Boston Middle School
2014-2015
ANTI-BULLYING AND HARASSMENT
PRESENTATION
FOCUS ON:
What is the definition of harassment/bullying
and what are their major differences?
 Where and to whom do harassment/bullying
rules/laws apply?
 What are 3 ‘takeaways” from this presentation?

BULLYING DEFINITION

Bullying means overt, unwanted, repeated acts or
gestures, including verbal or written communications
transmitted in any manner (including digitally or
electronically), physical acts committed, aggression, or any
other behaviors committed by a student or group of
students against another student with the intent to
harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate or harm the other
student and create for the targeted student, while the
targeted student is on the property owned, used, or
occupied by the state educational institution, an
objectively hostile environment that:
(Indiana Code: IC 21-39-2-2.1)
BULLYING DEFINITION CONTINUED
1) places the targeted student reasonable fear or
harm to the targeted student’s PERSON OR PROPERTY
 2) has a substantially detrimental effect on the
targeted student’s PHYSICAL OR MENTAL HEALTH
 3) has the effect of substantially interfering with
the targeted student’s ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
 4) has the effect of substantially interfering with
the targeted student’s ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE in or
benefit from the services, activities, and privileges
provided by the state educational institution

WHERE DOES BULLYING RULES APPLY?


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Bullying rules may be applied regardless of the physical
location in which the bullying behavior occurred,
whenever:
(1) the individual committing the bullying behavior and
any of the intended targets of the bullying behavior are
students attending a school within a school corporation;
and
(2) disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid
substantial interference with school discipline or prevent
an unreasonable threat to the rights of others to a safe
and peaceful learning environment.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
I.
II.
III.
Indiana Government has taken a strong
stance against bullying and so has Indiana
schools
Targeting someone and bothering that
person repeatedly is bullying
A student can be off school grounds and
receive consequences if behavior interferes
with school
HARASSMENT DEFINITION

IC 35-45-2-1
Intimidation
Sec. 1. (a) A person who communicates a
threat to another person, with the intent:
(1) that the other person engage in
conduct against the other person's will;
(2) that the other person be placed in fear
of retaliation for a prior lawful act;
EXAMPLES OF HARASSMENT









Name calling
Teasing
Inappropriate notes, texts
Hitting/grabbing body parts
Rumor spreading
Threats and hostility
Intimidation
Offensive language
Discrimination *
* CATEGORIES OF DISCRIMINATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Gender
Religion
Race
Color
Ethnicity
Sexual Orientation
Age
Disability
WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT. SHOW TOLERANCE.
ANTI-BULLYING STRATEGIES


BMS Counselors:
Always tell an adult. It is
hard to talk about serious
things with adults
sometimes, but they can
help put a stop to bullying.
Tell an adult that you trust
and can talk to - your
parents, your teacher,
your school counselor,
your coach, your neighbor.

Stand up to the person
doing the bullying. If you
feel safe doing this, tell a
person who is bullying that
what he or she is doing is
wrong and that he or she
should stop. Keep it
simple. You could just say,
"Ben, cut it out. Nobody
thinks that's funny."
ANTI-BULLYING STRATEGIES CONT.

Stay in a group. Kids who
bully like to pick on kids
who are by themselves a
lot– it is easier and they
are more likely to get
away with their bad
behavior. If you spend
more time with other kids,
you may not be an easy
"target" and you will have
others around to help you
if you get into a difficult
situation!

Join clubs or take part in
activities where you'll meet
other kids. Sometimes, it
can help to join clubs or
take part in activities that
interest you. Think about
joining a sports team, join
an after-school club, or
participate in Campus Life,
for example. You can meet
other kids who share your
interests and you might
make some good friends!
CYBER-ABUSE


Cyber-harassment & Cyber-bullying: A person
bullying another person on the Internet or through
an electronic device. Bullying involves repeated
put-downs, insults, and threats.
Flaming: When someone responds inappropriately
to a disrespectful comment, which continues the
issue and makes it worse. To prevent flaming, do
not respond, save the messages so you can show
a trusted adult, and don’t worry if the message is
from an unknown person; they can always be
tracked down.
CYBER HARASSMENT-ELECTRONIC MESSAGE

Harassment; ‘obscene message’ defined in Indiana
Code 35-43-2-3(a):
Sec. 2. (a) A person who, with intent to harass, annoy,
or alarm another person but with no intent of legitimate
communication:
* makes a telephone call, whether or not a
conversation ensues;
* uses a computer network or other form of electronic
communication to:
(A) communicate with a person; or
(B) transmit an obscene message or indecent or
profane words to a person; commits harassment (Class
B misdemeanor)
ONLINE ADVICE
1.
2.
3.
If you would not say it to the person’s face, do
not say it online.
Be careful with sarcasm—it can be misread.
Be extra careful about what you say online
because your audience cannot hear tone or
see facial expressions.
TERRIBLE TEXT STRATEGIES
Ignore the message: ignoring the text will help
avoid making the situation worse (flamed); take
them off your contact list or block them if you can
 Save the message: any message can be traced;
save the message in case you need to provide
them all to the authority
 Share the message: share the message with a
trusted adult; especially if ignoring the issue does
not discontinue messages

CONSEQUENCES OF ONLINE INTERACTIONS

Police Liaison Officer…

May lead to legal consequences-placing comments
online leaves a trail of evidence; everything online is
archived and saved!
May lead to removal from school or consequences from
parents
May place you in harms way; predators search the
Internet to target children
May prevent you from playing sports, receiving a
scholarship, a job, work release, a driver’s license or
getting accepted into college!



Everyone has the right to be respected
and the responsibility to respect others.
REFERENCES
http://www.nsteens.org/, 9/2013
http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx, 9/2013
http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.org, 9/2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=YFzay3Vm860