When we think of school we think of a well-mannered, orderly place where people can feel safe while learning, not where people get verbally assaulted. Unfortunately, though this is what is happening, and it’s happening very secretly.

“I’ve heard many bad things students have said. A student had asked ‘Why does your belly jiggle when you walk?’ They’ve also called each other ugly and stupid,” Mrs. Castillo, reading teacher, said.

I have witnessed many instances in the hallway where people are getting insulted, devalued, and degraded. All of this is happening right under everyone’s noses, and it isn’t entirely the faculty’s fault. It’s really hard to catch, but as somebody that has to walk in the hallways every hour every day, I hear some stuff that should get some students at the very least suspended.

 “Verbal abuse should be taken as seriously as physical abuse if it’s going to be harmful to another person,” Mrs. Coyle, substitute teacher, said.

I personally believe that if people say something such as a threat or they tell somebody to harm themselves, the student who said it should receive ISP (In-school suspension) or suspension regardless of who they are or what is expected of them. I certainly think the school and the people within sleep on how seriously words can hurt someone.

“I think it depends on the frame of reference the student is coming from whenever they have the words come at them. If it’s something that they are really sensitive about it’s going to impact them a lot more than if it was something they don’t care about. The difficult thing is that students typically know what will bother their classmates, so they will choose the things that are most hurtful,” Mrs. Smith, guidance counselor, said.

Words can easily destroy someone. If somebody were to be having a bad day and they were called ugly, that could be the final straw and that could cause a mental breakdown or panic attack. The same goes if somebody has an insecurity. If I was insulted for my shoes and I was insecure about them, (which I am not so stop) I could feel like they are ugly even though they really aren’t and I could possibly stop wearing them even though I find most of my confidence in them.

People also don’t realize that if a person is to tell someone to kill themselves and they act on it, that person can be charged with murder, and even suggesting it can land a person in jail. Telling someone to die isn’t funny and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Unfortunately, I have heard people telling others to kill themselves in the hallways. I want those people to know that it is wrong, vulgar, and disgusting to say, nobody should ever get death wished upon them.

The last time I heard somebody telling someone else in the hallways to kill themselves I stood up for them. I had no idea who the person was or if they meant it, but I stood up. I want people to know that it is not wrong to speak up whenever someone else is getting bullied, and it is just as wrong to sit there in silence and witness it. People often think standing up for others or themselves will get them in trouble, however, it won’t as long as one remains civil about it.