Editorials

Say it to My Face

Dear Editor,

Cyber-bullying affects everyone. Some may say this is an exaggeration, but it is true. Nearly everyone is on the Internet. Disagree? Okay, but nearly everyone has a cell phone. Many forms of technology enable cyber-bullying. Not all, but many. I am not trying to blame technology, but it enables anonymity. People make fun of others because of their race, sexuality, and anything else a normal bully could say. The problem is it is inescapable. Schools do not realize the magnitude and threat of cyber-bullies and need to begin to crack down. Schools should punish kids for cyber-bullying.

First I’d like to inform you on what cyber-bullying is. It is the use of technology to harass someone. This wouldn’t just be like one time someone called you an idiot on Facebook. This would be the accumulation of many instances that would be considered cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying itself is not the only issue for schools. It is also the effects. If a child is cyber-bullied, their willingness to perform in school could decrease. Also, suppose a child decides to kill themselves because of this. The school would have to deal with therapy and other issues.

Kids that are cyber-bullied are targeted because of many things. Often it is because of race. That is a form of racism. If a teacher saw a student making fun of a student because of their race would they not stop and punish that student? Kids are also cyber-bullied because of a kid’s sexuality. Again, the same rule applies about making fun at school. Why would teachers or anybody else in a school not punish kids for cyber-bullying? This is going on in between two students. Even if cyber-bullying is outside of school it will be brought up in some way in school.

What can make some victims of cyber-bullying so scared is anonymity. Often kids don’t know who is on the other end of a conversation. By themselves, tracking down this person would be difficult. With the help of the school, the cyber-bullying can be monitored and maybe even tracked down. Obviously the child would need to be open to the school that they had been harassed, but the school could help them deal with that.

In conclusion, I hope you now realize the magnitude and effect cyber-bullying can have. Schools need to realize this also. I hope I have given you the knowledge to make a difference. Sincerely,

Thomas

Behind My Back

By: McKenna

If you look around today at all of the teenagers, it seems like all of their faces are glowing, except not with healthiness or joy. Instead, it’s the artificial light of their phone and computer screens.

Sadly most of the time the word “bullying” is an understatement for cyber-bullying, as it is more like harassment. Cyber-bullying is using technology to continually hassle someone online. No one tolerates bullying, especially schools. Schools should punish bullies that take advantage of technology.

The bullying seems to be spreading like an infectious disease, more and more kids are bullying, which results in additional kids becoming targets. According to the Cyber Bullying Research Center, one in five 11-18 year olds have been cyber-bullied. Just because it is usually girls that are tortured, doesn't mean that boys can't be victims themselves. 16.6% of boys have been terrorized, while the girls outdo the boys with 25.1% of them being tormented.

Cyber-bullying decreases the victim’s sense of self, and they are less willing to be themselves, or to do well in sports or school. Even though the bullying has become more or less innovative, the same rules are applied if you get caught, the worse the bullying, the worse your penalty. If a teacher or adult sees a kid getting bullied, it’s automatically reported. So, doesn’t that mean that schools should treat cyber-bullying the same as regular bullying? Then, if schools treat all kinds of bullying the same, shouldn't they punish cyber-bullies as well?

Being bullied through technology is upsetting, and can be destructive to a person’s ego. Not just because of the horrendous name-calling, but also because there are so many questions. Who is sending me this? Who else is seeing this? Why are they saying this about me? The worst thing about cyber-bullying is that individuals not directly involved in the bullying have no idea about what is true and what’s not. Once it is on the Internet, you have no control over who sees it. That is why virtual bullying is so effective.

New students, parents, and school members are joining together every day to help punish cyber-bullies.

**Cyber-Bullying-Serious Risk**

** by Stefany ** Imagine that you’re a student and you received a text message at school that included a bomb threat against the building, or you were being attacked by a //Facebook// slur that occurred on campus, while officials did nothing about it. What would you do?

Although some school officials have taken action some haven't. According to Jessica Bennett, prevention programs have reduced bullying as much as 50%. If all the schools had prevention programs, imagine how much safer the internet would be.

“Some bullying occurring off-campus is showing significant emotional harm to students on campus”, claims Nancy Wildred, from the Center for Safe, Responsible use of the internet. If this affects one student, that student usually takes the rage out on another student, and so on. Imagine all the lives that can be affected from one text-message.

“In Columbia,TN, two mothers were rewarded $100,000 in cyber-bullying lawsuit against the Wayne County Schools in June2008. The woman said their sons were humiliated in the locker room when they joined the boys’ basketball team as 7 graders.” reports Natalie DiBaslio in an article from U.S.A. Today. The humiliation was caused because kids were taking locker room pictures with their phone and posting the pictures on the internet. If this how much one case won on cyber-bullying, imagine all the money won all together!

Cyber-bullying is a threat to students and staff because it could harm both families and schools. Families are torn apart, schools shut down. What if this happened to you? What would you do? Officials should take serious actions to stop cyber-bulling.