(College/Institute/University)
Bullying in College
Blustering is not a new societal phenomenon; Cardin (2016) avers that bullying among children and juveniles has grown to epidemic proportions resulting in the suicide of numerous youths and the launching of counter-bullying programs and groups. However, what is generating considerable interest is the finding that bullying does not stop after high school; in fact, according to Project Anti Bullying CEO and President Fabianna Pergolizzi, though bullying in college is not extensively discussed and researched, it is actively conducted against college students.
In the research conducted by faculty members at Indiana University, bullying as well as “cyber bullying” does not stop when the student steps onto the college campus. In the research conducted by Indiana University educators Bridget Roberts-Pittman and Christine MacDonald, there have been negligible amounts of research conducted in the area of bullying in college. The works of the two professors, nearly 22 percent of college students disclosed these have been subjected to cyber-bullying while another 15 percent report being blustered.
How important is the need to know the extent of bullying among college students? America is tragically familiar with the cases of Megan Meier and Amanda Todd, victims of brutal and callous people who bullied them to the point that the two would take their own lives rather than endure more of the actions of these cold blooded individuals. Tragedies such as these have fueled much of the research in this area. But college students are far more exposed to social media compared to high school and middle school students.
It is believed that since these are more “mature,” bullying will not impact them in the same manner such as high school students; sadly, this has not proven to be the case. College students, particularly females, were six times more at risk to meet medical standards for depression; if the cyber bullying actions were related to the action of sexual harassment, the rates for depression rose 50 percent. In addition, the bullies also suffer from their actions. Girls who bluster are four times higher at risk for depression compared to girls who do not bully. Moreover, bullies have a higher risk to become alcoholics (LaMotte, 2015).
“Cyber bullying” is when the act is done via various mechanisms such as texting, or “instant messaging,” or on the various social networking sites designed to intimidate others with disparaging texts or pictures. Bullying on the other hand is when one assaults another physically, verbally, or deliberately shuts another person outside a social group. According to MacDonald, the most common victims are students that the general student body seems to believe is different than the rest. The difference can be due to the ethnic origin, race, gender, sexual preference; nonetheless, the two aver that there is insufficient data to accurately proffer what factors actually trigger blustering among college students (Sicking, 2011).
In college, the main purpose in bullying is to promote one’s interests to the detriment of others, and the primary mechanism is to denigrate the person in social media given the level of exposure of college students to these platforms. Withal, as much of the literatures on the subject are associated with high school students and juveniles, the lack of information as to how bullying impacts college students is also damaging to this demographic. Isolation from the “Greek” system in college-the sororities and the fraternities-greatly contribute to the sentiment of isolation that results in adverse scenarios for the victims, including dropping out of school (Cardin, 2016).
References
Cardin, K., (2016), “Bullying in college: silent yet prevalent” Retrieved 3 June 2016 from < http://www.12news.com/life/bullying-in-college-silent-yet-prevalent/52946901
LaMotte, S., (2015) “The health risks of cyber bullying in college” ” Retrieved 3 June 2016 from <http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/02/health/cyberbullying-in-college/
Sicking, J., (2011), “Bullying still occurs in college, professors find” Retrieved 3 June 2016 from <http://www2.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=2904
