Running Head: ANTI-BULLYING CAMPAIGNS

Anti-Bullying Campaigns
Dana J. Hernandez
University of Texas at El Paso
Professor Kinley
English 1302: Rhetoric and Composition

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Abstract
Bullying is a destructive behavior that has shattered thousands of lives for years. It can be
done in several forms, physically, verbally, mentally and emotionally. Bullying take control of
their victim, keeping them held under their shadow for months, sometimes even years. With this
issue rapidly progressing within schools, state and the education system have begun to fight
back. By implementing prevention programs and laws, the goal in mind is to decrease the further
growth of bullying. There are several intentions that follow laws and programs: bringing
awareness, the effects it has on a student and enforcing strict formal disciplines for the bully.
With the support from administration, parents and other outside parties, these prevention
programs and laws have made progress in being put into practice. However, implementation is
the most important step in bringing an end to bullying, its success will be determined by the
effectiveness it has on the students, school and community.

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Review of Literature

Students all across the country have faced the issue of bullying day in and day
out for years. For the first eighteen years of a childs life, their time is fully devoted to attending
school in order to obtain an education. With most of their time being spent on school campus, it
is very common for more than one to become a victim of bullying. Bullying prevention programs
have become a serious issue among schools around the nation. Students of all ages are constantly
being bombarded with the idea of maintaining bully free zones, but how effective are these
programs? Are they preventing further bullying or advancing its evolution. There are several
characteristics that are most commonly targeted by bullies: glasses, over or underweight,
different race or religion, obtaining a disability or having a different socioeconomic background.
Not only this but as the world has evolved with technology, so has bullying. With children
spending most of their day at school then returning home and logging on to electronic devices
with internet, children are constantly walking into a place of vulnerability. Bullies are no longer
limited to the sanction of school walls, now they have the capability of following their victim
home. This literature review will then investigate how schools and state laws are working
together to prevent bullying. Along with this it will measure how effective these anti-bullying
programs and laws are. In order to obtain reliable information, the following questions will be
asked:
How are teachers trained to deal with bullying?
Are anti bullying curriculums effective?
What laws and regulations are being implemented to address bullying cases?
How are schools and anti bullying laws working together to help stop bullying?

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Investigating and answering these questions will help display the action being taking to end
bullying and how proficient these steps are. However, assessing and attempting to resolve current
problems may help with future cases of bullying as well as maintaining students safety.
How are teachers trained to deal with bullying?
For students, school is similar to a second home; it is the place where they exercise and
develop skills such as public speaking, working with others, working independently, how to
be a well rounded person, and several other life skills. This is also the place where they find
their talents; they seek out their passion and learn their limits, with so much of their early
years being spent at school, it is very easy to have those skills and talents be turned against
them. It is very important that those, such as teachers and administration are doing everything
in their power to keep these children safe. Bullying can make or break a child; parents can
help bring awareness to the bullying but what happens with the child is sent to school the
next day. The schools have an obligation to ensure that they are supplying their
administration with the proper training and tools needed to maintain safety. Every school is
different, with a variety of anti- bullying programs; it can be very difficult to narrow down
how each school is trained. One of the most commonly practiced bullying prevention
programs is Olweus, in which the local Socorro Independent School District of El Paso,
Texas has implemented within their schools. In order to train teachers and administration,
they provide a two day seminar where administration is taught bullying behaviors, the
impact it has on students, the importance of prevention and intervention, strategies to address
these cases and how to be a bullying expert. For teachers and other staff, they are trained to
know of policies, procedures, and how to implement Olweus prevention activities into their
classroom. Schools are also advised to conduct several meetings for administration and

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teaching staff to discuss how influential the programs are. Schools must understand the
importance they have in a students life and the difference they can make by enforcing the
material taught in the trainings. Olweus is not the only source of bullying prevention
programs, there are in fact several websites that can help provide tips in creating a safe and
well prepared environment for victims of bullying. Principals overall are most key in
maintaining a bully free school, the training and enforcement of bullying programs are what
help teachers keep students safe. Bullying Prevention: 5 Tips for Teachers, Principals and
Parents gave five insightful tips for principals to practice within their campus: practice what
you preach, assess the real problem, develop a school wide conduct, increase adult
supervision and conduct bullying prevention programs. Principals are the ones who set the
standard of a bully free environment. If they fail to provide the right training for their staff
and do not bother to enforce regulations, the student is left with limited support. With
teachers being the second line of defense, the article also gave five helpful tips for teachers to
prevent and decrease bullying among their classroom. It advised teachers to know their
schools district polices, treat students and staff with respect, conduct classroom curriculum
around bullying, and discuss bullying with other staff members and take immediate action.
Though principals enforce policies, teachers are the ones students interact with throughout
the week. These two important roles must work together in maintaining these programs and
continuously enforcing regulations.
Are anti bullying curriculums effective?
In order to gain a real life experience of bullying curriculums within schools, an
interview was conducted with fifteen year old Victoria Hernandez who is currently a freshman at
a local school here in El Paso. When asked about her history with bullies, Hernandez stated that

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she had been bullied over a four year period for her speech impediment, financial background
and over a family confrontation that took place at a school event. When asked if she was
comfortable sharing her harassment with teachers, Hernandez stated that due to her close
relationship with her elders, it was very easy to let them know what had been going on. Though
she had been a victim of bullying, Hernandez herself was honest enough to admit that she too
shared in her time as a bullying. Justifying that the reason for her rude behavior was in retaliation
towards her bullies, They were mean to me so I returned the favor. Due to her personal
experience with both bullying and being bullied, Hernandez states that she never misses a chance
to put a bullying in their place. She understands what it is like to be in both positions and would
not want to stand by as someone encountered such destructive behavior. When asked if her
school did anything to implement bully prevention programs, Hernandez stated that she could
not think of one activity or event that dealt with bullying. Instead she expressed that there is a
lack of awareness within her school, administration and teacher need to be the ones to enforce
these programs and regulations, if any, in order to produce a change. Read and find a better flow
Though schools all around the nation are taking the time to implement bully prevention
programs, it does not mean that they are effective. A study conducted at the University of Texas
at Arlington and Michigan State showed that children who attend schools with anti bullying
programs are more likely to become victims of bullying. In response to this, U.S News and
World Report released a statement saying We are spending time and money on programs
intending to protect children from being bullied and they end up in greater danger of being
bullied along with this they later added Suggested that schools should develop more
sophisticated strategies that go beyond implementing preventive programs and move towards
systematic change within schools, such as employed guards, using metal detectors or conducting

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bad and locker searches. As stated earlier, schools with bullying programs tend to have a higher
risk of bullying cases, and researcher believe the reason for this is because bullies are being
taught how to lay low. While bringing awareness and helpful tools to avoid bullying, these
programs are also showing bullies what not to say and do in order to remain hidden. Rather than
schools becoming a safer environment, these researchers believe they are evolving into
totalitarian police systems where everything students say and do must go under jurisdiction of
the schools authority. In addition to this, it is also believed that students are no longer enjoying a
happy and friendly place but instead are being punished for freedom of speech and assembly. As
defined by Bullying for You! The (In) effectiveness of Anti-Bullying Programs bullying is
suffering negative consequences- physical, mental or emotional- because of the repeated
actions by another person. Considered to be a risk to mental health, bullying can lead to
anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, confusion and suicide. Thus, even after bullying prevention
programs were being implemented, the bullying has yet to stop, the article also stated that
approximately one point five million school aged children self report as victims of bullying A
study lead by the University of Texas at Arlington surveyed over seven thousand students in a
roll of two hundred schools and found bullying is mostly done within the time period of middle
school and later spread throughout high school. Along with this, they found that while boys
mainly suffer physical bullying, girls tend to experience the more emotional side of bullying.
Interestingly enough, they also added that race and ethnicity did not drive the bullying. How then
do school up there game and not only stop the presences of bullying but it developing any
further. In the figure down below, the graph displays several aspects of bullying such as where

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children are bullied and how they were bullied.

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Surveillance programs were an effective protection in reducing incidents as well as teacher

awareness and support but what else can be done to advance schools defense.. Bullying
programs have had success in recognizing elements such as age, culture, family, severity and
type of bullying but this is more of a relationship problem. Rather than just focusing on bring
awareness, these programs need to find strategies that understand the dynamics of bullying in

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order to better equip the cause. With the evolution of bullying, it no longer takes the form of
anti-bullying campaigns; researchers have then concluded that these programs no longer have
any power over the reduction of bullying.
What laws and regulations are being implemented to address bullying cases?
Schools have a main role in enforcing policies and regulations about bullying but with the
rapid growth of bullying, it has called for outside support to be activated. The National Crime
Victimization survey conducted by the Department of Justice showed that twenty eight
percent of students from ages twelve to eighteen reported being bullied. It is within these preteen/ young adult years that youth begin to suffer depression, contemplate and or attempt
suicide. Now that schools have taken a strong stance against bullying, what are states doing
to further advance that fight. At the moment, five states have no sanctions for bullying,
Montana for instance has no laws addressing bullying. However twelve do at least obtain
criminal sanctions which included schools suspension or jail time. The problem is, there are
no federal laws addressing bullying but rather this harmful behavior overlaps with
harassment. In a case of harassment due to race, national, origin, color, sex, age or religion,
federally funded schools, do have an obligation to take action. In certain cases however, they
are not covered under the same laws as race and nationality, such as religion and harassment
against LGBT teens. Harassment against religion is labeled as discrimination of ethnical
characteristics which is protected by Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For LGBT
students, harassment is seen as discrimination against sexual orientation under Titles IX and
IV, as sexual harassment. If the situation is or cannot be resolved, the U.S. Department of
Education Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justices Civil Rights Division
are then required to step in. Any school that fails to take immediate action, risks that act of

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breaking several civil rights as enforced by the Department of Education(ED) and

Department of Justice (DOJ). In any case of bullying or harassment, schools are required to
follow through with several steps of action. Finding the most appropriate and immediate
action to investigation is the first, interviews and collection of witness documentation is
second, and third is communication and updates with the victim in reference to the bullying
to ensure the behavior has stopped. While doing so, the school must also make sure to
oversee the progression in the decrease of bullying cases, the elimination of a hostile
environment, further prevention and any retaliation against the victim and others that may
occur in response to the punishment. With laws and regulations beginning to fight back,
schools should continue to be persistent with being active in each case of bullying and
continue to follow as well as advance the steps needed to resolve the problem.
How are schools and anti-bullying laws working together to help stop bullying?
As stated before, bullying has changed with the advance of technology, with cell
phones, tablets and cyber space, it is much easier for bullies to grab and harass their victims but
it has also opens the door for victims to retaliate, becoming bullies themselves. The National
Institute of Human Development estimates that approximately thirty percent of children in
grades six through ninth have been bullied or bullied another child. Military children have a
higher risk of being bullied according to Army Times; due to their nomad lifestyle they are
constantly labeled the new kids. In spite of this, military children tend to sometimes be the
bully themselves; it can be their way of lashing out due to problems their parents may be dealing
with such as finances, deployments or moving from one home to another. The National
Conference of State Legislatures reported that everyday at least 160,000 children in America
miss school because they fear their bullies. In response, states have passed tougher and broader

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laws for schools that are more serious and punish the offender in the most appropriate way. By
the middle of 2011, thirty nine states passed or proposed laws that prevent bullying and
harassment, as reported by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Along with this, all
states with the exception of South Dakota address bullying within their student handbook. In an
article Bullying Prevention posted to americaspromis.org, it discusses what states are taking
legal action to ensure the safety of their students. A high school in Florida for instance, passed
the Jeffery Johnston stand up for all students act June 2008 which purposed that in order to
obtain a safe school funding; schools are required to abide by state regulations in reference to
bullying and reporting incidents. This fund is used for after school programs for junior high
students, implementing conflict- resolution strategies, alternative programs for adjudicated youth
and suicide prevention programs. In addition to this, it makes any online or verbal bullying to a
student or employee during school or school events illegal. It also requires administration to
have an ongoing communication with parents and their community regarding state polices and
laws. An anti-bullying bill of rights was passed in New Jersey and labeled the toughest antibullying legislation in the country by New York Times. The law has a high demand for several
things, first schools implementing broader anti-bullying polices as well as increasing training and
strict time frames for when bullying should be reported. It also demands to take full
consideration of the impact the internet and social media have in a young students life. In order
for schools to fully abide by these demands schools must designate anti-bullying specialist to
investigate complaints, districts must implement anti-bullying coordinates and Department of
State Education must evaluate each schools effort. Any administration or teacher who refuses to
comply with these demands risk falling under the consequence of losing their license. The state
of Utah has taken a more complex route in revising their education codes that are directed toward

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bullying and strictly clarify what violates those codes. With this, they will learn the dangers of
hazing, methods for prevention and the important of reporting acts of bullying. Other states that
have made some progress in preventing bullying include Georgia who requires their students to
participate in character education and Illinois that has focused on their military families and have
made it illegal to discriminate any child with a parent in the military. No matter what the
circumstances states and schools must continue to work as one in order to continue the fight
against bullying.
Conclusion
Students must feel safe both in and outside school walls, parents should not have
to worry that their child runs the risk of becoming a statistic of suicide or self harm due to
bullying. Though bullying is a destructive behavior and the world may never see the end of it,
there is still a cause for it to be fought against. Bullying prevention programs and regulations
have only seen the beginning of this war against bullying, the issue will only continue to
progress. But rather than just maintaining the programs and regulations that are in place now, the
nation should continue to build and progress just as bullying will. Fit the crime to the punishment
and always keep the students safety in mind.

References

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Clark, M. (2013, November 4). 49 States now Have Anti-Bullying Laws. How's that working
out? Retrieved from http://www.governing.com/news/headlines/49-States-Now-Have-AntiBullying-Laws-Hows-that-Working-Out.html
OBrien, A. (2011, October 4). Bullying Prevention: 5 Tips for Teachers, Principals and
Parents. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bullying-prevention-tips-teachersparents-anne-obrien
Kalman, I. (2013, October 28). Do anti-bullying programs lead to more bullying. Retrieved
from
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/do_anti_bullying_programs_lead_to_more_bullyi
ng
Gibson, J. (2013, October 29). Bullying for You! The (In) effectiveness of Anti-Bullying
Programs. Retrieved from http://brainblogger.com/2013/10/29/bully-for-you-theineffectiveness-of-anti-bullying-programs/
Common Causes of Bullying. (2014, September 18). Retrieved from
http://nobullying.com/common-causes-of-bullying/
A Foundation for Successful Program Implementation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.violencepreventionworks.org/public/bullying_prevention_training_info.page
Federal Laws. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/federal/
Prevention At School. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/atschool/