October is National Anti-Bullying Month, and to show our support here at Carolina Forest High School, we held a “Unity Day.” Everyone who participated wore orange to take a stand against bullying. 

According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, more than one of every five students (20.8%) report being bullied.  Students reported that bullying occurs more in the hallways or stairwells (42%) than the classroom (34%).  Surprisingly, the bathroom/locker room is the lowest (9%).  15.5% reported are cyber-bullied.

Laurie Prafke, one of our guidance counselors, shared, “I think that bullying has gotten worse in the sense of cyber-bullying.  Bullying may have occurred in school but then you could go home to your safe place and escape it. Now with social media bullying reaches into our homes all hours or the day and night.”  

Unity Day is not the only way to show support; students can also join the #BeStrong Movement. 

There have been many anti-bullying movements over the past few years, but few have truly succeeded in declining the number of bullying reports. The #BeStrong Movement has a different approach to reaching these goals. The plan is to empower students to be the change that they want to see happen.

Hope and resilience training are the core concepts of this movement to helping youth better their lives. This training allows them to believe that change is possible, and they can be the ones to make it happen. 

“I stand up to bullying by being nice to everyone, and I make sure to tell people when they’re being rude,” informed junior, Ashtyn Perry.

Many students may be struggling or see others struggling in life and not reach out because they don’t know where to go. The #BeStrong website and app  gives these students easier access to getting and giving help to others. Resources, support and intervention are just a click away from changing a child’s life.