Harassment invades kids’ cyberspace

By John w. Goodwin jr.

Cyber-bullying can land the bully in jail for six months, one official said.

LIBERTY — School officials here spent an entire day putting a new face on an age-old problem for many youths.

Virtually anyone who has made it through the adolescent years can recall the image of the schoolyard bully harassing and intimidating peers on a regular basis. The “bully” now has a means of following targeted students home and continuing the harassing behavior virtually around the clock — the Internet.

In an attempt to curb any potential “cyber-bullying” and inform students, parents and teachers about the signs of the behavior, school officials had a series of seminars addressing the issue Tuesday.

Students in grades five through eight assembled in the morning. High school students assembled in the afternoon, and a special presentation for parents was in the evening. The presentations were done in conjunction with the nonprofit I-SAFE Inc. organization for Internet safety.

Dozens of students were assembled in the high school auditorium during each of a series of four separate seminars throughout the day. In each session, no less than three-quarters of those assembled acknowledged owning a cell phone with picture capability or being a member of an online community such as Myspace.com.

“I was very much interested in this,” said Tony Daniels, school director of technology. “There is a lot of new technology out there, and these students are using that technology. If there is some bullying going on, we have to stop it and let those kids know to tell their parents so they don’t become a victim.”

Daniels said the school’s attempts to address the issue will not stop with the seminars. There are plans to have additional workshops next school year that will include students in the lower grades.

School Resource Officer Eric Sewell said he has seen reported cases of Internet harassment on the junior high level, but not in high school. He said cyber-bullying could be an issue in the high school, but the kids may be more reluctant to come forward and talk about it.

Sewell said any student being harassed online needs to understand that cyber-bullying is a crime that could land a person in jail for six months.

Kathleen Nichols, coordinator of youth and juvenile programs for the Ohio Attorney General’s office, made it clear that not only can Internet harassment lead to jail time, but it can be fatal to those being targeted. Nichols used true stories of teens committing and battling cyber-bullies to drive home her point.

Nichols said the first step in battling cyber-bullying is to make young people understand the importance of responsible use of technology.

“Just using technology in general and using it responsibly is the key,” she said. “Most people don’t engage in cyber-bullying, but a lot of kids using this technology have not been taught the rules and get into trouble using it inappropriately. We are trying to teach the rules.”

Nichols said Ohio passed an anti-bullying, intimidation and harassment law two years ago, but law enforcement has had a difficult time keeping up with different areas of technology, so I-SAFE advocates creative ways by local schools and law enforcement to handle young people and technology.

jgoodwin@vindy.com