Don’t be a bystander!

A student gets shoved in the hallway and you just stand there. You want to stick up for the kid, but you don’t want the bully coming after you next.

Bullying is a huge issue all around the world, more importantly at our school. On a daily basis, just during my transition to classes, I see around two to three students get pushed or shoved in the halls. Most of the time not in a playful way. Bullying is a major concern and more could be done to solve this matter.

Bullying is forcing or intimidating one or more people more than just one time. Many students are too afraid to stand up for themselves, let alone another student. This could be changed with a little bit of work.

First off, adults and students should give more empathy to the victims. Sometimes, that student feels they are treated no differently than the bully. This should be changed. No student should have the same consequence, or possibly more, for defending him or herself because another student decided over a span of a few days, or weeks, to just to keep coming after that other pupil.

For example, student A is walking through the halls when student B proceeds to start hitting him. Student A hits back to defend himself and get away. Both students typically serve equal time with in school suspension, for putting their hands on each other. In this example student B initiated physical contact, and justice would have been served better with a more severe consequence. Whereas, student A felt he or she was only defending himself or herself in human nature.

Fighting back to a bully means you’re an equal participant. Whereas, defending yourself means that you will do whatever it takes to stop the bully from having the chance to hurt you more. To be realistic, it is human nature to defend yourself against someone who is coming after you. Especially if they keep coming after you a repeated number of times.

If a student happens to fight back with the bully, then that student should also be punished. But, if a student is just defending him or herself there should be no punishment. That student did what they had to do to get out of the situation, in most cases.

Another thing that should be fixed with bullying in our school is standing up and reaching out. Many students are too afraid to stand up for another peer, or tell an adult or teacher. There should be more emphasis on standing up and reaching out. Even if a student tells an adult quietly, anything could help. If it means saving a child from getting hurt or worse, students need to know it’s ok to tell an adult. Students and advisers at our school should have a pep rally or speech at the school so students understand it’s ok to tell an adult. So, if you are walking through the halls and you see a case of bullying, reach out and tell an adult.