— Elizabeth Englander,
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Bullies stalk high school halls Nearly a quarter of students say they have been targets, Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports The Patriot Ledger Sometimes it’s a hurtful insult lobbed at an overweight kid. Other times it’s physical intimidation that can make a student nervous about coming to school. Whatever the form, bullying continues to be a problem in Massachusetts, with nearly a quarter of high school students saying they have been targets at school. The number was reported as part of the 2005 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and experts say instances of bullying are even more common in middle school. At any grade level, it’s an issue that is drawing attention. “It’s incredibly important because it leads to very dangerous problems,” said Elizabeth Englander, director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State College. “We now know that the school shootings of the 1990s were linked quite strongly to bullying. The serious consequences of bullying do not happen often but when they happen they can be absolutely devastating.” And it is only one way in which students act out on school property. The Patriot Ledger reported in a two-part “Crime in our schools” series last month that hundreds of fights and other acts of violence take place every year at schools on the South Shore. The risk behavior survey, which was administered in spring 2005 and the results of which were recently released, found that 10 percent of Massachusetts high school students had been involved in a fight at school in the year before being questioned. Nearly 6 percent had carried a weapon at school during a one-month period. Both numbers were roughly the same as the last time students were queried in 2003. The number of students who said they were the targets of bullies also didn’t change much, but that problem continues to be more widespread. “I think it’s something you always have to keep working at,” said Mary Ann Jackman, superintendent of Hanover schools. “It’s one of those pieces of a school environment you’re never finished working with.” Still, some local students said they don’t see bullying as a major problem. Sophia Mullin, who is finishing her freshman year at Hingham High School, said that while there are occasional incidents of bullying, there are fewer problems in high school than in middle school. “At the high school, everyone is more accepting of who you are,” Mullin, 14, said. “You can be real out there but people find you unique and really awesome.” Said Melissa Huynh, who is finishing her junior year at Braintree High School: “People here have respect for each other.” The Ledger’s “Crime in our schools” series also found hundreds of offenses involving alcohol, marijuana and other drugs on school property during the 2004-05 school year. In some of the most brazen cases, students said they smoked marijuana in a school bathroom or hallway in the middle of the day. The youth risk behavior survey found that, statewide, the use of marijuana on school property declined from 11 percent in 1995 to 5 percent in 2005. The percentage of students who reported being offered, sold or given a drug on school property dropped from 42 percent in 1997 to 30 percent in 2005. Other findings of the survey included:
Karen Eschbacher may be reached at keschbacher@ledger.com.
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