Straight Talk by Nimfa L. Estrellado Sacred Heart College bullying incident. (Screengrab from YouTube) A video went viral online sh...
by Nimfa L. Estrellado
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| Sacred Heart College bullying incident. (Screengrab from YouTube) |
A video went viral online showing a female grade 8 student slapping another girl earlier this month. The student claimed she beat the girl because she’s jealous and angry with Tasha about something, so she gathered a group of people to bully her and uploaded the video online.
According to Sacred Heart College, “Last year, a bullying incident was amicably settled through dialogue. The amicable settlement however was without the benefit of the video now circulating on social media. in light of the video, Sacred Heart College has re-opened the matter following a complaint by the parents the right to protect and defend their interests. Any statement that the school has acted on the incident is false and malicious.”
The school claimed that they have a zero-tolerance for bullying, and bullying is unacceptable behavior and runs counter to the values, ideals, and moral standards of the school.
However, the mother of the victim of bullying, Honey Ethel Arce Retuita, OFW in Abu Dhabi posted a Facebook message saying “Hinding hindi aq papayag na SORRY lng matatanggap ng anak q na kpalit ng ginawa nila kahit saan tau mgdating ilalaban q angbginawa jio sa anak q!!!! KAYA NANANAWAGAN AQ SA PAMUNUAN NG SACRED HEART COLLEGE LUCENA PAKI AKSYUNAN NIO ANG PAMBUBULLY SA ANAK KO PARA HINDI NA MAULIT PA SA IBA.”
The mother of bullied girl Tasha Zuniga also said she can’t accept just a simple sorry for what was done to her daughter.
The incident on the video happened last year according to the school. The episodes of bullying as everything from mean to downright degrading. Meanwhile, this video has been shared so many times on Facebook that it caught the attention of the people’s concerns over school violence here in the Philippines. The video footage was apparently taken by one of the gang members. Social media users were furious after the video became viral.
People from Facebook decided to track down the bully and posted her information including social media accounts and phone numbers online. Allegedly the girl filmed slapping Tasha hard three times in the video had been identified as Celine.
According to a 2013 article in Forbes Magazine, the psychological effects of being bullied can and do stay with people for a long time. The results were that people who had been bullied as a child are more likely to suffer from anxiety, panic, and depressive disorders as well as agoraphobia. Of the participants who experienced bullying from both sides 25% of them reported that they had had suicidal thoughts in their early adult years as a result. These participants have a high risk of developing antisocial personality disorder. In comparison, roughly 38% of the participants who were both bullied and bullies now have had a panic disorder to deal with.
Students can help prevent bullying in a number of different ways. Any student that is being bullied by a classmate needs to speak up about the bullying rather than ignore it. They are advised to tell their teachers as well as their parents. It is helpful if students who are being bullied are able to hide their fear, as showing fear makes them more vulnerable to attacks from their classmates and peers. Many bullies act out against other children because they find it easy to attack kids who are weaker than they are. Anyone being bullied that can give an outward appearance of confidence can often deflect the bullies on their own.
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