The Stand
A Guest Column by Breiale Martin, Shayla Baker and Azzuré McClain
Bullying occurs frequently in our community, and the effects of bullying impact all involved in a negative way. There are different types of bullying that can occur. These are cyber bullying, physical bullying, and verbal bullying.
Cyber bullying is bullying through the internet. Physical bullying is bullying someone through physical actions like hitting. Verbal bullying is when someone bullies others through words. Bullying can take place anywhere, in schools, homes, online and work places.
People bully because they’ve been put down before and want other people to feel the same pain. They may also bully because they do not like a certain person or are jealous of them. Bullies may feel that they will get attention if they bully others. They may think this attention will help them become popular. They may also think that hurting other people’s feelings will make them feel better.
Ways to stop bullying are to treat everyone with respect and don’t be a bystander. A bystander is someone who watches bullying happen and does not tell someone, which allows the bullying to continue. Another way to stop bullying is to tell an adult or someone older than you. An adult can be a teacher, a parent, siblings and family members.
In our schools, we can post sticky notes that say “stop bullying” or “be nice to each other.” We can also post posters around the school that say positive things in big words.
As a group, we came up with the idea of “Stop Light Bullying.” There are three colors: red, yellow and green.
Red means STOP! bullying.
Yellow means WARNING. Stop or I will tell an adult.
If the bullying does not stop, we go to green which means GO! tell an adult. We think that teachers should put it in their classrooms.
We read an example of bullying in “Sugar Plum Fairies: Plum Fantastic” by Whoopi Goldberg. The main character, Alexandrea, moves to Harlem, N.Y., from Apple Creek, Ga. Her mother enrolls her in dance classes.
At first, she is bullied because of her colorful costume. One of the dancers, Epatha, makes fun of Alex, but they soon become friends after Alex stands up for herself.
In conclusion, all people involved in bullying can be victims. This includes the person getting bullied, the bystander, and the bully. Bullying is bad because it hurts people’s feelings. No one should be bullied just because they are different. Keep in mind that everyone is different, not better or worse, just different.
This column was submitted by members of Pretty Girls Rock and their mentors.
For more on PGR, contact Zasha Moore at
(315) 373-3538 or pgrsyracusechapter@gmail.com
