Short answer? Not really. If you want the longer answer, things get more complicated. Bullying has and always will be a problem at schools across the United States, so it is up to the school staff and officials to try and stop it. Some schools try their best to prevent bullying while others do not really care. So, what is the case of Greenwood High School? To find this out, I decided to interview a few of the students who attend Greenwood and figure out how the students themselves view bullying at Greenwood.

When I asked these people if they had seen any bullying, their answers were mostly good, not witnessing any bullying themselves. When I asked one student about it, Daniel Neal, a freshman, he said, “I wouldn’t say so. I mean, I’ve seen people pick on one another for friendly banter but that’s pretty much it.” I asked the same question to a student, Tijay Gatewood, a freshman. He simply responded, “No, not really.” Obviously, this is a good thing. Not having a bullying problem at school makes the school a friendlier environment and makes students feel safe. Surely, there are not any problems whatsoever. Except for the way Greenwood students feel about the way bullying is handled.

Now, as we already know, bullying is not as big of a problem at Greenwood compared to other schools. It is the way that some students believe the staff views bullying that things get more complicated. “If I had to say, I don’t think they prevent anything.” This was the answer of Tijay Gatewood when I asked him if he thinks the staff cares for bullying or is just saying that to save face. This shows that the problem at Greenwood is not bullying itself, but the trust students have for teachers and staff. This means some students are less likely to tell teachers and staff if they are being bullied, leading to them feeling isolated and bringing them to a worse mental state. If students do not feel trust with their teachers, bullying will just get worse and worse.

So, what could teachers and staff do to help the victim? A possible solution is showing students you care, but not in the normal way. Usually, schools would have big assemblies to show the problems of bullying and how it affects the victim. However, some students do not really listen to these assemblies and feel forced to be there, along with the fact that they do not know the students that are being shown that were bullied. A possible solution is bringing actual students from the school who have been bullied to talk about their experiences. These students are people’s friends and classmates, which feels more personal and could make them more willing to listen to what is happening in the assemblies. However, that does not solve the problem of students trusting their teachers. A solution for the lack of trust is teachers trying to have good relationships with their students, being a mentor and someone the student can trust. Many students do not like their teachers, and because of this, they are less likely to trust them. If teachers could show they care and are willing to listen instead of just being someone’s teacher, the students would greatly appreciate them and open up more. One other solution is not punishing the victims for standing up to themselves. There have been many cases of victims fighting back and getting in trouble along with their bully. The staff most likely think them fighting back is not the best solution, and they should tell a trusted adult. While this is true, this is a problem because this will make the victim trust the staff less and not open up, making the situation worse. Now, these are just solutions for helping the victims, let us move to the bullies.

A big question is why people bully other students in the first place. I asked Tijay Gatewood that same question, and he responded, “The way the bully is being raised at home.” This actually does make sense. In movies, bullies are depicted as pointlessly cruel who bully people for fun and always pick on the loser protagonist, only to get karma later on. These depictions are almost a demonization of bullies, but some people forget these bullies are also people. Now, I am not denying that some bullies bully people just because they can; however, some bullies are doing this as a way to let out their anger that they feel back at home. If we keep demonizing bullies, this will just make them seem cruel for cruelty’s sake, instead of people who have real problems and issues that need more help than bashing. What teachers could possibly do is not just get the bullies in trouble but to try understanding them more by talking to them to determine why they bully in the first place. If the bullies feel like the staff actually cares, they could release their anger in better and healthier ways instead of picking on people.

Now, these solutions will not just make bullying disappear because it will still be a problem no matter what. However, with these possible solutions, it could make it less of a problem. Students need their schools to be a safe place. This is a place they spend most of their days inside the school building. It is the responsibility of the staff and faculty to make their school a safe and trusting place, and hopefully, with these possible solutions, the students could feel safe and welcome in their own school. Not only will the victim open up, but so will the bullies. Hopefully, the staff can try to make their students feel safe and listened to rather than just being seen as simply students.