Bullying remains a problem at every age

By Shana Hamilton

Bullying is defined as negative actions over time, whether it means emotionally or physically, according to a slideshow prepared by members of Sigma Ghamma Rho.

On Nov. 3, Sigma Gamma Rho shared their insights during their program “Little Victims: The Bullying Epidemic.”

It was the last program presented in Sigma Gamma Rho’s Founders Week. A moment of silence was given at the event to recognize the kids and adults who have suffered from being bullied. 

“We came up with the idea to use bullying because we have discussions within our organization and talk about life and how things affect our adulthood. Bullying just kept coming up,” said Amber Brown, president of Sigma Ghamma Rho and senior family and consumer sciences major. The bullying rate has increased to 2.7 million victims. Fifteen percent of school absences have been reported this year, while 71 percent of schools believe that bullying is a serious problem within the school system.

There are 282,000 reports of bullying each month. Suicide among young adults is now the third largest cause of death in schools, the slides said. 

“We have the Rhoer’s Club, which focuses on 6th to 12th grade young females in the Rock Hill School District. We help them deal with many different problems that a young girl faces at that age, such as bullying,” Brown said. “We are also doing an essay contest among the schools that has to deal with bullying.”

 Dean of Students Bethany Marlowe and the Department of Student Affairs are currently working to update the Student Code of Conduct to include bullying.

“We are working on changing ‘harassment and intimidation’ in the Code and updating the definition to “bullying,” Marlowe said.” We have gotten feedback on the draft of a new definition from a number of groups including the Judicial Council and Council of Student Leaders.”