Being a new student at Harwood Union High School has made me realize that bullying is bad everywhere- not just in one community- but in all. I hope to be able to bring the attention of my peers to the bullying that happens in OUR community and make it a better environment to be in.
In American schools, 19 % of high schoolers are bullied. 15% is cyber bullying, 13.4 % is people spreading rumors, and 5.2% is being excluded from activities.
This shows that bullying is taking over American schools. While bullies are most likely to go after a student who doesn’t have much money or to a vulnerable child. Bullying can happen to anyone of any race or popularity. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or how many friends you have, it can happen to anyone.
When you’re bullied, you constantly feel judged and on guard and you feel insecure. Being bullied doesn’t just affect how you see your body; it also affects your mental health. When being bullied your mental health decreases because you feel the social rejection, low self steam and it gives you severe social anxiety. A student at Harwood says she has been bullied since middle school and nothing has changed. This student says being bullied has affected her mental health in a negative way “it has changed the way I look at myself and how I see others see me.”
15% of Vermont students report cyber bullying in a 30 day period. Bullying on social media might be “fun” to some people but it can be a disastrous thing.
Principal Meg McDonough stated that “During the 23/24 school year there were 20 HHB (hazing, harassment, and bullying) investigations. Nine were substantiated by the school. In the 24/25 school year there were two cases of HHB and one was substantiated.” The decrease in the investigations were due to the choice of putting in the Yondr pouches.
One way that Harwood has been taking steps to prevent bullying is by enforcing Yondr pouches. In the 24/25 school year the school made it mandatory to put your phone in the yonder pouch instead of keeping it away. One of our very own, Pratt, says “I’ve noticed more students interacting since having students put their phones in the yonder pouches.” Since then, Pratt has seen a decrease in the bullying rates by the Yondr pouches being enforced. The decrease in the investigations were due to the choice of putting in the yondr pouches.
I hope from this story that more students will realize that bullying is a problem and it hurts people not just mentally but physically and emotionally and we all have the ability to stop any more people from getting hurt by bullying.
