There’s a chance that you or someone you know has been bullied in your lifetime, or maybe you and your friends were the bullies; no shame, it happens. Yet, it’s still going on today, even in college.

Here at Doane it’s all about inclusion, chances are you are either in a Greek group, a sport or some type of art like music or theatre. If you’re not in one of these you’ve probably found a club to join or participate in Relay for Life. We all have some place here that we fit in but it seems like one person or another is struggling with themselves or others and has no other way but to take it out with name calling or worse telling someone else to harm themselves in some way. This is bullying.

Bullying isn’t the typical stereotype of a bigger kid pushing a smaller kid down anymore. Nowadays it has become much more complex; name calling, leaving notes in mailboxes/lockers, and online where pictures come up that aren’t meant to be seen by others. This has become a lot more frequent in middle school, high school and even college. It has gotten to the point where the victims feel that the only way out of it is commit suicide. It’s not.

You may have heard of anonymous apps that let you speak your mind without anyone knowing who you are, hence the anonymous. Some popular ones are ask.fm, Whisper and more popular right now, Yik Yak. These apps have given someone who feels like they need power, the ability to call out people in what they’ve done or just because of who they are. Believe it or not this happens right here on campus and there’s not a whole lot anyone does about it.

Look at Yik Yak, you probably have it on your phone to get the latest gossip. There are more than likely one or two posts that target an individual or an entire group of people. What these people may not understand is that what they’re saying about these peers is bullying.

“So and so is a slut.”

“This Greek group should not exist and we hate them because they do.”

“The sports team is full of b*tches/dicks.”

“I don’t like this person because of their opinions.”

These are just a few things that are seen on anonymous apps attacking people. You may be entitled to your opinion, but there’s a difference between speaking your mind and just being rude.

Put yourself on the other side, reading these things and you have no idea who said it and you wonder walking around campus which student did you pass that feels hatred towards you. You want to shut down because you feel like everyone is after you and you can’t talk about it because you’re told to just brush it off, they’re just words. Well, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will cut into me deeply.

Words hurt, they stick around and you think of them over and over again. “Am I really this?” “Do people really not like me?” They don’t go away unlike a bruise or a cut and they can eat away at a person until they feel like nothing.

Don’t let others feel like nothing. How? First off, don’t be a bully. Find out why you feel like you need to put others down. Secondly, if you know the person being bullied, reach out to them, don’t tell them to brush it off and act like it’s not happening. And thirdly, if you see bullying happening either on social media or in person, report it, you could be saving two lives, the one being bullied and even the one bullying.

Doane is about inclusion, so why not include everyone; or at least don't put someone out because you need power.