Bullying happens everywhere, but often goes unnoticed. “I feel like bullying is something that happens a lot more than you think. Sadly, I’ve probably seen it in a way that people try to play off as jokingly, like playing around but totally bullying and taking it too far,” Evelyn Barrera (11) said. Barrera feels that bullying isn’t taken seriously.

Azul Rivera (12) agrees with Barrera and has expressed that people take it too far. Barrera doesn’t feel right about it.

“I’ve witnessed it before, bullies just think it’s a joke and they’re playing around, and to me it’s not alright and not cool because you can see the person who’s being bullied,” Rivera said. Rivera thinks that bullying is unfair and mean.

Barrera mentioned that she tries to speak up whenever she sees bullying happen. Many other Granger students mention witnessing bullying in the past. Rivera told us about a time she was friends with a group of girls back in elementary school who were bullies. They targeted one girl, but Azul did not participate. She was friends with them only because the group of girls felt like the only people she had. Azul has expressed that she always does what is necessary to stop bullying. Good people like that help make Granger a better school

Rivera has interfered with bullying before, “I actually stopped them a bunch of times for bullying that girl since first grade but they finally stopped in third grade,” Rivera said. She felt bad, but tried her best, and she later stopped being friends with that group because of the kind of people they were. “Bullying is taunting someone or hurting someone’s feelings on purpose, if I was to see a bully get bullied I wouldn’t do anything,” Rivera said. Some may believe that bullying may come back to bite the bully later on.

Rivera says that she has never seen bullying happen at Granger High School. To Azul, bullying is someone using their power to control or take advantage of someone’s personal feelings. Rivera encourages students to try their best to ignore it or get help.

Some Granger High Students seem to have witnessed bullying less in high school compared to middle school, while others feel it gets worse in high school. “Bullying is different now because when we were younger we didn’t have the technology to go and harass people on social media,” Yanira Mendoza (12). Mendoza feels uncomfortable and disgusted thinking about the fact that people still do it these days.

Yanira mentioned how students did not always have phones and social media to cyberbully, which is why it happens more often today. It may be why people don’t see bullying as often in person now. Mendoza says if she sees someone getting bullied, she usually tries to get help. “If I was the one getting bullied I would probably go home to tell my parents, especially my mom, because she would take charge,” Mendoza said. Whether it’s a parent, teacher, or administration, there’s always someone who can, and will, help you. Any Granger student who sees bullying happen at school or online is encouraged to speak up and tell a trusted adult.