Bullying

image via www.wikipedia.org

An African American teen in Washington State was awarded $100,000 from his school district for the years of racist and homophobic bullying he endured in middle school and high school. When he complained went to school officials, they did little, if anything, to help him.

Since the suicide of many bullied teens have been thrust into the media spotlight, bulling has been a major issue in recent years. Being bullied myself, I think this sets a great precedent for other school systems to do more to protect their students from this type of abuse.

Speaking personally, bullying leaves a lasting, negative impression on the individual and leads them to despair. I even attempted suicide myself in middle school because of constant harassment and bullying. I never reached out to anyone, not even school officials, because I didn't think they would care; however, now I wish that I did trust someone with the anguish I felt as a kid.

I think that this settlement is good because it shows that school officials should be held responsible for making sure their students are safe. If someone is telling them that they are being bullied, especially at the extent that this particular teen was bullied, they should  do whatever it takes to put a stop to it, even if it means punishing the bullies if they do not stop. If school officials choose to twiddle their thumbs on the subject, they should be punished as well.

Have you been bullied or witnessed someone being bullied? What did you do?