Paper #3

Brynn Bogen
J305 #3
2.28.10
Fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince suffered through three months of vicious verbal and electronic attacks at the hands of three classmates before hanging herself in the stairwell of her home. The verbal attacks consisted of insults, humiliation and escalated into threats. The court papers shone a bad light on school administrators because when they were notified of these threats, they didn’t take the action that they should have.
Three teens were charged with harassment and another three were charged in connection with Prince’s death.
Sadly, this is just one of the many suicides that have taken place over the past year because of bullying. On the front pages of many newspapers it seems like yet another young kid has taken their own life because of threats, bullying, and harassment by other students.
Washington State is number five on the list for the “worst states to live in to avoid bullies.” According to the statistics, one in four kids in the public school system are victims of bullying.
Abby Smith, a junior at a Washington state high school, said that the kids who were bullied and made fun of where those who were socially awkward and didn’t fit in well. She said that she witnesses a lot of verbal abuse between students in the form of bullying, taunts, and threats. “Some kids can be very cruel,” she said, “and those who don’t speak up to defend themselves get it the worst.”
House bill 1163 would create a work group that would set out to prevent bullying, intimidation, and harassment and would increase student knowledge on mental health and suicide.
The bill would protect those who are being bullied and would give students a safe place to their express concern.
“The updated school district policies and procedures are a step in the right direction for preventing bullying, intimidation, and harassment, but more steps are needed. An ongoing work group could help to maintain focus and attention on anti-bullying and anti-harassment, as well as monitor progress. In addition, students' knowledge and understanding of two key correlates of bullying and harassment, depression and youth suicide, could be enhanced through instruction and assessments that address mental health and suicide prevention,” said Washington State legislator Marko Liias, a supporter for bill 1163.
In 2003, Washington State passed an anti-bullying law which required schools to adopt a policy that prohibits harassment, intimidation, or bullying of any student. In 2008, they expanded the scope to include cyber-bullying, which is “when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.”
Even though those laws were passed to protect victims of bullying, suicide among young kids is still rampant today. Bill 1163 deals with bullying, intimidation, and harassment but it also reaches farther than that and proposes to teach kids about mental health, suicide and what to do if you have suicidal thoughts.
According to Representative Joe Schmick, HB 1163 passed the house on March 2, 2011 with a vote of 76-21.