Did you know that about one in five students admitted they are responsible for bullying their peer? Did you know that 77% of all students that participated in a recent study by the government say they have been bullied in some way? Bullying is responsible for thousands of deaths each year.

What is the definition of bullying? Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. There are many types of bullying. For most teens today, the biggest type of bullying is cyberbullying, Cyberbullying is bullying over the internet, social media, or through text and phone calls. Cyberbullying is the top form of bullying that leads to suicide today. It has become so common that researchers and other are calling it “cybercide”.

When asked if bullying was a problem at AHS most students said no, but sophomore Morgan Johnston said “Bullying is seen more as playful banter at AHS, and if it taken seriously, most of the time it’s not intentional.”  Tim Wallace, AHS administrator said “AHS probably has a lot more bullying than we actually see at the administration level. Even though it’s not seen, it’s probably occurs more than we think.”

If you or anyone you know is being bullied, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are many people experiencing being bullied, take a stand against bullying before it becomes a problem.