Bullying: Make It Stop

Many of us here in Pennsylvania have now gotten word of the tragic bullying incident that took place in Upper Darby on January 11th. The media has not given the case as much attention until recently, due to the release of the actual cell-phone video of the bullying and the arrest of seven high school students.

See the video here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/211590/nbc-today-show-teen-‘wolf-pack’-accused-of-bullying-boy

The incident goes something like this. Thirteen-year-old Nadin Khoury was walking home from school at around 1p.m. on January 11th when seven of his fellow classmates proceeded to beat, kick, torture, throw him in a tree, and even hang him on a fence by his jacket. Since when did it become okay in our society for seven kids to beat up on one? The cell-phone video lasting almost 20 minutes, filmed by one of the bullies reveals even more shocking evidence.  At one point a woman is shown walking by and does nothing to help the boy, not even call the police, despite his cries for help. 

Yesterday, the seventh suspect was finally apprehended by police, taken out of the High School in handcuffs, the same treatment that his fellow bullies received. Police Superintendent of Upper Darby Michael Chitwood said, “We took him out of school in handcuffs to send a message loud and clear that any type of bullying will not be tolerated.” I was fortunate enough to actually hear Chitwood speak in a class I had last semester and I know that he will take this incident seriously. Actions taken against the offenders will hopefully deter would-be bullies from partaking in this kind of behavior.


It was discovered that two of the seven offenders have prior criminal records. They attended The Opportunity Center, an alternative learning center, separate from the main High School campus. The bullies are being charged with kidnapping, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment and assault. They are being detained at the Juveinle Detention Center in Lima. It is sad to me that some of these high school students already have a criminal record.  I know it happens, and I'm not trying to be naiive about it, I mean come on, I'm a criminal justice student, I study this stuff! It just makes me sad to hear about cases like this where I often give my sympathy to the offenders as well.

 We need to show children and young adults that this behavior is not okay. Bullying used to be something that was never a big deal, sort of an integral process throughout your school years. I was bullied in high school, I'm sure all of us have experience with it, whether we were the victim, or the offender. In today's society however, bullying takes a much more hostile form, as evident by the video taken as proof or some kind of trophy to exploit on the Internet and show off to friends.

Today's technology whether it be cell-phones, facebook, or YouTube provides an easy, immediate way to share experiences. It has decreased our value of the personal face-to-face exchanges that used to be the main way of communicating.  What can we do to stop bullying? I think this question has been raised for years and no one seems to have come up with a good answer.  Bullying happens outside the reach of parents, teachers, and guardians. It can happen behind closed doors, on the Internet even. I think the police departments "get tough" attitude is exactly what society needs.

We will see what happens today at the right-to-detain hearing scheduled for 10a.m.
Stephanie, WWT