Senior Tyler Ruedy stated,"I have been harassed before, almost everyone has. Things happen that you can't change, but the best thing to do is to just ignore them or make a joke out of it all. I have seen adults harass others before, it happens throughout life, no matter how young or old one is, you just have to learn to deal with it."
So what exactly is considered harassment? According to the 2010-2011 Sparta High School Student Planner, harassment includes name calling, unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, bulling, negative stereotyping, hostile acts, negative remarks or behavior towards people with a different sex, race, religion, origin, color, ancestry,and negative acts towards people with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.
The Sparta School Administration does their best to get the word out about every kind of harassment by explaining different forms of it in the student planners on page 5. It does not explain the steps that would be taken if harassment is reported, but it does include that, "Harassment can lead to further conflict or serious legal problems of a civil or criminal nature."
"I feel like the harassment at Sparta High School is mainly just teasing, not really bullying, but just to joke around with others," said senior Jade Jandt. According to www.sexualharassmentlawfirms.com, 4 out of 5 students experience some form of harassment throughout their years in school.
Another way to deal with harassment would be to take action immediately. When taking action, one must go to someone they trust, possibly a guardian or teacher and tell them the whole story. That guardian or teacher can then decide if the situation is big enough to report it to the police. When harassment is reported to the police they will check every side of the story and possibly make charges against the defendant.
"I know a lot of people who have not reported harassment because they didn't want others to judge them or they didn't think it was that big of deal, they eventually moved on but I'm sure every once in a while it still bothers them," said Junior Meg Herrman.
People can not be afraid to report this abuse, it is the main way to try and stop it from happening again in the future.
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