GALWAY – Bullying is a huge issue that not everyone addresses. It’s even right here in our hometown, Galway. I have interviewed administration, teachers, parents, and students; most of which don’t know how much severe bullying occurs. It is said that in our years at school 77% of students are bullied, and 18% don’t want to worry their parents with it. Out of the 77%, about 43% of the bullying occurs online at all of our social media centers, while only 14% is physical. Only about 1 out of 5 kids bullied will admit that they were bullied.

Another issue is the bystanders. Bystanders are witnesses that view the bullying. Over half of bystanders don’t step in and help, most just watch it occur. When it comes to physical violence only 4% of teachers step in to help. Also 10% of kids drop out of high school due to bullying.

Out of the 25 people I interviewed for this article, only 5 reported they were ever bullied. Bullying can lead to many things such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and lower GPAs. It’s also proven that the kids who bully have issues at home, do drugs, drink, or engage in sexual activities.

After interviewing students and teachers I found out that they all agree that bullying is a huge issue and something needs to be done about it. Teachers want to start a program similar to our fire prevention assembly. The school is working on this right now and working to fund the project. Most people are also not sure how much bullying occurs and what the school does for it, so I interviewed administration.  Each bullying case that they encounter is addresses individually. They found sticking both students in a room doesn’t help much. After they know the situation, they start to discuss consequences. The consequences are based on how badly the code of conduct was broken. To stay up to date with the latest things, they do a lot of research and go to many conferences.

The school would like for everyone to treat each other with respect and end this constant battle of bullying. During the week of November 17- 23, stand up for one another, wear the color purple, wear a ribbon on your wrist, anything to show you care for and support those who are bullied!