The message was powerful and poignant.
The editorial in the The Sioux City Journal boldly stated that it's up to all of us to stand up for kids who are being cruelly treated by their classmates.
"Our Opinion: We Must Stop Bullying. It Starts Here. And It Starts Now," trumpeted the headline.
Spurred by the suicide of Kenneth Weishahn, 14, a student at South O'Brien High School in Paullina, Iowa, the Journal's editors did something that is indeed unusual in the world of newspapers: The entire front page was devoted to the editorial.
"A lot of newspapers shy away from putting editorials on the front page, but we feel we have to be a strong advocate for our community," editor Mitch Pugh told Yahoo! News. "And if we don't do that, we're not sure who else is."
The local sheriff's department reported that Weishahn died of a "self-inflicted injury," according to Yahoo! News.
Weishahn had recently told his family and friends that he was gay. Several kids at school turned on him when he did that, leaving threatening cell phone calls, harassing him at school and in emails.
In order to stop cruelty in its tracks, people need to look to each other, as the editorial stated:
"In Kenneth's case, the warnings were everywhere," the Sioux City Journal reported. "We saw it happen in other communities, now it has hit home. Undoubtedly it wasn't the first life lost to bullying here, but we can strive to make it the last."
Pulling no punches, the newspaper called upon one superintendent to reconsider his stance on prevention of abuse.
In an earlier statement in regard to Weishahn's suicide, Superintendent Dan Moore had remarked that the school district had everything in place to deal with the situation.
How should we put a stop to this? What should we do if we see someone being abused?
The Journal called upon people to confront those who say that this type of abuse is a normal part of growing up.
How should kids be encouraged to stop this behavior?
If schools are truly dedicated to stopping this, then they must train employees to defuse the situation before it explodes. They must start early on.
Perhaps the best thing might be to show kids what it feels like to be mistreated, so that they develop a sense of empathy for others.
Abusive kids should also be made aware of the consequences of their actions.
Schools and parents need to work together to put a stop to abusive behavior.
The paper also called upon the community to support local agencies and national efforts like stopbullying.gov.
The Journal also called upon people to intervene when they see a child being abused. Don't ignore the situation.
According to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen suicide was the third leading cause of death among American young people between the ages of 10-24, resulting in about 4,500 suicides every year.
The statistics were compiled up to the year 2007, which is the most recent year the data is available for, according to this site.
Undoubtedly some of these deaths were due to bullying, but the exact number was unclear.
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Comments: 8
They are always more afraid of the bully's parent than any of the parents of the kids being bullied.
I know that teachers have a lot on their hands, so I don't blame them if the ball gets dropped, but something needs to be done. A child shouldn't have to be afraid to go to school.
I truly believe that bullies need to be taught that there are ramifications to what they do.