 14-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a classmate during class. 



King's school, however, refused to put up a tree in his memorial after the murder. Although Cunningham could not comment on the school's efforts in memorializing Larry, she said the school could have done things differently in the time leading up to his murder. 

"I think that it started out as something that could have been probably prevented had the school been more aware of the progressive techniques with bullying issues," Cunningham said

But what are these techniques, and where are they hiding? Cunningham said the services are there, but schools have not pursued them. 

"I think you have to reach out to different non-for-profits and organizations that have been around for a very long time," Cunningham said. "There are places that exist that are here to help and we need to utilize them."

Pittsburgh is home to one of the most innovative anti-bullying awareness efforts in the country: Josh and Gab. The duo, made up of local musician Josh Verbanets and comedian Gab Bonesso, bring their anti-bullying comedy rock-and-roll show to schools all around the city. 

"I feel that Josh and Gab were quite effective in spreading an anti bullying message in a unique and creative way," said Bob Raffaele, an AP U.S. History teacher at Elizabeth Forward High School, where the duo performed. "Their show was very interactive with our students."

Verbanets, who has noticed the climate of anti-bullying awareness in his over 90 performances this fall with Bonesso, said he believes kids are informed from a very young age about the dangers of bullying.

"We find that more than half of our schools do seem really aware of real bullying issues," Verbanets said.