Bully

This article explores modern-day bullying by delving into one Worcester girl's story about being bullied and the school's response. The effects of bullying are well documented and this article shows how these incidents can have a drastic influence on a child’s psyche. The 2010/2011 school year is the first affected by Massachusetts’ thorough new anti-bullying law. The new law requires that all schools in the state—public, charter and nonpublic—must report instances of bullying to all parents/guardians of those involved. All teachers, school staff and students will be taught what bullying is, what to do when an instance is spotted and how to report it. Defined by the new law as “the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression of a physical act or gesture…that causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim’s property…or materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school,” methods of cyber-bullying are pinned down as using e-mail, instant-messaging services and creating attacking or false social-media pages. Included in this article are interviews with school committee members, parents and teachers regarding some of the push-back, support and the effectiveness of cyber-bullying trainings.