Blaine High School from the outside looks like a shining school, with twenty-plus sports, dozens of clubs and amazing test scores. But behind the walls of the new entrance hides the fear that is within every student, and it’s a fear that no student should have to face. Often when it comes to school safety, thinking about safety from the outside comes to mind, especially in the era where school shootings are common. But often when it comes to what is happening inside the school, many staff turn a blind eye. They pass it off as kids expressing their emotions playfully, or simply teasing, when it is actually making the person at the center of it all, uncomfortable or harassed. 

As we are constantly reminded throughout the entire year, (and the reason why we get stuck in advisory for a no-travel time) being a Bengal means being kind to others. You would think being stuck in a room for an hour listening to the videos is enough for it to sink in. Apparently, it isn’t as you see people in the hallways, classrooms, even at football and basketball games harassing one another. It has become a part of society here at Blaine.

When you walked down the hall to your first hour class, how many times did you hear someone talking to another person and saying something about how someone is dressed, their phone, and the classes they are taking? How often do you hear the stories that get spread around the school like wildfire through Instagram and Snapchat? How many times have you had to dodge around someone being grabbed and almost thrown in the commons area at lunch, which forces you to take the other way?

It’s the small annoyances to us that shouldn’t be small annoyances. These are actual problems that shouldn’t be in a setting with fourteen year olds. In the real world, there are of course, people who will harass you, but that shouldn’t be happening everyday at Blaine. 

For every one thousand students, there are thirty victimizations, or cruel, unjust treatment by others. (National Center of Education Statistics) This means if we have three thousand kids in Blaine, there is over ninety cases of victimization everyday at Blaine. To some students, this didn’t shock them.

“Not all.” Replied Amelia Schwartz (10) “It wouldn’t shock me if it was higher than that.” When asked if she’s ever been subject of victimization, she responded with “Yeah, but it is so common, especially in or near the bathrooms. You just get used to it.”

It’s quotes like her’s that makes you realize that common it has become to see or be subject to victimization, but we brush it off. If it wasn’t common to see someone being the subject of someone’s joke, students would be more willing to help others, and not put them down. It’s hard to watch it day in and day out, the constant putting other kids down, the harassment and bullying. If people could stop and reflect on how their actions can affect others, Blaine High School could be a completely different place.

But only if people are willing to change it.