Approximately 160,000 students nationwide miss school each day because they are afraid of being harassed. About seventy-five percent of students have been to a website that attacks another classmate. Twenty-eight percent of gaystudents drop out of school because of constant tormenting. “We have got to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal right of passage, that it’s some inevitable part of growing up, it’s not,” stated President Obama (White House Blog). Bullying has become a huge problem in society, and it’s time that this issue is addressed.
Some of the most recent bullying stories have been about homosexual students that are committing suicide over the harassment. Sophomore Samson St. James, an openly gay student at Edina, has been on the receiving end of bullying.
He has been called names like “fag” and “homo” and is treated differently by guys because “they think you automatically like them because you’re gay.” Regarding the recent suicides covered by the media, St. James said, “It’s not worth it,” and continued, “People are ignorant to pick on people because of their sexuality.”
Seeing and experiencing the effects of bullying has opened the eyes of two Edina students who wish to remain anonymous. Having a brother who was bullied for being gay has “made me more accepting [of gay people],” said one student. If he hadn’t had a brother who was gay, he said he would probably be less comfortable with it.
The other student, who is openly bisexual, said he tries not to judge people. “I never say ‘fag’ or ‘that’s so retarded’. When I hear people say ‘that’s so gay’, I make sure they know that ‘gay’ is not a synonym for ‘stupid’.”
Cyber bullying is another issue. It has caused numerous suicides in the past few years. Megan Meier took her own life at the young age of 13. After being led on via MySpace by a classmate’s mom (pretending to be a 16-year-old boy), she was later attacked in texts and MySpace messages.
“Bullying is definitely more aggressive on the internet,” said St. James. Sophomore Dova Barnes, a victim of online bullying mentioned, “It’s so easy to hide your identity online.”
Whether online or in the hall, it’s our responsibility to make sure bullying of any kind is not part of normal behavior.
