BY ALLIE ZWETZIG & NIKOLAS MASON

Bullying is a common problem that affects over 3.2 million students worldwide, according to National Association of School Psychologists.

In a recent survey conducted at South, 25 students were asked if they think bullying is a worldwide problem. Of those surveyed, 96% of these students stated that it was and of this group, 100% believed bullying is a problem in the U.S.

“It’s [anti-bullying month] a good way to see if it’s [bullying] an issue,” Gaby Crowell,12, said.

Although most people are aware of the increasing presence of bullying, not everyone understands the topic. Because of this, Friendship Club hopes to assist students in gaining a general knowledge of what bullying is and how to prevent it.

They will focus on the issue during the entire school year, but more specifically the month of October. In 2006, PACER’S National Bullying Prevention Center started its campaign to make October the official bully prevention month.

There are a numerous amount of students at South who claim to have the desire to do something to prevent bullying, but many of them don’t know how to help.

“If they’ve already talked to the student and asked them to stop,” Gina Hendershot, para, said. “I would recommend going to a trusted adult whether it be administration or a teacher.”

Students with exceptionalities believe that being a buddy is more than just smiling and waving as you walk down the hallway. To them, a friend is someone who spends time and communicates with them even when they can not see each other via letter, texting, and email. However, most of the students concluded that  you don’t have to be best friends with everyone, you just have to be nice.

“If you see someone being bullied, say something,” Gabby said. “It only takes one person to make someone’s day a little better.”

Anti-bullying month takes place during the month of Oct. Friendship Club had a meeting over the qualities of friendship and how to prevent bullying at school. Photo Courtesy of STOMPOutBulling.org