Recognizing Suicide & Bullying Prevention Month: Acting in Kindness
Photographs in collage by Truth Frazier.
Truth Frazier
More than 30% of students across the world experience bullying online and at school. Looking closer, over 13 million American students experience bullying every day. Look even closer and we can see that just last year, over 21% of Wisconsin students were bullied every day that they attended school. And to put it all into perspective, only 36% of Hamilton High School students say that they feel as if they belong according to the Panorama survey last year.
To prevent bullying, administrators and students must understand the definition and meaning of bullying. By definition, the term ‘bully’ means to “seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce.” This can mean to physically harm someone like a shove or a hit, verbally assault a person by calling them negative things, or even mentally harm someone by bullying them repeatedly.
When bullying doesn’t happen to you, it seems like something so small and distant, when in reality, it is right in front of you every day you attend high school. A survey sent out to Hamilton High School students on the 1st of October showed eye opening and negative results. More than 68% of students surveyed (out of the total of 124 students) say that they have seen, heard, or first hand witnessed another student experience bullying. One student wrote that “people can be very disrespectful to the point where I don’t feel safe mentally going to school.” Another student who responded to the survey stated, “It's easy for people to judge, and if you get noticed by ‘popular kids’ it's never for a good reason.”
The long and short term effects can heavily impact someone’s life or even end it. 22% of American students say that they have had suicidal thoughts and over 18% of Wisconsin students report that they have seriously considered suicide. Alike to bullying, suicide and the thoughts that come with/before it–it doesn’t seem serious until it’s right in front of you. The things that cause suicidal idealations & thoughts are feeling left out, uncomfortable, and out of place. These are the exact things many Hamilton students are reporting they feel and go through.
As an educational community, kids shouldn’t have to feel like they can’t wear this or do that—they should be able to be themselves without knowing the feeling of judgment. “There is no chance for someone to go through one day without at least one person being rude. The staff see it, but don't do anything other than a slap on the wrist,” is what a student responded when asked if they felt like they could go about their day without being judged. This example is just one of many where kids say that when it comes to their race, sexuality, weight, even their height–they get bullied for being the person they simply are.
Over half of those kids who wrote a written response say that bystanders don’t give enough of an effort to stop the bullying they see. Although standing up for others or even yourself can seem difficult or scary, there are many ways to do so with or without directly talking to the bully. From a student perspective, Hamilton has a big problem if students perceive that contacting a staff member seems pointless; this is something we need to change. The fact that students barely trust their own peers is something equally concerning that needs to be addressed.
As a student body, victims of past bullying or even those who experience those things now, and bullies themselves need to learn to simply be kind. It takes nothing more than a small compliment, smile, or even holding the door open to make a student realize that they have welcoming and kind people in their life. However, it takes repeated offensive comments and actions to make someone feel like they can’t even walk into Hamilton or like they don’t deserve to live.
Bullying is a serious issue everywhere across the world, in America, and in Hamilton High School. Being scared to go to school and be yourself should not be the reality for as many Hamilton students as it is now, and we need to change that. Think about what you can do to make someone’s day better if they are getting bullied, and in honor of Suicide & Bullying prevention month—be kind.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
