By Siddarth Tumu ’19, Staff Writer

At one point in their life, all kids will experience bullying, whether it is firsthand or just something they witness.. Much of the bullying in America happens in public schools, with 12,024 instances of bullying were reported in the 2011-12 school year alone. To gain insight to bullying at Newark Academy, I spoke with Ms. Spooner, the guidance counselor, Mr. Ashburn, the Middle School principal, and the students themselves.

Based on her experience at Newark Academy, Ms. Spooner said she sees more cases of people being mean than outright bullying, defined as psychological or physical harassment. Trying to explain bullying, she added that it may happen because a student is different or at times, simply not liked.  Many times, students are trying to be funny when they insult someone, but are oblivious to the fact that they are hurting the other student’s feelings. According to Ms. Spooner, bad language is more common than bullying, especially online, where kids do not feel as responsible as they would if they were insulting someone face to face. She says that subtle types of bullying, such as excluding someone or talking behind someone’s back, are far more common at Newark Academy than more aggressive methods. The problem is that students do not stop to think about their actions.

Mr. Ashburn addressed the prevention of bullying, saying that it is normally stopped before it gets too serious.  Many students will come forward and tell of unkind acts that could escalate to bullying. He says that this is the type of culture that is desired in the Newark Academy community.  He believes that the core of discipline is education, and in this way education is one of the main ways to address bullying.

Sixth grader David You does not see much bullying in the sixth grade. However, he did say that subtle acts of unkindness do occur often. He says that sometimes older students pick on sixth graders, especially on the bus. David, a bus rider himself, tells me that seniors make fun of sixth graders as they equate a sixth grader to being “useless.” Besides these minor acts of unkindness, David says that bullying is not a major problem.

Natalie Sonkin of the seventh grade sees bullying around her all the time, and feels that these unkind acts are intentional and obvious. She says that these unkind acts are intended for laughs and are not meant to hurt people’s feelings, but do in fact constitute bullying. Natalie compared bullying at Newark Academy to that of her old school, and feels that verbal abuses are a lot more common at the Academy, and that the bullying in the Newark Academy community is more subtle.

A common theme among those interviewed is that bullying at Newark Academy is subtle. There are not many cases of outright bullying. Instead, there are more cases of students excluding, verbally abusing, and talking behind other students’ backs. Though the acts are ostensibly minor, they can still hurt the person who is targeted.  Thankfully, bullying is not a major issue at Newark Academy. However, there are still improvements to be made, and students should aim for the prevention of bullying so that everyone feels welcome and part of a tight-knit Newark Academy community.