Hazel’s Anti Bullying Campaign-

 Does it have teeth or is it simply lip Service?

By: Natalie Lum-Tai, Staff writer

         As Christmas break approached and went, we students here at Hazel have now gone through 12 weeks of participation in the ‘anti-bullying campaign’, and I, for one am questioning its effectiveness. Every cycle, on a day 3, the grade eights file into the gym for an assembly, some of which have been solely dedicated to learning about how to deal with bullying and how to tell if you are the bully. However, 30 minutes later, the period 1 bell rings and students start the day, probably already thinking about what they’ll be eating for lunch, leaving the gym unchanged, and indifferent. Do I agree with the message that the administration is trying to get out? Definitely. But what’s the point in teaching this when no visible changes are being made out there, in the halls and in the yard… where it counts?

          In these assemblies, we’ve been watching movies that are unrealistic to us, so they’re not being taken seriously. We understand the severity of an arrest, and yet this is still not discouraging the sexual, verbal, and physical harassment that goes on in the schoolyard. What we, the students, need is a different approach in order for there to be any sort of connection or understanding. Simply put, chants and bulletin boards are not going to stop the bullying.

          Now, since 'yawping' isn’t about ranting and complaining at everyone or everything, I have to enlighten you with my very own suggestions. I think that hearing about life stories would affect us the most and would give us that connection that is lacking. It’s important that we realize that bullying is not “regular behaviour”, that students have to deal with. Everyone of us has a right to be safe at school. It would be a wake up call, forcing us to stop convincing ourselves that bullying is not an issue, and to see it as a reality. We need to know exactly how much damage it causes, and how much it hurts.  Something as simple as facts and stats would help us to understand how serious this problem is and is going to become…unless we kids put a stop to it.

The problem of Bullying is not given nearly enough attention, considering it deals with children’s’ lives, but luckily Hazel McCallion has taken it upon themselves to do something about it. We just haven’t gone about it the right way.        

          Speaking as a teen, I can say that we are often disbelieving and hard to convince. We want clear-cut answers, reasons, and proof. Here it is. One out of every three children is a victim to bullying. More than 60% of all suicides occur to people that are suffering from depression, one of the many effects of bullying. Suicide among teenagers has tripled since the 1950’s. Bullied students are 5 times more likely to develop depression according to an English study, published in 1998. 11-year-old Brandon hung himself October of 2000, after a lifetime of bullying directed at his Caucasian and Afro-American heritage. Suicide was an escape from the painful taunts and the physical abuse of his schoolmates.

                                                                                                         

 To Her

                                    The day was warm.
                                   But there was no sun.
                               The day was there.
     But there was no one in it. 

       She sat there, alone in the darkness of her own world.
People passing, seeing but not caring.
Hearts cold as a flame that will never be.
Not seeing or caring. 

Awoken by the sound of her tears,
In a place where the pain has silently slid away.
The tears have ended, the pain has gone.
  No one’s seeing anymore, there only knowing. 

Body numb.
                              Can’t feel them seeing, or not caring.
                                     Her world is no more.
                                  Just a book filled with priceless words. 

                             By Jamie Boulanger     

We can’t afford to be silent or protect the students from a harsh reality, when NOT knowing is what is preventing us from a change that this campaign strives for; to stop the bullying so that we, as a society, student population, and school, can begin to heal. We must evaluate the strength of the current anti bullying messages we are sending out at Hazel. We need to give the anti bullying program some teeth complete with some real facts, stories and scenarios. Please don’t just let it be unrealistic staged movies and a set of chants and slogans that offer us no ‘realistic’ solutions.