Cyberbullying Be Suspended From School

Should Students Who Commit Cyberbullying Be Suspended from School?

A boy was the target of relentless cyberbullying for over two years. The bullies used the computer to attack at him and even destroyed a video game that he and his friend had worked on all summer. After two years, he committed suicide. And a 12-year-old Japanese girl killed her classmate because she was angry about the messages that had been posted about her on the internet. These are two cases of cyberbullying that had terrible effects on the bullied, and one can only imagine how they and others felt in those situations. Although social networking can help kids feel more connected to their community of friends, it can be a double-edged sword, particularly for many isolated

Ahrens says that a school should punish students for the contents of their electronic communications, even when those communications are undertaken off campus and outside of school hours (45). The effort of the school to stop or prevent cyberbullying will be best equipped to deter and stop offenders and find relief for victims. Schools must take appropriate action in a timely manner when they learn of the incidents of cyberbullying that interfere with a student’s educational performance, opportunities, or benefits (Sabella 12). Those who experience cyberbullying suffer from its trauma, which interferes with all of their school work. Appropriate action and enforcement are critical to the overall effectiveness of any existing school policies. Disciplining students for engaging in cyberbullying outside of school requires that the bullying action must have caused or threatened to cause a significant and material threat of disruption on school grounds (Sabella 13). According to Sabella, an anti-cyberbullying policy should include establishing a prevention program as well as a punishment program (12). Every school district needs clear policies regarding cyberbullying, both at school and away from school. One of the roles of schools is teaching children how to relate to one another and participate in a civil exchange of ideas without doing harm

Therefore, students who commit cyberbullying should be punished for their wrongdoings, which are almost incurable for someone affected by cyberbullying. By giving them suspension for a while, bullies should know what they did to the victims, and other students can learn how bad and harmful cyberbullying is. In addition, victims of the cyberbullying can think that they are protected in school and have a safer environment to learn. Cyberbullying has many different aspects from traditional bullying, in that it shows more prevalence, harshness, consistency, and cruelty. The damages from cyberbullying remains in the bullied emotionally, mentally, and physically. The bullied cannot focus on anything including their studying, which can cause serious problems for them. To make sure that students can live without any concern in their school life, schools should protect students from the harmful effects of cyberbullying. The bullies should be responsible for their wrongdoings which give others incurable scars for a long time. By suspending the bullies from school, schools can help the bullied, and at the same time, they can prevent more students from bullying others. There is still a long way to go. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, only eight states have laws