Students Stand Against Bullying

Much of the bullying these Swampscott High students witness stems from attacks on social networking websites such Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine.

Launched privately, the attacks land in public, slung onto computer screens and delivering hurt to targets in places such as ask.fm, where questions are posed and answered.

Swampscott High students are trying to thwart some of that hurt with their new anti-bullying group, 45 students strong, the majority of them girls.

They meet weekly on Friday mornings under the guidance of Assistant Principal Frank Kowalski, teacher Elizabeth Gosselin and the guidance department's Julie Mazzola.

So far the students have been defining and identifying the problem and learning ways to combat it.

Students including Victoria Himaras, Tori Thistle, Desire Carey, Fatima Harara, Danielle Myblyum, Austin Sagan, Hannah Schultz and Nora Walker are assuming leadership roles.

Some of them have, in the past, as individuals, confronted fellow students about bullying, telling them to stop it, at least when it was clear who was doing the bullying. 

Now, they are part of a group with a common goal.

The school's assistant principal started the anti-bullying committee this year, frustrated by the regularity with which bullying-related issues arise.

The anti-bullying group will meet every week until Thanksgiving, then shift to a more project-based approach, meeting less and doing more outside work. 

These projects might include talking to elementary school students about the problem and producing an anti-bullying video.

In the end they want to leave their mark at the school, making a collective statement that will hopefully resonate and help erode bullying's base.