World Wide Bullying

Cyber Bullying on Campuses

Give me your lunch money, kid! No, not really, but this kind of bullying is growing out of date by the minute. The new way? Social Media. As high school students start to transition their way into a new college setting, their “online friends list” continues to grow. After life begins to settle in the first couple of months, your “friends” begin to know who you really are as a person.


This can bring up a problem that is faced by thousands all across the nation. Cyber bullying is a worsening problem. Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers, recently committed suicide because of a web broadcast of him having relations with the same gender. This cyber bullying is leaving campuses vulnerable to already stressful students to contemplate on suicide or generate other mental behavior.

Students in college have the stress of exams, independency, social and study lives to have yet another worry. When other kids leave rude comments on social networking sites, what may seem harmless, can really affect a person who it was pointed towards. Gerard Manogin, a sophomore at Ole Miss, believes this is a serious problem that needs to be handled. “I believe there is need for more education on it, because it can save someone’s life,” said Manogin. Such programs like “Let’s Talk”, a program started at Ole Miss to help students who need someone to talk to in a troubling situation, such as bullying, does this. For more information on “Let’s Talk” visit www.olemiss.edu/letstalk.

The awareness of this ongoing problem, however, is growing. Recently, Ole Miss held it’s first ever Diversity Week, sponsored by the Meek School of Journalism. During this week-long event, students from all over campus would learn about and mingle with other cultures, backgrounds, and sexual orientation. They even started their week off right with this amusing, but perfect, video:



There is plenty more support and awareness growing throughout the country. StopCyberBulling.org is one example of this. This is great tool for kids or parents of kids that are being bullied and what to do. It also has preventative measures on the site. If you see someone saying something online that you would get offended to, stand up for what's right and do something about it. It's time this nation accepts everyone and their lifestyles. It's time to stand up against cyber bullys.