A regular student goes to school with nothing to worry about except the normal stuff like whether they did their homework or who they are going to sit with at lunch. But a freshman who wished to remain anonymous for fear of further harassment says, “I wake up dreading the school day. I have to worry about what they may do to me if I even look their way.”  This is reality for a few students at Chapin High School.

The bullying varies from victim to victim from day-to-day.  Sometimes bullies stick to basic verbal abuse: gossip, name calling, threats. Other times the attacks are physical: shoving, tripping, hitting.   Now, thanks to modern technology bullying has moved into the virtual world and the attacks are just as relentless. 

Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are being used not only for social networking but also for cyberbullying. 75 percent of teenagers have visited a site purposely intending to “bash” another student. 

South Park, a satire, aired an episode called “Ginger Kids” during their 2005 season.  Some viewers who did not get the real message of the episode, which was to not pick on people who are different, decided to start a Kick a Ginger Day.  The idea took off.

People were using Facebook and Twitter to post their attacks. Many people videotaped the assaults and put them on Youtube.  For several days in November 2005, fair-skinned red-headed kids were terrorized across the country and Canada (where the practice is more widespread).  Countless children reported being kicked repeatedly. One female student reported being cornered in the bathroom and kick countless times. The event is so out of control the 14-year old girl who is listed as the admin on the group’s Facebook page is being investigated for inciting hate crimes.

Girls are twice as likely to be cyberbullied as boys and, ironically, are most likely to start the bullying.

Researchers have found a rising trend in both types of bullying.  Some reports have estimated that nearly 77 percent of 6th-12th graders have either been bullied or been a bully.  Most of the time the parents go to the school to find help for the children, but there is little that can be done without direct evidence. Sometimes the parental intervention leads to more harassment for the student involved until the student feels they have no way out but suicide.

“I have thought that maybe it would be better if I was gone, because it seems that when you’re gone people start listening. Even moving schools didn’t change the way I am. Of course I knew that I was just hoping that maybe it was just the people at that school,” says a student who transferred from another school to escape the daily torment.

Bullying is abuse. It is not just a high school ritual that some students should just endure.  If a student feels they are being bullied or has witnessed bullying, there is help available.  Contact a teacher, a guidance counselor, or any authority figure they trust. They don’t have to suffer in silence.