To the editor
By:
B-U-L-L-Y-I-NG, it should be a four-letter word.
It has become an epidemic in this country and this township. How many times can you be told you are hated? Should other students be allowed to go into your belongings? How about being threatened with physical harm?
Most readers would be surprised at the amount and repetition of bullying that could take place on a Hillsborough School District bus. How can multiple students be allowed to get away with this kind of behavior, and even have a bus driver admit that he cannot control them?
This is the daily crucible that my child has to face, a good student and person who is an undeserving victim of a veteran principal that seems unwilling to better insure a child’s safety.
The recent history of school violence in the United States is shocking, and not surprisingly manifests out of behavior that progresses from the bullying stage. Most school districts and states have embraced some type of policy and strategy to deal with this epidemic.
Technology innovations such as self-authored Web sites and text messaging have only exacerbated the problem.
Here in Hillsborough, our district has a publicly stated policy against bullying that is "supported" with commensurate education programs. Many dollars have been invested in programs that are communicated to our children in assemblies and other forums, but I would ask: Where are the "real world" results?
Sadly, I would characterize the district’s public policy as "tactful lip service," and my child who is the "good student" and has always played by the rules, loses.
Quotes from our educators such as "Kids make threats every day, but nothing ever happens" smack of hypocrisy and arrogance.
To make matters worse, one of the students who was the catalyst for the bullying in question has a known history of committing similar acts toward other students on the same bus. Assurances of permanent action by the school against this individual have seemingly come up empty.
Nobody is denying a "bully" the right to an education, but compromising the comfort and safety of other students, rubber stamps this abhorrent behavior. Alternative transportation (for the offender) or a bus monitor are just two of the possible solutions in this case.
Regardless, it is time for the school district, school board and the community as a whole to take strong action against those who would bully our children.
One needs to look no further than the guidance provided recently by the New Jersey State Supreme Court: The justices ruled that a Toms River School District was responsible and liable for bullying perpetrated against one of their students.
This is an important precedent for parents like my wife and I who dedicate ourselves to keeping our children safe and bully free Now if only the Hillsborough School District could do the same.
Hillsborough

