Standing up to school bullying

Newsday's schools page recently invited Long Island's K-12 students to participate in a new occasional feature called "Students Sound Off!" that allows them to respond to various topical issues impacting school communities. Below is a selection of responses we received on the topic of bullying.

Elliot Greenfield,

senior,

Half Hollow Hills

High School East, Dix Hills

Since I was a young boy, I was very interested in activities such as music and acting. Many of my fellow peers would taunt me for it. . . . It's really hard to grow up constantly being bullied by kids whom you have done no wrong to. On May 29, 2009, I was a victim of a vicious cyber-bullying situation. A website spread to the 1,750 students in my school which targeted only nine kids. I was one of those nine students. As I walked to my eighth period class, I heard people talking about me in the halls. . . . When I finally saw the website there was a big picture of me with my name in big bold letters and the phrase, "does anyone think he's straight?" When I first saw it my heart stopped. I knew deep down that I have never been a bully or been a mean person, so I didn't know why I deserved it. . . . It was a terrible situation, and I knew that I didn't want anyone else to suffer through it as well. I started an interactive program in my school, which was presented during the freshman orientation. It taught students the personal and legal consequences of bullying and cyber-bullying. I truly hope that my story prevents anyone from making the bad decision to bully someone in the future.

Juliana Overbeck,

eighth grade,

Plainview-Old Bethpage

Middle School

"Nobody deserves to be bullied. . . . It's tragic to have someone complain about going to school because they are afraid of being bullied. The bullies in these situations should have severe consequences. Dr. Seuss said: 'Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.' I feel this quote [applies] to bullying because the people who make fun of you shouldn't matter in your life. The ones who accept you for who you are, are the ones who deserve to be in your life! Everyone deserves to be who they are and everyone else should be respectful and support everyone else's characteristics."

Anna Rath,

third grade,

Marion Street Elementary

School in Lynbrook

"Since the first grade there have been days I have been bullied. Now I am in third grade. There are many types of bullying. I have been bullied in many different ways. Bullying impacts my life by making me upset, scaring me and making me feel uncomfortable. I feel so uncomfortable that I don't want to go to school, but I love school. After school is over and my parents pick me up I can't wait to get home. When I get home I play with my kitten to comfort me. I think parents should talk to their children daily about bullying. I think they should teach their children how to stand up to bullies and how to prevent turning themselves into bullies. I think something really should be done about bullying."

Zoe Recchion,

freshman,

Westhampton Beach

High School

"Words . . . cause emotional harm that can become very serious and it lasts much longer than a black eye or a bloody nose. Words that have been used in bullying make teens feel uncomfortable or insecure. . . . School is for kids to come, learn and feel safe, [but] not anymore. Kids wake up every morning with that fearful knot in the bottom of their stomachs because they do not want to go to school and have to put up with some stronger or bigger kid bullying them. . . . There is so much more to bullying besides the traditional bully, there is cyber bullying. Now, kids aren't just getting bullied in the locker rooms, on the bus or in school, now when they go home, they get bullied over words. . . . When I was younger, I was always bullied over the littlest things, about the things I owned and the clothes I wore. I hate seeing other kids get bullied and I know how they feel. It's a horrible feeling, it hurts inside and you're afraid to tell anyone or spill out your feelings."

Jon Scully,

eighth grade,

Plainview-Old Bethpage

Middle School

"Bullying needs to end now! . . . Bullying has a big effect on a lot of people, including myself. I got bullied from fifth grade to seventh grade, and it got to the point where I was going to transfer schools. I believe that any form of bullying at all in any school should be an automatic suspension. I believe that there also has to be less bystanders who just watch, and more upstanders who make an action to stop bullying. I believe if we do something about bullying it can, and will, be stopped."

Brooke Warner,

fourth grade,

Shaw Avenue Elementary

School in Valley Stream

"I think that kids should not stand to be bullied and they should tell the teacher if their friend or they were being bullied. But it's not the same as tattletaling, which is when someone does something really little and harmless and they tell the teacher. Bullying is different and you need to tell the teacher. The teachers should give the bullies a punishment like make them stay in for recess or detention for like a week or a few days and they should write 'I will not bully' a lot of times. Hopefully people will learn their lesson and not bully."