High school student speaks out on bullying
Posted Oct 20, 2011 03:29:21 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With the tragic passing of 15-year-old Jamie Hubley, High School student Christina Thompson contacted 1310News to let us know her experience with being bullied.
Christina Thompson didn’t know Jamie Hubley but she says she does know what it feels like to be bullied.
She says hearing about Hubley’s suicide and that of Daron Richardson something needs to be done to stop suicides related to bullying.
Thompson says there are support groups set up in highschools but feels teachers need to be more aware of bullying and
that the best way to make change happen is for students to work together.
She also sent us the following letter she wrote:
To whom it may concern,
My name is Christina Thompson. I’m a teenager in high school, and will soon be a senior. I’m sure you’ve all heard about the tragic events lately (Daron Richardson, Jamie Hubley, etc.). It’s quickly coming to my attention that the amount of suicides regarding bullying and depression has become quite high and seems to be increasing every year. As a high school student this concerns me GREATLY, because I’m walking in their shoes. I’m not gay, I’m not lesbian, and I’m not bisexual, but I understand what it’s like to be bullied, and the consequences it can have. I try my best to be a good person, and to make sure that I stop as much bullying as it is possible for one person to do. I do believe that it takes one person to make a difference, but it takes a community to change it. I respect VERY highly what the TV stations and radio stations are trying to do by acknowledging teens that have killed themselves because of these cruel circumstances, but that’s not always enough. Taking action is more than just acknowledging a problem; it’s by creating a solution.
There’s only so much high schools can do on their own, but I admit there is a whole lot more we could be doing. With the help of you guys, I’m writing this letter, hopefully getting your help, so we can make awareness a more frequent issue. This may be an email that you disregard, but it shouldn’t be. I may only be a high school student, and you may be a very large corporation, but those are the kinds of people we need to get it out in the open. If people would work together, instead of working against each other, it would be easier to make a difference, and less to make a difference about.
In no way am I trying to be disrespectful, but from what I’ve observed, it seems as the suicides and events that we hear about are solely because of family connections. It IS important to recognize those who are well known, because it shows that not only people from the everyday, small town lifestyles are those who are dealing with depression, or harassment. As a normal high school kid from high school, I see the rude comments and whispers that can slowly but gradually lead to depression, or suicide. It bothers me that the only people we really hear about, or HAVE heard about, are those who are well known. In my opinion, shouldn’t everyone be treated equally? That IS what the point of anti-bullying is, isn’t it? There’s too much of this out in the world, and especially amongst the younger generations. It saddens me greatly seeing kids I know and see everyday walking around hiding all their problems inside. Shouldn’t we be recognizing even the unknown people who’ve committed suicide? If people saw how it affects everyone, from little schools, to big schools, from all different types of people, famous or NOT, maybe they’d step up a little more to make a difference. In my opinion, there should be more clubs at school, and they should be more involved in their own school’s hidden heartaches. Life doesn’t last forever, but it should NEVER be cut short because of ignorance and blatant disregard for other people’s respect.
Now, I’m not saying that there should be something every day on the news, or everyday on the radio, but if we calculated the amount of suicides in the span of a year, there would be a great amount, or a large percentage. Even maybe in the span of the month. I’m sure the stations could make room to spare the help for kids who can’t change anything for themselves, before something is too late. If the world saw how many suicides there really was in the span of the time I just listed, I’m sure the response would increase, and people would maybe realize, THIS ISN’T OK.
Even just recognizing schools for their work on anti-bullying, would be an improvement. D.I.F.D is a start, but it shouldn’t be where it ends. If we can raise money for cancer, we can raise money for diabetes, we can definitely raise money for suicides and awareness. People are capable of amazing things, and this shouldn’t be such a big issue but it is, and I think that it can easily be changed.
Thank you for hopefully reading my letter, and I hope I make a difference. After all, that’s what I was put on the earth for. It’s what everyone is capable of, and should be doing.
Christina Thompson
John McCrae Secondary School
