Guide on How to Handle

Bullying and How to Stop it

as a Bystander
By: Mary Contreras, Trinity Harwell, and Sarah Ortiz
Introduction to Bullying
Bullying not only negatively affects the victims, but
it also affects the people around the victim and bully.

Anyone can be a bully and anyone can be a victim of

bullying, whether they are the direct subject of
bullying or a bystander watching the bullying.

Bullying is a worldwide issue that is only being

increased with new types of social media
Introduction to Bullying
From Ron Banks article Bullying in Schools in ERIC
Digest: bullying and bullies can have negative consequences
for the general school climate and for the right of students to
learn in a safe environment without fear (Banks 140).

Verbal abuse and sexual harassment bullying [increases]

through the elementary years, peak in the middle school/junior
high school years, and decline through the high school years.
However, Verbal abuse appears to remain constant (Banks
140).
Definition of Bullying and Where it
Comes From
Bullying: the harassment of individuals that are seen as weak
targets who are easily harassed, manipulated, or intimidated

There are a number of causes for bullying, including being

bullied, unsafe home situations, educational issues, and mental
health issues.

Certain communities of people are bullied more seriously than

others including, racial minorities, mentally disabled, and the
LGBT community.
Due to the lack of respect they receive and their lack of representation in
local, state, and national governments
Definition of Bullying and
Where it Comes From
Bullies, according to a study in 1995, tended to focus
on victims considered to be weak, nerds
[and/or] afraid to fight back (Banks 141).

From Pamela Kan-Rices article School Bullies are

Often Also Victims; Feeling Safe Reduces Youth
Bullying in UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
News and Information Outreach: bullies at school
are often themselves the victims of bullying (Kan-
Rice 155).
Definition of Bullying and
Where it Comes From
Education Secretary Arne Duncans letter to his
colleagues in the Educational department:
harassment and bullying are serious problems in our
schools, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) students are the targets of disproportionate
shares of these problems (Duncan 157).
El Dorados Bullying Policy
The El Dorado Union High School Districts board policy
prohibits, at any district school, or school activity, unlawful
discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying of
any student based on the students actual race, color,
ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age,
religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental
disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity,
or gender expression; the perception of one or more of such
characteristics; or association with a person or group with
one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
(Student Handbook 1)
The policy also prohibits retaliation against any student
who reports an act of bullying.
El Dorados Bullying Policy: IDEAL
Consequences
Consequences: students who engage in
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying
shall be subjected to appropriate discipline up to and
including counseling, suspension, and/or expulsion.
An employee who permits or engages in prohibited
discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying
shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and
including dismissal. (Student Handbook 1)
Students can fill out and turn in bullying forms to
inform the staff about an issue on campus, and to
receive assistance in solving the issue.
El Dorados Bullying Policy: REAL
Consequences
Despite the strict guidelines on bullying intolerance, the
most effective way the school deals with bullies and unsafe
situation is by providing extracurricular clubs for students
to join so they are not alone and have a safe place to hang
with other students with the same likes and dislikes.

The bullying forms are used as a joke, as students will fill

them out as a joke against their friends or their teacher and
then laugh about it.
Students actual concerns are not taken seriously
Examples of Bullying in Schools
Exclusion: mental abuse
People who are excluded develop the feeling that
they are not good enough, and the feeling becomes
more impacted over time. Even people who are
liked but excluded feel they are not good enough,
and never can be, as if they are perpetually average
rather than excellent because people don't want to
engage in a long-term friendship, or even a long-
term conversation with them.
Examples of Bullying in Schools
Sexual Harrassment/Assault: mental & physical abuse
Was she asking for it? No--the answer in this, and any other
scenario in which the victim doesn't verbally ask for sexual
attention, is always no.
However, society today seems to believe this kind of
behavior, and in fact, any degree of sexual harassment
besides rape, is acceptable.
If a person feels violated in any way, especially sexually,
they can experience long-term effects of trauma. Trauma is
not exclusive to rape cases.
Examples of Bullying in Schools
A victim of exclusion stated, everyone seems to like
me, just not enough to invite me to anything
(Anonymous 1).
On Sexual Harassment and Assault: In an interview

with PBS in 2013, Sarah Murnen, a social

psychologist who has studied hypersexualization at
Kenyon college for more than 25 years, stated, Its
now common to see more parts of the body exposed.
There is more emphasis on the size of womens
breasts. And easy access to all these images has made
it all more acceptable to us (Melker).
How to Handle Bullying and How to
try and stop it from happening
Different people handle things differently so it is hard
to answer with a specific way to handle bullying.
The best way to handle a bully is to do whatever you

feel comfortable with and whatever is going to help

you get through it.
May include talking to parents and friends to find support,
confrontation, telling a school staff member, or for some
people, even ignoring it
As long as the way is non-violent and does not hurt
anyone else then there is no wrong way to handle
bullying.
How to Handle Bullying and
How to try and stop it from
happening
Some people are like Lisa Lybbert from the NCPC

who is a big fan of immediately dealing with the

situation (Kowalski 152).

Other students like Jovon Hill who believes there

are alternatives to violence really think for
yourself, because there are ways to get out of
[bullying] situations (Kowalski 152).
Conclusion
Bullies seek out and torment their victims physically,
emotionally, or both, and it is the responsibility of the
bully, the victim, and the bystanders to make it come
to an end.

There may not be an absolute solution to end bullying

for good, but if the goal is to strive for harmony,
everyone --adults and students-- need to try their best
to achieve it.
Work Cited
Anonymous 1. Interview. May 2017.
Anonymous 2. Interview. May 2017.
Banks, Ron. Bullying in Schools. Bullying: A Research Project: n.
pag. Rpt. in CSU Expository Reading and Writing Course:
Student Reader. 2nd ed. Long Beach: California State
University Press, 2013. 140-142. Print.
Duncan, Arne. Key Policy Letters from the Education Secretary.
Bullying: A Research Project: n. pag. Rpt. in CSU Expository
Reading and Writing Course: Student Reader. 2nd ed. Long
Beach: California State University Press, 2013. 157-158. Print.
Work Cited
Melker, Saskia. Researchers Measure Increasing Sexualization of Images in
Magazines. PBS NewsHour. NewsHour Productions, 2013. Web.
Kan-Rice, Pamela. School Bullies Are Often Also Victims; Feeling Safe
Reduces Youth Bullying. Bullying: A Research Project: n.
pag. Rpt. in CSU Expository Reading and Writing Course: Student
Reader. 2nd ed. Long Beach: California State University Press, 2013.
155-156. Print.
Kowalski, Robin. Students Perspectives on Cyber Bullying. Bullying: A
Research Project: n. pag. Rpt. in CSU Expository Reading and
Writing Course: Student Reader. 2nd ed. Long Beach: California
State University Press, 2013. 155-156. Print.
School Handbook. Placerville: El Dorado Union High
School District, 2016. Print.