See it, report it, stop it
By Lee Coleman
October is anti-bullying month and, as technological advances continue to spring up, cyber bullying has become one of the big issues surrounding bullying for today’s young people.
“One of the messages we give students is the fear of bullying on the Internet,” said Hazen High Principal Matt Norby. “A person can’t see the faces or the emotions of someone that is being bullied. They can say it or text it and there isn’t any immediate repercussions.”
The problem, Norby suggested, is the ability of the bully to do it without fear.
“They can’t see the people, so I think that has become a major issue,” he said. “We encourage kids to think about how you are going to make a person feel before you write anything. Just because you’re not saying it face to face doesn’t mean it doesn’t have consequences.
“Once something goes out on the web, it is there forever.”
Norby said cyber bullies are likely to get caught.
“A lot of people will see it, therefore the Internet is not a safe place to bully,” he said.
Hazen High has a policy that deals with in-house bullying and also with bullying done outside of the school.
