WPP Special Report

PHOTO BY JESSICA ROBERTS

Special Report December 2, 2010

OTQ Editors Megan Barnett and Dani Butterfield2 Wolf Pack Press

I understand that you are going through some difficulties. I under-stand that you might be hurt, vying for the attention of your peers and elders. Did someone hurt you? Is it something at home? I’d like to tell you that I understand exactly what you’re going through and that you can get help. There’s nothing wrong with you. Perhaps you’re scared, perhaps you want more out of life; but bullying is not the answer to your situation. I have to ask, what good comes from it? Does it make you feel powerful, does it help you? I know that you’re not evil; I know you’re not crazy. I get it. But please, don’t take your pain out on others. Seek help.

Sincerely,Your Fellow Student

I’ll start by saying that you do not understand me. You don’t understand why I do the things I do. Why I make people hurt, you don’t know. Maybe I am evil or crazy. Maybe I like torturing people any way I can, seeing them suffer. Is there something wrong with me, or am I just human? Do I love being cruel? Do I like being alone? Is it because I want attention? That’s all there is, questions with no answers. I don’t know and you don’t know. You don’t understand. You will never get it.

Sincerely,The School Bully

Blue Ribbon Week battles bullyingLizzie HolmesNewbie Reporter

Bullying: a definition so different to each person, but still an issue that haunts everyone. It is a problem that has affected our society for decades and is, in more recent history, causing teen suicides throughout the world.

ASB decided to take the initia-tive to end bullying by implementing a Blue Ribbon Week on campus Nov. 29-Dec. 3.

The week’s events include wearing blue bracelets, participating in class-room activities during second period and attending lunchtime events, includ-ing signing a banner and pledging to stand up to bullying.

ASB plans to draw students to-gether by having them share personal experiences with one another through classroom discussions, posters, multi-media productions and a special Thurs-day night assembly.

At the night assembly, specific stu-dents have been chosen to share their personal experiences with bullying.

ASB sophomore Taylor McInnes said, “We also wanted to do nighttime activities to promote everyone’s stories and share them with everyone.”

ASB member, sophomore Anthony Gonsalves said, “The underlying factor of the theme more or less is it revolves around respect rather than anti-bully-ing. Obviously that’s a big key issue, but we definitely want a culture change at Woodcreek where there is a lot more respect.”

Though ASB isn’t expecting a change overnight, they also don’t expect the problem to be fixed on its own.

Bullying issues, both online and in person, can be reported to the as-sistant principals who can help fix the problem.

“I think the administration is doing the best that they can, but it is us that need to focus on the bullying. We need to stand up to the plate and stop it our-selves,” said junior Hannah Henninger, an ASB member.

Principal, Jess Borjon encourages students to be proactive. “I think our number one message to students out there is when you observe that kind of behavior going on - that simple lack of respect for a fellow human being - rather than standing idling by, you should step in and say that’s not right or we don’t do that here,” he said. “Just the peer influence you guys have on each other is much greater than you realize.”

Students change their perception of the term “bullying”Dani ButterfieldOTQ Editor

Bullying… I know, right? You’re probably thinking this is the stupidest thing ever to be referred to as a concern, and if you’re like me, you thought this while hysterically laughing at just how ridiculous it is that we actually have to spend a week of school trying to call bul-lying an active issue in our high schools. Well guys, we’re wrong.

When I heard that we were going to have a Blue Ribbon Week battling the issue of bullying, I immediately pictured the cliché TV version of a bully, a big redheaded boy who shoves “nerds” in lockers, and thought, “Are you kid-ding me? We don’t have bullies here!”

And that’s true; we don’t have those kinds of bullies here.

However I was then reminded of my friend junior year. There was personal information being spread about her to just about anyone who recognized her name and had ears to listen. Nearly every day for a solid month, my friend came to the car after school in tears because of the harassment people gave her, people who called themselves her friends.

I couldn’t believe that people not only thought that they had the right to judge her for something they heard she did, but that they told others about it! And then, on top of that, they re-lentlessly harassed her about it. I just couldn’t believe how mean high school-

ers could be. They were being nasty, awful, vile….bullies.

I then realized I was referring to the wrong movies for my mental picture of a bully. That picture of a big dumb bully was accurate at one point in history, but now the better picture of modern-day bullying is more like “Mean Girls.” Yes, we have those here! That is what bullying is today, gossip, nasty looks, and words meant to hurt, rather than being shoved into a locker.

It basically comes down to how we treat each other. When we treat some-one with the mindset that we are better than them, it’s bullying...so I think it’s OK to dedicate a week of our lives to learning how to treat each other with love and respect. It can’t hurt.

The WPP surveyed 475 students on Nov. 19, 28, 29 regarding the issue of bullying. Students surveyed in

15 classes represented approximately 22% of the student population

at all grade levels.

57.26% of WHS students claimed to

have bullied in the form of name-calling, telling lies, hitting, purposely

damaging another’s reputation, or writing

hurtful messages through the Internet.

About 30% of teens have

been involved in school bullying

either as a bully or the one being

bullied.

www.teenhelp.com/parenting-teens/teen-bullying.html

dramatized letters written by Tyler Hall

Cyberbullying: a new means to hurtJillian EbrahimiNewbie Reporter

Cyberbullying incidents happen daily. These vicious attacks leave their victims angry, helpless and lonely. With acts of such magnitude, the question becomes what is being done? Or is there anything at all being done?

The biggest problem with cyberbul-lying is that most people don’t under-stand what it really is. Woodcreek is no exception to this new style of bullying. When students were asked if they had ever experienced or seen cyberbullying, many first answered with a confused “no.” However once they learned more about cyberbullying, the answers quickly changed to “yes.”

So what exactly is it, this new style of bullying? It is a way to intimidate behind a “cloak of anonymity,” which causes an “emotional and psychologi-cal war,” according to Dr. Phil McGraw. This means that the bullies are no longer the biggest and the strongest, but rather anyone with access to the Internet. Through Facebook, MySpace, FormSpring and text messages, the vi-cious attacks are relentless.

A bully can target anyone. An issue over a boyfriend or girlfriend, plans

excluding someone, clothes, race, ap-pearance, friends and interests all make for bullying opportunities. The victims often feel depressed and even suicidal.

The problem is prevalent. According to the National Education Association, 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students while one in seven stu-dents in grades K-12 are either a bully or a victim of bullying.

Some bullying is overlooked how-ever. One simple word can affect a person more than you may intend. Even if meant as a joke, words like “whore,” “fag” and “slut” are considered cyberbul-lying. These words, looked at by many teens as the social norm or something funny, can in reality cause so much harm, so much damage.

It is important to think about this the next time you are online. When you are looking at comments, look for those simple words and remember that the person receiving this may be in more pain than anyone really knows.

By just avoiding these phrases, we can create a better atmosphere. There is never a need to use these words. Why don’t we all open our minds and con-sider what cyberbullying really is and what it can really do to others.

The “bully” we all have the capability of beingMegan BarnettOTQ Editor

As Albus Dumbledore said in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on.’”

Our actions carry the potential to build up or to tear down. We all have the capability to do both.

So, what makes us take the next step? What makes us bully? There is no one reason. It may be because of low self-esteem, jealousy, peer presure, having been bullied before, wanting to take out anger or pain on someone else, wanting attention or even because it makes us feel tough.

It always connects with how we perceive situations. Bullies often justify the reasons behind their actions and as a result don’t feel guilty for them.

When we bully, knowingly or not, we never realize the horrible damage we cause.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24 years-old.*

Earlier this year Phoebe Prince committed suicide at 15 after her peers relentlessly bullied her. Prince attended South Hadley High School in Massachusetts after immigrating from Ireland last Fall. Many believe she was harrassed because of jealousy.

Prince was a girl who once lived joy-fully and now rests silently in a grave,

leaving behind loved ones grieving their loss. While her bullies did not realize the full impact of their actions, they are being held partially responsible for her death and facing charges.

So if you are bullied, speak up now because there are people who care.

And if you are the bully, think about what you’re really doing. It is easier than you think to cause someone hurt.

We must be careful to not let our negative emotions control our actions. There is no excuse and no reasoning good enough to justify the hurting of someone else.

The ability to be whoever we want is within us, so I choose to do my best to care for others and stop bullying, What will you choose? *(Source: www.suicide.org)

Over 25% of teens have been bullied repeatedly

through their cell phones or the

Internet.

Bullies are

4 times more

likely to be convicted of a crime than those who have not bullied.

www.bulyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bulying-statistics.html www.teenhelp.com/parenting-teens/teen-bullying.html

Running into your room, I screamed; but you didn’t hear me. I tried to get you down from the rope, but you didn’t notice. And now I sit here weeping, but you don’t feel the tears that fall from my eyes. You are no more, and the people that I blame are the ones who hurt you - your bullies.

I should have seen the signs. You not wanting to go to school and the depression. They were tell-tale signs and I missed them. You could have told me. We could have worked something out to get you through this. I read that every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention = 4%. Peer intervention = 11%. No intervention = 85%.* You were part of the 85%.

If there is one thing that I want you to know and to understand, it is that you didn’t have to go through this alone. You had people to support you, just as everyone else does. There are ways around this like therapy and bringing it to the school’s attention. But you took the way out that 15 to 25 kids take each year.

You will be missed every day. And I write this letter in hopes that by hearing what happened to you, kids will realize that it’s OK to speak out. This problem can be fixed. I believe that if we can be open with each other, express what is going wrong and all lend a hand to stop the bullying, then we will stop this thing that kills.

With much love,Your mother

*(Sources: www.how-to-stop-bullying.com/bullyingstatistics.html, www.coastkid.org/si-sob)

dramatized letter written by Briana Fortine

Special ReportDecember 2, 2010

Wolf Pack Press 3OTQ Editors Megan Barnett and Dani Butterfield

PHOTOS BY JESSICA ROBERTS

4 Wolf Pack Press Head Editors, Jency James, Brittany Attwood and Kaitlyn May

Special Report December 2, 2010

Anthony HalversonNewbie Reporter

The World Wide Web brings much to the world today, completely changing the way that our society runs. Shop-ping is easier, connecting with distant friends now requires minimal effort and therefore becomes a daily habit, and any information that you would want can be found on the Internet. Alas, with every positive, there is a negative.

An issue that has arisen and even made it to the tables of our legislature is cyberbullying. “Cyberbullying 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,” states stopcyberbullying.org’s online site. This type of bullying makes it possible to execute the actions involved virtually instantly and effortlessly.

Cyberbullying is such a relevant problem today due to the fact that the perpetrators are often anonymous and leave hateful and threatening messages. A disturbing and con-troversial issue is the legality of the statements that cyberbullies choose to make and what they lead to. These cause emotional grief for many and have led to the suicides of several teenagers who could not handle the situation.

Junior Tre Nixon was not brought down by comments made to him over social networking sites. “I really didn’t care when people said stuff to me. I’d usually just argue back,” he said. Nixon knew who his online assailants were, making it easier for him to deal with his predicament.

Cyberbullying among high school students creates the possibility of con-flict on school grounds. “I’ve seen bul-lying at times and

when I see it, I get to the bottom of it,” said Campus Monitor Shane McClure.

“The last time I was bullied was in middle school and most people have matured since then,” stated junior Dy-lan Fawcett.

Although cyberbullying may not be as big a deal among older students, it has effected between 30- 40% of adoles-

cents in the United States. Shockingly, in a survey done by Love to Know* on youth cyberbullying, 17% of youth ad-mitted to bullying over the Internet.

Cyberbullying is a prominent issue and must be dealt with if parents and children alike want to see any end to it. There are few current laws in place to stop cyberbullying, but Congress has been working this Fall to write strict laws that address this specific issue.

* (Source: http://safety.loveto-know.com/Cyber_Bul-

lying_Statistics)

59% of WHS students said that bullies are motivated by low

self-esteem.

“Cyberbullying is worse

because you can’t do

much about it.”

Schoolyard bullying evolves with the help of 21st century technology Abby Skaff

Newbie Reporter

F r e s h m a n year I had two great best friends and earlier than expected, I gained a whole group of new friends. Then spring came and most of them, even my best friends, abandoned me. It was difficult, but I continued to strive on. Maybe over the summer my best friend and I could re-unite. Or maybe not.

A few months before summer and a few months after I lost my friends, a childhood friend betrayed me. Four hundred pages of vicious, vulgar posts made up the “Woodcreek Hoes List” on FormSpring this past May and I was shocked to find my name on the list.

After further investigation, I dis-covered that my best friend had posted some hurtful things about me on the list. She wrote that I was a “whore” and said that all of the rumors were true.

Even some anonymous poster ap-peared on the site that said I was sleep-ing with a 20 year-old.

My mom was the first to discover this unfortunate news.She called As-sistant Principal Mark O’Hair and he called FormSpring to have them shut down that website’s specific post. They took the post off right away.

Hundreds of posts, too many vic-tims and so many cowardly bullies were affected by the list. The bullies posted every day at all times of day on the site, harassing other teenagers. And one of the saddest things is that this occurred completely unnoticed by parents - not only the victims’ parents, but the bullies’

parents too.

Student experiences cyberbullying

PHOTO BY ORREY SEVERET

MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Students pledge to stop bullying.

How could this all have been avoid-ed? How could I have stopped it? While rumors will spread no matter what you do, I do have some advice.

With the simple click of a mouse, your reputation, your life could be damaged forever. Once that lie, gos-sip or blackmail is embedded into the thresholds of the Internet, there is no stopping the infection from spreading. Your friends, your family, strangers…anyone can view anything posted about you and you’re powerless to stop the damage. They don’t care who you are, what you’re like or how you feel. They will tear you to pieces for pure “enter-tainment.”

If you want to avoid direct bul-lying/rumors from reaching your Fa-cebook, MySpace, etc. profile, keep personal things personal. If you are bullied, cyber or otherwise, make sure you tell someone - any adult or author-ity you can trust.

And as a note to parents, don’t hesitate to check in on your child’s networking profiles, e-mails and text messages. Your child could be a bully, a victim or both. Taking the initiative to check in on your child can save a child’s tormented life.

Special ReportDecember 2, 2010

Head Editors, Jency James, Brittany Attwood and Kaitlyn May Wolf Pack Press 5

36% of WHS students said they were bullied in elementary

school, 65% in middle school and 45% in high

school.

Brittany AttwoodCo-Editor-in-Chief

Come back with me in time for a moment. Come back to the schoolyard and the days where you had to stand on your tip toes to pay for hot lunch. Life was so much easier back then… or so we thought.

I n t h i s d a y a n d a g e , t e e n -a g e r s r a r e l y h a v e f a c e -to - face i n t e r -act ions w i t h o t h e r s . We rely on Face-book sta-tuses and Tw i t t e r t o k e e p

u s u p d a t e d on what others are

doing with their lives. In fact,

w i t h a l l this reli-ance on

t e c h - n o l o g y, i t c a n sometimes be hard for us to be-lieve that there is even another life out there. Well wake up my dear friends, there is and it’s not always pretty.

It’s so easy for us today to realize the advantages and disadvantages of social networking systems. While we try our best to keep ourselves safe, ha-rassment and bullying can still occur. Of course everyone already knows that, but what about in the real

world? Can’t bullying and harassment occur face-to-face too? If your answer is absolutely yes, then you’re right.

In-person bullying is when one person is hurt by another. This type of bullying can occur through physical, verbal or emotional abuse that is done purposefully face-to-face. According to a study done by Family First Aids website, “Almost 30 percent of teens in the United States (or over 5.7 million) are estimated to be involved in school bullying as either a bully, a target of teen bullying, or both.”* What does this say about our world? Well in my mind, it says we aren’t doing enough.

We all recognize that cyberbullying is harmful, but we can’t be blind to in-person bullying either because that is where it all started: on the playground, in the real world. In my mind it is easy to step up and call someone out for being a bully over the Internet because it’s not as intimidating.

Don’t get me wrong here, I think it’s great that our school is taking a stand against Internet harassment and the many levels it has. However I also believe that prevention shouldn’t just stop as soon as we step away from our computers.

We need to take that courage and those tools we use to put an end to cy-berbullying and put them into use on our campuses and in our neighborhoods. I know that I don’t need to shower you with statistics on in-person bullying be-cause I know that we are all aware that it does occur. The truth is this: if I didn’t believe in-person bullying occurred, then we would never have to deal with cyberbullying because cyberbullying would have nothing to stem from.

So please, teachers and students, join with me and let’s do our part. Use your voice to protect those who may be afraid to use their own.

* (Source: http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Cyber_Bullying_Statistics)

“Phys ica l i s worse

because I feel like it does

more damage.”

“Physical is worse

b e c a u s e i t ’s m o r e

traumatic, especially

when there’s a large group

of kids.”

WPP Staff Report

September 11, 2001 was a hard day for many Americans.It was a time of fear and mourning. It was also a day that changed 2005 alum Zaki Syed’s life.

That day Syed, an American-born Pakistani, was physi-cally bullied for the first time because of his Muslim religion.

Syed explained how some of his class-mates treated him that day. “I didn’t know 9/11 happened and already students were calling me a terrorist,” he said.

“I actually got harassed and beat up in the classroom. Basically as I was trying to leave, I was blocked by two students who kept on calling me a ter-rorist and honestly I didn’t know what it meant. They pushed me. The older kid ended up throwing me into one of the desks and hitting me.”

Before 9/11, Syed was seen as a hard-working student who followed the rules and didn’t get into trouble.

“We were used to being model minorities – we never experienced dis-crimination,” Syed said. “All of a sud-den we went from being anonoymous to people looking at us. It was a time of a lot of paranoia and fear.”

Much of the bullying stemmed from a misunderstanding of what it means to be Muslim.

“That’s the biggest problem that they confuse culture with the religion,” Syed said.

“People have this imagination that we’re different – that guys have long beards, girls have a head covering or scarf. The truth is that the majority of people don’t wear turbans or have-

Alum bullied for being Muslim

PHOTO BY ORREY SEVERET

STAND UP: The week encourages students to speak out.

Backyard bullying

beards.”Through all of this torment, Syed

responded by trying to educate others about his religion while ignoring the snide comments he heard daily about Muslims.

“They don’t realize that our religion stresses peace and equal rights for women, that it encourages us to sup-press our anger,” Syed said.

Although not everyone was a part of the bullying, there were still people who singled Syed out and made jokes about Muslims in his presence.

“That makes you feel bad,” he said. “Internally you have to be mentally tough and not take things personally. You can’t stand up every time somebody says something because it happens too often.”

Instead Syed fights bullies by set-ting a positive example and rapping about his experiences.

“The best thing to do is just to ignore them because I’ve noticed that bullies get a rise our of your reaction,” he said. “I go out and I educate people by being a good role model. Celebrate whatever makes you different.”

6 Wolf Pack Press Special Section Editors, Megan Hoehenrieder and Casandra Canthal

Special Report December 2, 2010

1. Loss of interest in school and

grades begin to drop

2. Comes home from school

missing clothes or school items

3. Has few friends

4. Loss of appetite

5. Takes a long route home

from school

6. Anxious or suffers from low

self-esteem

7. Makes excuses to not attend

school or social events

Stomp out bullying by creating zero tolerance

Q: Why do you think people bully?A: “Because they feel insecure. It allows them to feel in control.It also happens because of prejudice.”Q: What would you do if you could change how bullying is being handled?A: “My biggest problem with it is students seeing it and not doinganything. They should stand up for each other.”Q: How can parents get involved?A: “Parents talking directly to their kids is the best way to deal with bullying. Parentsneed to be involved in their student’s lives.”

Rebecca Rood Mark O’Hair Shane McClure

Megan HoehenriederSpecial Section Editor

There is strength in numbers. There are about 2200 students at Woodcreek, a substantially large enough group to make a change against bullying. We make that change by locating the problem, educating the student body and collectively deciding to stomp out bullying.

Good news, we already conquered this first step in creating a change. We gave our school a reality check. Look-ing inside our school, we searched for something that desperately needs to change and located this harsh problem

of bullying. The initial step of finding the problem: check.

The second step of educating the student body? Done also. Student government took it upon themselves to create an entire week dedicated to the education of this problem. W i t h bracelets and an assem- bly, students are now aware of bullying on their own campus. The follow-up step of educating the stu-dent body: check.

The third step of mak-ing a change is where every single member of the student body comes in. We must collectively m a k e a

decision to change our mindsets and stomp out bullying. If we all created a zero toler-ance to bullying at our school, this problem could virtually disappear. We do this by students taking it upon themselves to

stop bullying. Every one of us needs to put showing each other respect as our first priority. Bul-

lying week does not end Friday or when

the bracelets fall off. It must continue to be prob-

lems we stand against together.

Q: How can students get involved? Why should they?A: “By noticing what’s going on around them. One, it’s just not right. Two, they could be the next victim.”Q: How do you think bullying has changed over the years?A: “It has changed from face-to-face to more of cyberbullying. You don’t have to beface-to-face to bully.”Q: What is the school/community doing to help change bullying?A: “I think the biggest thing is awareness. People need to knowthere are places they can go for help.”

Many of us are neither bullied or bullies. We may feel that this week and this change does not apply to us. Wrong. This week applies to you most of all. You are the people who can stand up to bullying.

If you see it happen over the Inter-net, then text, e-mail or Facebook that person and ask them to stop. If you see it happen in the hall, grab a couple friends and ask the bully to stop.

We could eliminate this problem if everyone made a complete transforma-tion in the way we handle bullying. If everyone stood up to bullies and had no tolerance for them, we could make this change. The final step of stomping out bullying: in progress.

Admin responds to bullyingQ: Do you think that bullying is a re-occurring problem at Woodcreek?A: “Our campus is a reflection of this area. ? Yes a problem, but no more or less around the area.”

Q: When bullying is reported, what steps are taken to stop it?A: “Discipline is based on the severity of the bullying case.”

Q: Do you think peer pressure encourages the bullies?A: “Mostly the bully’s friends encourage them. It ruins the environment of the school.”

DO

Special ReportDecember 2, 2010

Special Section Editors, Megan Hoehenrieder and Casandra Canthal Wolf Pack Press 7

Don’t hold back, just te l l someoneCasandra CanthalAssistant Special Section Editor

Bullying is a serious issue that affects numerous kids in the U.S. In September of 2006, ABC News reported on a survey of children in grades 4-8, prepared by I-Safe.org in 2004. The survey reported that out of 1500 kids surveyed, 42% of them had been bul-lied online and 1 in 4 had had it happen more than once. 21% said they have received mean or threatening e-mails or other messages. Even more shocking is the fact that 58% of them had not told a parent or other adult about what hap-pened and were dealing with the scary situation all by themselves.

Dealing with bullying all by your-self can cause more pain than actually telling someone you’re being bullied. Counselor Denise Burns said, “We don’t even suggest online sites when a stu-dent is being a bullied. We want them

to talk to us, so we can fix the situation. We can’t step in if we don’t know the bullying is happening.”

It is very important to tell someone if you are being bullied. If you don’t feel comfortable telling your parents, tell another trusted adult. They can help you deal with the situation and can offer you comfort and support.

Bullying is not just getting physi-cally hurt by another person, it is when mean and threatening messages are put onto the Internet and sent through text messages. If you are being “cyberbul-lied,” there are several measures you can take to stop it.

1. Don’t reply to any messages sent to you or about you. Replying could cause an increase in the bullying.

2. If at all possible block the per-son.

* Facebook has a button which al-lows you to “block” a person from any

contact with you.* Most phones have a block list you

can put contacts into. They block the person from calling you, but sometimes they don’t block them from texting you.

3. Show parents or another trusted adult the messages you’re receiving from the bully.

4. Contact the site administrators to report the cyberbullying and ask for their help in ending it.

Being hit or called rude and de-meaning names is not acceptable and therefore should not be treated as such. If you are being bullied, please tell someone! They will help you deal with the situation.

Most importantly, know that you are NOT alone. There is at least one per-son in this world who cares about you and doesn’t want to see you hurt; trust them, tell them what is going on.

“ H o e ” i s n o t a t e r m o f e n d e a r m e n tBeth Echange Staff Report

“You are not alone”

-ASB Motto

“Hey Hoe!” “Hey Slut!” These com-mon greetings are heard all over the quad by girls who are the best of friends. They have no intention of insulting or putting each other down. They think of this name calling as nothing other than terms of endearment. However they do not see the tiny grenades of hurt they are placing in each other’s minds.

There is no sugar coating. Words such as slut, hoe and whore sting. Say-ing these words in a sweet tone or peppy greeting does not erase their filthy and demeaning connotation. Girls’ first re-actions on hearing these loaded words arouse atrocious images and ashamed

feelings. When these words are directed at them, they feel the emotions of low self worth and humiliation, if only for a split second.

Every time these words are said, little bombs are laid in their mind. When thrown at them repeatedly, an en-tire minefield waiting to erupt forms in their brain. It eventually explodes when they begin to believe these comments to be true, even if they’re said by a close friend. We cannot help but believe what people call us, especially the people who care about us the most.

Friends should build each other up, not tear each other down. They need to be encouraging one another with compliments. Close friends should be each other’s biggest cheerleaders and

safety net. You rely on friends. You rely on

them to always have your back, give you advice and be at your house with cookie dough after a rough breakup. Adding derogatory greetings into this equation completely halts the relationship. How can you find comfort in someone who puts you down?

If you are currently calling your friend any of these names, please stop. You will be surprised how healthy and strong your relationship will grow if you focus on encouraging each other. If your friend greets you with these offen-sive names, ask them to stop. You don’t deserve to be called these names and suffer from mind bombs anymore. End the destruction. Start the compassion.

17% of WHS students said they told no

one they were being

bullied.

32% of WHS students said

they don’t know what

punishment the bully received.

7% of WHS students said they didn’t step in to

stop bullying because they didn’t know what to do.

SOMETHING

PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSICA ROBERTS

GRAPHIC BY HANNAH LEEPHOTOS BY GABBY GARZA AND ORREY SEVERET