newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ADELE SAMMARCO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Bullying can happen anywhere, anyplace or anytime. Whether bullies choose to taunt face-to-face, by text message or over the internet, it is not limited by age, gender, or education.

Law enforcement officials as well as educators agree it is neither a phase some young people may experience, nor a joke. Experts say bullying can cause lasting harm when not stopped in its tracks, where young bullies in the schoolyard can grow-up to be big bullies in the workplace.

Despite the Garden State’s latest efforts to fight back against bullies with a stronger anti-bullying law that took effect in September, its public schools reported an increase in violence as well as drug, weapons and alcohol abuse.

An annual report on school violence released by the state Department of Education last Friday revealed harassment and bullying encompassed nearly a third of all violence documented, representing 3,412 of the 11,213 reported incidents in the 2010-2011 academic school year.

Even though New Jersey has now one of the strictest anti-bullying laws on the books in the entire nation, the data shows a 22 percent spike in violence in the previous year.

According to the “Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse Report”, a third of all bullying incidents were committed by students in grades seven and eight, and about 25 percent were by students in grades nine and ten. The report identifies about 4 percent of the incidents as bias-related where bullies targeted students based on of their race, religion or sexual orientation.

Fights and assaults made up the largest number of violent incidents, according to the statistics, though the number of assaults dropped 8 percent over the last three years. Incidents of violence statewide increased 7 percent from 2009-10 to 2010-11.

In a statement issued by the New Jersey Department of Education, Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf acknowledged school officials are not fully certain if the changes represent an increase in incidents or just better reporting as awareness of bullying has grown.

“We do know that the new statewide anti-bullying law has put a focus on violence and bullying in schools, which is leading to better identification and reporting from schools and districts,” Cerf said.

The September, 2010 suicide of Tyler Clementi, the 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman who jumped from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on his intimate encounter with another man, cast an extensive spotlight on the tragic effects of bullying in the state.

School officials believe better identification and reporting from parents, teachers and school districts is a necessary first step in taking tougher action that will create safer learning environments for all students.

According to NorthJersey.com, the new report found incidents of violence statewide increased by 7.3 percent last year over the previous year, while vandalism declined by 8.3 percent.

The report went on to outline incidents involving weapons increased by 13.5 percent and substance abuse grew by 9.8 percent, whereby marijuana usage accounted for 69 percent of substance-abuse problems, and 15 percent involved alcohol.

Statewide, the report noted a 19.9 percent jump in incidents of harassment, intimidation, bullying and threats during a three-year period. These totaled 3,412 in the 2010-11 school year, up by 566 from 2008-9.