KOLD News 13Technology Makes Some Bullying Hard to Catch

Technology Makes Some Bullying Hard to Catch

By J.D. Wallace, News 13 Reporter

posted 4/19/04

Not all bullying is easy to catch, or even prove. Technology today can be used just as effectively to bully someone as a fist or a violent weapon. Teaching respect in schools and discussing the problems bullying can cause are considered valuable prevention tools to stop the intimidation a bullying law might not catch, something 12-year-old Tessie Lugo said she saw face to face at Utterback Middle School last January.

"It's like you can't trust anyone, except those you know are close," Lugo said. "It was really up front, really in your face."

Arizona lawmakers are considering an anti-bullying bill to make Arizona schools crack down on the problem; however, Max Vosskuhler with the Peaceful Resources Center said a law might not be enough.

"It's somewhat easier today with e-mail, with websites, with picture phones, with text messaging, to hide bullying," Vosskuhler said.

Digital pictures can be manipulated to humiliate a person; emails and text messages can carry anonymous threats.

"We need to use prevention early so these sort of instances do not happen," Vosskuhler said.

That's why Vosskuhler is working to make a new federal anti-bullying campaign effective in Tucson. It will promote a number of techniques to prevent bullying, from teaching respect in schools, to running public service announcements on what bullying is and the problems it creates.

It's all meant to show why bullying should not be considered just part of growing up.

"We really must help each other and stop the bullying and we must do it through prevention because we can't let another Columbine happen."

The public service announcements are expected to begin in about a month.

Seminars on bullying prevention will first be held in August.

Meanwhile, Arizona's anti-bulling bill passed the state House, and passed the state Senate Education Committee. What happens next has yet to be decided.