Today’s stories

Don’t forget to read my latest column on school bullying in light of the Phoebe Prince tragedy, and be sure to read my ASUA meeting report and “Everyone has a Story” segment in tomorrow’s paper.

A machine…

I’m feeling like kind of a machine this week! I had one news story in today’s Wildcat and have two news stories and an opinions column in tomorrow’s paper. I’m signed up to have nine stories total this week! I love every moment of it, so there are absolutely no objections on my part.

With that, expect five news stories and two columns from me this week.

Today, I wrote about residence hall evictions, and that article can be found in the lower post if you scroll down, and it’s also in the “Published Work” section. I have a feeling you’ll all appreciate my two science-related news stories in tomorrow’s paper!

Tomorrow’s column is about the possible Male Studies program that scholars are trying to establish. I’m all for a Male Studies program, as much as men sometimes drive me off the wall (I am sure I have the same effect on them at times as well).

I’ve written another column about the new anti-bullying measures that the state of Massachusetts House has taken in response to the bully-provoked suicide of Phoebe Prince this past January.

I’m absolutely disgusted and angered that it took our country this long to understand that bullying is such a serious problem in our society. Why in God’s name did it take multiple suicides and so much emotional abuse for government officials and school administrators to wise up and take a hint?

As I keep saying, I’m beyond furious, and I’m not sure this blog post can do justice to the rage I’m feeling about this particular issue. Bullying has been a problem for such a long time now, and it’s taken so many unnecessary deaths and instances of psychological damage for anyone to realize how problematic the situation truly is.

I can go on forever on the subject, especially since I was bullied a lot in junior high and elementary school. Thank God there was no Facebook or MySpace while I was getting picked on. Kids can be absolutely vicious and evil, and they don’t always know better. For example, I don’t really blame the “mean girls/boys” of my grade for harassing me. Some of them were just going through a lot of changes and were clearly insecure and unhappy with their own lives. It was the school’s fault for allowing such abuse towards other students to continue, and I think that this particular institution should be embarrassed and ashamed for letting this kind of thing slide in light of all the recent harassment-sparked suicides.

Now that students are killing themselves as a result of too much bullying, schools are finally seeing that bullies truly do shatter the lives of their victims.

It’s too late, however. Sure, maybe this bill will save people in the future, but what about poor Phoebe Prince, Megan Meier, and other children who took their own lives because their schools weren’t competent enough to enforce anti-bullying policies?

My column on all this will be out later this week, but I feel compelled to express my feelings on the topic beforehand.

This sort of thing makes me absolutely relieved that I am not a parent right now. God willing, there will be strong anti-bullying bills in all states by the time I start a family and send my own kids off to school. I do not want my future family to endure harassment simply because their school administrators don’t understand the grave, deadly effects of being bullied. I’m lucky I got through it all and turned out fairly OK and happier than ever, but what if I hadn’t been resilient? What if I’d been Phoebe Prince?

As I keep saying, I’m totally appalled that it took the United States this long to see such an obvious problem in our culture.

Justice may be served…or not.

Six teenagers and three students have finally been charged in connection with the suicide of Phoebe Prince, according to the Boston Globe. In case you didn’t read my January opinions column on the suicide of Miss Prince, she was a 15-year-old Irish immigrant who was relentlessly bullied at South Hadley High School in western Massachusetts. Prince took her own life in the aftermath of severe harassment and cyber bullying.

It seems as if the state of Massachusetts has really begun taking bullying seriously. The Massachusetts House just approved a bill “to curtail bullying in schools and in cyberspace, mirroring similar legislation passed last week by the Senate” .

“This bill aims to secure our students from bullying, both during the school day and after school hours,’’ House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said in a statement. “In light of recent tragedies, the House has taken the appropriate steps to protect our students from the terror of bullying and cyber-bullying.’’

I’m proud to see the changes being made in Massachusetts to combat the horrendous emotional abuse that results from bullying, but I’m highly disappointed that it took this country so long to finally recognize the gravity of harassment. It should not have taken Prince’s suicide for our nation to take action and pass bullying prevention bills. Look out for a column about this. I’m furious.

Bullying now a serious issue.

After the cyber bully sparked suicides of Megan Meier and Phoebe Prince, it seems that the media and schools alike are finally starting to take harassment seriously, or it’s at least being recognized as it should.

Yahoo recently reported on a study about why certain kids are picked on, and Phoebe Prince’s suicide resulted in a call for the school administration’s resignation.

I’d like to conclude that technology is the reason why so everyone is more aware of teasing and harassment. As someone who was relentlessly bullied in junior high, I know that schools have been known to take a blind eye to bullying, and I never appreciated such apathy. Though I was harassed via AOL Instant Messenger in 8th grade, I am old and privileged enough to have basically missed the age of cyber bullying, which is pervasive for today’s junior high and high school students.

Cyber bullying has shown adults that teasing is a serious issue. With cyber harassment, bullies are now able to menace their victims 24/7. Students cannot go home and feel relieved to be away from their tormentors. There’s no longer a safe haven for the bullied, so of course they’re going to turn to suicide and other drastic measures.

I’m hoping that this semi-new phenomenon will influence school officials to enforce harsher punishment on mean kids. These harassers have been getting away with this unacceptable behavior for far too long, and they’ve destroyed self esteems, lives, and futures for the innocent. It’s time that they finally learn that mistreating others is not okay and will not be tolerated.