Great articles and letters about problem of bullying

Aberdeen American News: Crack down on bullying
Published on Sunday, March 23, 2008
To the editor - Too many problems that children have are caused by bullying. Schools should have stricter rules for bullying.Bullying harms kids' mental health. A new study provides strong evidence that being bullied can cause depression and anxiety. The article, "Bullying Harms Kids Mental Health," updated Feb. 6, on msnbc.com, states that, "Among identical twin pairs in which one experienced bullying between the ages of 7 and 9 and the other did not, the bullied twin was more likely to have symptoms of internalizing problems at age 10, Dr. Louise Arsenault of King's College, London, and her colleagues found.

"According to the article "Bill would crack down on bullying statewide," updated Feb. 24, on bgdailynews.com, in 70 percent of school shootings and other violent incidents, bullying has played a major role. Between 1996 and 2003, 15 children were responsible for the wounding of 102 and the killing of 35 people. Also in the article "71 percent of pupils admit being a bully," updated Feb 24 on news.bbc.co.uk, of 3,000 secondary school pupils, 71.4 percent admitted to being a bully.

Bullying can also eventually lead to children committing suicide.

I realize that bullying is difficult to control, but with stricter rules, bullies might think twice about doing it again. Teachers are not going to see every time someone gets bullied, but when they do they should have strict punishments so that bullies might not do it again.

Amanda Schmidt
Roscoe

New York Times: A Boy the Bullies Love to Beat Up, Repeatedly

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.

All lank and bone, the boy stands at the corner with his younger sister, waiting for the yellow bus that takes them to their respective schools. He is Billy Wolfe, high school sophomore, struggling.
Moments earlier he left the sanctuary that is his home, passing those framed photographs of himself as a carefree child, back when he was 5. And now he is at the bus stop, wearing a baseball cap, vulnerable at 15.
A car the color of a school bus pulls up with a boy who tells his brother beside him that he’s going to beat up Billy Wolfe. While one records the assault with a cellphone camera, the other walks up to the oblivious Billy and punches him hard enough to leave a fist-size welt on his forehead.
The video shows Billy staggering, then dropping his book bag to fight back, lanky arms flailing. But the screams of his sister stop things cold.
The aggressor heads to school, to show friends the video of his Billy moment, while Billy heads home, again. It’s not yet 8 in the morning.
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