Bullying in College Communities

By Cliff Yung on August 22, 2014

Bullying has been, more often than not, slotted by media as a phenomenon that occurs during elementary, middle, and high school. Higher education often misses the gaze of mass media as a place where bullying can occur. The lack of coverage is likely due to a societal acceptance that with age comes maturity and that therefore students  have the ability to handle these situations. However, people are still cruel and punishing. Approximately 18.5 percent of college undergraduates have been bullied. Of those,  about 22 percent  have experienced it through the internet. To make it even worse, college students often lack proper support, such as friends and family, as they are introduced into a new situation, away from home.

as found on people.howstuffworks.com

To begin, now that I have properly frightened you, is to say “recognize when you are being bullied.” In college, bullying is frequently more veiled than it seems. Fraternities and sororities may employ tactics that fit the definition of bullying. Hazing often forces hopefuls into situations where they do ridiculous activities. Hiding from the searching eyes of fraternity brothers in a forest in the middle of a school night, and a 2K run the next day in which  one of the hopefuls got caught,  caused a few of my friends to nearly drop out of college. These are situations that some college students choose to enter. I would have to say to those who plan to enter these situations to be careful and recognize your limits as there have been cases where death has occurred.

Even subtler are the “Mean Girls” tactics. These tactics are not just within the fraternities and sororities but can encompass any community. Exclusion, rumor spreading, and, now more prevalent than ever, the infamous derogatory facebook post are all bullying tactics that attempt to disconnect a person from a community, and possibly even worse as a way of constant punishment. Disconnecting from social media or blocking a person often is not an option as the action could cause more damage to other relationships a person holds dear.

as found on rrdailyherald.com

Far more subtle and considered less dangerous is the socially accepted academic bullying. The competitiveness of contemporary academic structure has created a community where students are pitted against students to which only few are appeared to succeed. Teachers also can take advantage of the structure at large with their control over grades. Medical students are an example. In the competitiveness of the medical field, the requirement of getting a medical degree is essential to any medical practice. This allows the doctor to make unreasonable suggestions or degrade a student as a person, as a guardian report suggests. The control of bullying from the institution has to be recognized but is nearly impossible to deal with.

As I have suggested before, the first step to handling a bullying problem is to “recognize when you or someone is being bullied.” Always put your own situation into perspective to yourself and to others. Then once you recognize your or their situation, try and seek support from the campus health and psychological services if you have them or become the support a person needs. Remember that you can always call home. Or, seek out other well established trustworthy members within your community for advice or help. And if worst comes to worst, seek out the police for protection. Never stop seeking help.

Other Sources:

A Thin Line: Sexting and Cyberbullying

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

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