On March 23, Evan Ziemniak committed suicide because of bullying. Evan attended West Allegheny Middle School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was repeatedly pushed and stabbed with pencils on the school bus. School officials were alerted many times, but only started a “Safe and Supportive School Program" in March. Despite this, Evan, a 12-year-old boy, hanged himself.
Almost two weeks later, on April 5, Aileen Jiminian committed suicide because of bullying. Aileen attended Manhattan Village Academy, where she was constantly called “ugly," "stupid," or "awkward." Aileen, a 17-year-old girl, jumped in front of a train in New York City during her lunch period. School officials are asking children not to talk about it and calling it an “accident."
The first takeaway from these two accounts is that bullying is not being taken as seriously as it should be. These tragedies occurred two weeks apart in two separate states. Evan’s middle school at least responded by launching an anti-bullying program. They acknowledged the problem and did not try to mask Evan’s death. A prayer walk was even held at the school.
Aileen’s high school has tried to cover it up. The students received information that it was an accident and were told not to discuss it. The administration has basically been sweeping the problem under the rug, covering it up to save their public image. Bullying is a problem, just as alcoholism is a problem. The first step is admitting the problem exists.
Bullying exists, and it is not right to ignore it or pretend it is a rite of passage. I have heard countless times that bullying toughens kids up. I have experienced bullying in middle school, and did it make me stronger? No, it just left me with self-esteem and confidence issues.
Bullying should be taken seriously by parents and school officials. We also need to make children feel comfortable reporting bullying. Many kids feel if they tell someone, they will be labeled a “snitch.” I have even heard people in positions of power call a child a “snitch” for reporting wrongdoing. How does this make sense? How is this fair? Children need to be taught that “snitching” is what should be done if they are being mistreated. It needs to be encouraged constantly.
School officials should take bullying accounts seriously. There should not be favoritism, either. Anyone can be a bully. Honors students, privileged children and “nice” children can all bullies. Parents and officials need to understand this and not discriminate in the case of the bully or the child being bullied.
Issues like this cannot be swept under the rug. What happened to Aileen was not an accident. She killed herself. It should be talked about for a long time as a reminder of why we need stronger anti-bullying programs.
Two kids, two different states, two suicides. Something needs to be done.
