t - New York Civil Liberties Union

285
Union-Endicott
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wall. What could you do
besides report the incident?
Davis recommends that
witnesses reach out "to the
bullied student as a friend,
either during the bullying
("Come with me and we
can go hang out somewhere
else.") or later. Walk with
that person in-the- hall sc
[he or she] won't be alone
and vulnerable," he says. In relational bullying, a bully might leave someone out of the group.
"Bullies look for young
people who are isolated and without
friends. Every time you reach out in friendship
to someone who is left out, you make
that person safer."
All Together Now
As a victim or witness, you should learn
what your school's policies on bullying are.
Talk about them with your classmates,
teachers, and parents. State your concern if
you think policies need to be changed or
aren't being followed.
Every time you reach
out in friendship ...
you make that
person safer.
"I think schools need to have more peer
mediators," says Tyler, 12, of Coloma, Wis.
"I think bullies should not be allowed in
school until they agree to behave better,"
says Mikaela, 10, of Twin Lakes, Wis.
Anti-bullying laws are currently in place
in 15 states. And if yours isn't one of them?
Last spring, 15-year-old Caitlin Nolan
succeeded in getting such a law passed in
her home state of Tennessee. She did it by
contacting state legislators and persuading
them to sponsor an anti-bullying bill.
Anything you do that gets people E'
thinking and talking about bullying can be ~
a big help. For instance, you might consider ~
writing a letter about bullying to the editor¡
of a local or school newspaper. In Tucson, ~
Ariz., students at Ford Elementary SchoolID
wrote and performed plays about bullying.
They collected their performances on a
DVD. They have also written a book titled
Kids Talk About Bullying. Copies of the
book and the DVD have been sent to many
other schools in the Tucson area.
Students at some schools have started
their own anti-bullying clubs or "peace
programs." At Hillsboro High School in
Nashville, students wrote a pledge and urged
fellow students to sign it. In the pledge, the
young people promised not to mock or bully
those who acted, looked, dressed, or talked
differently from themselves.
Victims do not have to stand alone.
"[Being bullied] is one of the worst things
that has ever happened to me," said
Stephanie, 13, of Chicago. "I was scared all
the time. I didn't want to get out of bed in
the morning. I didn't want to go to school.
I would do anything I could to keep another
kid from having to go through that." GlI)
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Current Health 1 January 2006 21