Students Against Destructive Decisions at Navarre High School are gearing up for Unity Day on October 25, and the organization is asking Navarre to paint the town orange that day.
Carmen Febus and Tracy Fischetti are the co-sponsors for SADD, and they’ve been working with NHS Asst. Principal Joe Trujillo and SADD members for around ix months to get ready for Unity Day.
“Unity Day is anti-bulling awareness day,” Febus said, pointing out the group would like to see the town painted orange. “We hope the community decorate their mail boxes and wear orange that day,” she said.
Febus said she’d like to see the effort spread throughout the entire county.
According to stopbullying.gov, bullying can happen in any number of places, contexts, or locations, and bullying that occurs using technology such as cellphones or social media posts is considered electronic bullying. Per the website, some bullying actions can fall into criminal categories, such as harassment, hazing, or assault.
National Statistics from stopbullying.gov:
Been Bullied
28% of U.S. students in grades 6–12 experienced bullying.
20% of U.S. students in grades 9–12 experienced bullying.
Bullied Others
Approximately 30% of young people admit to bullying others in surveys.
Seen Bullying
70.6% of young people say they have seen bullying in their schools.
70.4% of school staff have seen bullying.
62% witnessed bullying two or more times in the last month and 41% witness bullying once a week or more.
When bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time.
Been Cyberbullied
9% of students in grades 6–12 experienced cyberbullying. 15% of high school students (grades 9–12) were electronically bullied in the past year. However, 55.2% of LGBTQ students experienced cyberbullying.
How Often Bullied
In one large study, about 49% of children in grades 4–12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the past month, whereas 30.8% reported bullying others during that time.
Types of Bullying
The most common types of bullying are verbal and social. Physical bullying happens less often. Cyberbullying happens the least frequently. According to one large study, the following percentages of middle schools students had experienced these various types of bullying: name calling (44.2 %); teasing (43.3 %); spreading rumors or lies (36.3%); pushing or shoving (32.4%); hitting, slapping, or kicking (29.2%); leaving out (28.5%); threatening (27.4%); stealing belongings (27.3%); sexual comments or gestures (23.7%); e-mail or blogging (9.9%).
Where Bullying Occurs
Most bullying takes place in school, outside on school grounds, and on the school bus. Bullying also happens wherever kids gather in the community. And of course, cyberbullying occurs on cell phones and online. According to one large study, the following percentages of middle schools students had experienced bullying in these various places at school: classroom (29.3%); hallway or lockers (29.0%); cafeteria (23.4%); gym or PE class (19.5%); bathroom (12.2%); playground or recess (6.2%).
How Often Adult Notified
Only about 20 to 30% of students who are bullied notify adults about the bullying.
