Cyberbullying
- Dunia Camperos Sanchez
- Jun 27, 2021
- 3 min read
Journal reflection entry #4
Cyberbullying reflection journal #4
Bullying is a disease because it harms the student body, its growth and development. Bullying can impact a student on physical, mental and emotional level (s). Students who have been victims of bullying or cyberbullying are prone to anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, their self-esteem suffers and diminishes greatly, they can have gastric issues like bulimia, and develop addictions to alcohol and drugs. The internet and social media has added an extra layer of complexity with cyberbullying in all its forms. Flaming websites, rumor spreading, catfishing, impersonation, information spreading, posting pictures or videos without consent, tagging to insult and humiliate, direct threats through emails, msm and other communication apps, cyberstalking, commenting and the list keeps going on and on as technology develops and continues to be of easy access and availability. As social media becomes the news/content resource medium for this generation of technology natives, this click and tag cyberworld, victims and perpetrators have developed new ways of stress, harm, harassment, threats that can end in suicide or murder and other types of crimes penalized by law.
As I was reading and learning more about bullying and its ugly big cousin cyberbullying what stroke me was how it was in most cases the parents of victims and targets of cyberbullying who pushed for new legislation in their state to address this new and different way of harassment and harm against people which can happen standalone or only online or in combination with traditional forms of bullying in schools.
This sparked my curiosity and the first thing I wanted to know was is there an anti bullying law in Texas? Does it include cyberbullying? What is penalized or not under this law?
The answer was yes. We have SB 179, known as David’s Law passed on 2017 after David’s Molak suicide a victim of cyberbullying in San Antonio, Texas. His family created the David’s legacy foundation to create new legislation that addresses cyberbullying in our state.
Story of David Mulak: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Alamo-Heights-High-School-student-was-a-victim-of-6743320.php
David’s legacy website:
David’s law pdf:
David’s law allows students to report anonymously any bullying or cyberbullying of students to school. Parents and teachers can (and should) also report.
Each school should have a designated person to report bullying to the district police department / or Sheriff , if it rises to a crime. It can be the Principal or someone designated by the Principal for this role.
Consequences for bullies or cyberbullies include: removal from school, placing the student in an alternative disciplinary school, or expelling the student.
Schools in Texas also need to implement a program that address one or more of the following:
Early mental health intervention
Mental health promotion
Substance abuse prevention
Substance abuse intervention
Suicide prevention
Grief-informed and trauma-informed practices;
Skills related to managing emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making
Positive behavior interventions and supports and positive youth development; and
Safe and supportive school climate.
David’s Law allows a victim or their parents to seek a temporary restraining order and/or an injunction, against the cyberbully and if underage this extends to the cyberbullies parents.
Also, if a person commits an cyberbullying offense, it is a Class A misdemeanor if:
• The person has previously been convicted under this section; or
• The offense was committed against a child under 18 years of age with the intent that the child die by suicide or engage in conduct causing serious bodily injury to the child; or
• The person has previously violated a temporary restraining order or injunction issued under the new civil provisions in David’s Law.
David’s law was specifically designed to include offenses of cyberbullying. In their website they are working on resources for students, teachers and parents and as their website states, they continue to advocate for laws to protect children from bullying and cyberbullying.
Then I wanted to learn about my own school districts policy for bullying and cyberbullying and this is what I found in the Student code, which every students needs to sign off to register each school year:
Student Code of conduct of my School District:
No place for Hate program is what we use in our district as to Bullying prevention. My questions are: how well has this program worked? Do we have statistics of bullying and cyberbullying where we can attest the impact of this program? What other mental health programs for students have been implemented in our Middle schools and High schools to prevent bullying and cyberbullying? I think as we come back full face to face it would be a good opportunity to discuss better ways to address this issue in our community before a tragedy forces us to address head on.
Comments