Bullying Plague Claims Another Victim

It is no secret that bullying in our school systems is a national problem. Over the course of American history victims of bullying suffered in silence, without an acknowledgment that what they were experiencing was indeed a problem. In recent years, bullying has been recognized as a serious problem, and there have been steps, taken nationwide, to combat the bullying problem.
There have been countless unnecessary deaths due, in large part, to being bullied at school. The infamous Columbine shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting, and innumerable suicides are some examples. This past week a new school year began, and already the death toll is rising. Bartlomiej “Bart” Palosz, committed suicide after the first day of school, he was 15 years old. He was bullied everyday at school for the past ten years. As a result of his being bullied, he retreated into loneliness and the online community. Those faceless names tried to help him, pleaded with him, tried to convince him that life is in fact worth living. His pain was too deep.
It is baffling that this nation has not taken more steps to prevent this sort of tragedy. The country has set in place some prevention hotlines and some counseling aid at school, but clearly that is not enough. Those programs are very impersonal and if a person is getting bullied, it only makes sense that they are looking for personal help. They are looking for someone to take an interest in them; someone to say everything is going to be okay, someone who cares about their well-being. In a perfect world the students would be each other’s support, but they are clearly the abusers and in no condition to aid their peers. Someone needs to step up and end this problem.