The Student Literary Magazine launches every Tuesday with a new entry featuring articles, essays, poems, short stories, and illustrations by Primavera students.

“Bullying”

by Kortney Pickering

Do you like someone calling you names? Tripping you in the hallways? Do you like people spreading rumors about you? Posting things about you on the internet, therefore making many people around the world known to what they are saying? No? Well then you don’t like being bullied. About 29% of students in high school get bullied in some way, either at school or online. Many laws and school rules have been set into effect, but yet there are still many students who are still bullied. Some get overwhelmed with it and some commit suicide. Which side are you on – do you bully people in your school, or do you try to stop it?

Going to school is something that every teenager either enjoys or dreads. They enjoy going to see their friends, getting away from the house, learning new things each and joining in with the extra-curricular activities. Then there are the students who dread going to school. They somehow always seem to be sick, fight with their parents about going to school or just simply ask not to go. Do ever think that something is wrong with them? Maybe there’s a reason that these students don’t want to go; it’s possible that they are bullied at school. Many students are bullied in many different ways; maybe they are getting called names like fat, slut, gay. Students bully other students simply because they think it’s funny or because that person did something to them. It is not at all funny or okay to bully a person for any reason.

Getting on the internet is fun, as is talking to your friends on social websites like facebook or twitter, taking pictures with friends and of yourself and putting them up for many people to see and to comment on. Then there is the negative side to the internet, where people can just say whatever they want to bring another person down, like writing disparaging names all over their page. This behavior is called verbal abuse or online bullying. Just because you are not calling someone these names to their face, you are still causing harm to them. There are now laws that help with the online bullying situations, but people still engage in this cruel behavior.

Bullying affects many people, and in many different ways; some people rise above it and don’t let the people bring them down. O5hers can’t handle it and find other ways to cope with the fact that they get bullied every day. Some try to commit suicide, cut themselves, drink, or do drugs. It helps that there are laws that prohibit online bullying and that principals and teachers set strict rules regarding bullying. However, there is still much to be done if bullying is to stop altogether.

Bullying is something that should not be tolerated. If you see someone bullying someone; say something and stop them. You never know when speaking out might just save another person’s life in more than one way. Bullying is disrespectful to the bullied person, to their family, and to everyone who is around. Causing harm to someone and making them feel bad about themselves is not funny, it’s definitely not okay, and the people who engage in this behavior should get punished. Enforcing the laws regarding bullying quite simply saves lives.