“Loser.” “Geek.” “Stupid.” The girl on the projector screen wore a bored expression as she slandered her classmate. As the scene faded to black, some words flashed: “If you wouldn’t say it in person, why say it online?”
The overhead lights illuminated the faces of the more than 300 freshmen sitting in the McAfee Center’s seats during a tutorial assembly on May 13. Chief Trial Deputy Rey Mandoza took the microphone and addressed the students.
“I see kids being hurt and I hear about kids being hurt online every day. And some kids suffer from severe depression. Some kids don’t want to come to school. And what happens in adolescence affects you your entire life.”
The leadership class and the administration organized this assembly to discourage the students from falling trap to bullying and other negative behaviors. Assistant principal Karen Hyde said the school will organize similar events next year, along with shifting the focus of Link Crew from school spirit to class unity.
“The piece that we have lost over time is the honor of all students, for whatever they do, for wherever they exceed or excel,” Hyde said. “I think the seniors have it, but there’s less embracing of it [with the underclassmen].”
Hyde and assistant principal Kevin Mount both emphasized the need to combat recent issues like bullying, especially in the form of cyberbullying on websites like Facebook and Formspring.
“The research says that the best way to deal with bullying is to purposefully create a culture of prevention,” Mount said. “The idea is how to encourage students to take pride, not just in their academics and extracurriculars, but in the way they treat each other.”
Mount said other schools across the nation are focusing more on creating a culture of prevention.
“Well, we had a couple of instances [of bullying] this year, but nothing out of the ordinary. I think it’s kind of in the national mindset right now,” Mount said. “President Obama delivered a speech on bullying, and there’s a heightened awareness around treating people right.”
Mount asserted that the main goal is to make Saratoga High “a peaceful and positive place to go to school.”
“What’s more interesting to me is not just preventing bullying, but creating a positive culture where everyone feels good about going to school,” Mount said.
As ASB president, senior David Mandell believes that the underclassmen are more disconnected from the school and each other than previous classes have been. He feels they have a lack of respect for their peers, the upperclassmen and themselves. As a result, the underclassmen may be more prone to bullying-related problems.
“My freshman year, I felt really welcomed, and I tried to dive into the Saratoga culture. I feel there’s more of a barrier between [the older students] and the freshmen,” Mandell said. “As upperclassmen, it is our job to be the example and not the exception.”
Freshman Nikhil Goel, too, has noticed varying levels of unity among the classes.
“I have heard of instances where people think of the freshman class as more into bullying, but I don’t really see it personally,” Goel said. “I guess I’m in the grade and I’m used to it.”
Goel believes that students need to change themselves and their behavior early.
“I think it really starts at the middle school level, because that’s where a lot of the problems happen,” Goel said. “You can’t really change their state of mind at that point, because kids have already kind of matured.”
Mandell, Mount, Goel and Hyde all remain hopeful of the school’s ability to create a culture that will positively influence new students in the future.
“Popularity is not what earns you a place on this campus,” Hyde said. “It’s more important about accepting, embracing, allowing people to find their passions and moving forward. And we need to keep the culture of Saratoga High School moving forward.”
