Schoolyards have long been a place where bullies taunt other children.
Harsh words and mocking laughter have pushed many a quiet child into a lonely corner and reduced them to tears.
In today's age of text messaging and online social networking, the schoolyard has expanded to the world of cyberspace. There, bullies spread gossip and photos of their targets, causing them to cringe and withdraw — and in some cases even take their own lives.
It's called cyber-bullying, and experts say it is on the rise. School officials and parents in the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire say they are worried about its effect on students. Local police are dealing with it more often, and legislators in both states are considering laws to help fight its spread.
Police said their efforts, as well as those of school leaders and lawmakers, must keep pace with technology because it evolves so quickly.
"We know these kids are using these new tools to cause trouble," said Haverhill police Detective John Moses, who recently spoke to seventh-grade students at the Hunking Middle School about bullying and its consequences. "Now you can get on MySpace or Facebook and have a hundred kids watching and participating."
Moses said one of the frustrations police encounter is the reluctance of young people to report bullying.
"Some kids say they'd rather be a victim than show weakness, than be seen as a snitch," he said. "You can't address a problem you don't know about."
When bullying turns fatal
Police said Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old South Hadley High School freshman, killed herself Jan. 14 after being bullied and harassed in school, on the Internet and through text messaging.
Hadley Superintendent Dr. Gus Sayer said that in the weeks prior to Phoebe's death, a small number of students in two unrelated groups began to harass her by indicating their dislike of her and making vulgar comments to her in school. The taunting expanded to text messages and harassing postings on Facebook, a popular social networking site.
Sayer said the second group of students conspired to repeatedly harass and humiliate the girl and that neither Phoebe, her family nor other students reported the bullying prior to her death. Officials at South Hadley High have since suspended some of the students involved and are continuing their investigation.
Haverhill School Committee member Raymond Sierpina has asked the committee to establish a policy on the use of cell phones and texting by students. He said he wants to prevent a repeat of what happened in South Hadley.
"I don't want Haverhill students to be at risk," said Sierpina, a retired Haverhill elementary principal who was elected to the School Committee in November.
He said schools need a uniform policy on student cell phone use with "teeth in it." Student handbooks for the high and middle schools need to include the policy, he said.
At Haverhill High School, Principal Bernard Nangle said texting is only a part of the bullying issue.
"If you're sending one person a text, it's usually one on one," Nangle said. "But if you put it on the Internet, like on Facebook, it's out there for everyone to see. What happens in school is minute compared to what happens after school online."
He said he's suspended students who persisted in harassing other students and that at times he has turned these matters over to police.
"We can't fix the social ills that go on outside the school day, but hopefully kids feel confident they can go to their parents, a teacher, or to me," Nangle said.
Children being harassed often display warning signs that parents can look for, including mood swings, a reduction in calls by close friends and not wanting to go to school, he said.
Making it criminal
Last week, the Massachusetts Senate approved its version of an anti-bullying bill that would toughen laws against bullying and define "cyber-bullying," or bullying through electronics.
The proposal, which now heads to the House, would require school districts to develop anti-bullying prevention and intervention plans, permit anonymous reporting, and include safeguards against retaliation for reporting. It would apply to all school districts, charter schools and non-public schools. The bill would prohibit bullying outside of school if those acts affected the school environment and calls for fines of up to $1,000 and up to 2 1/2 years in jail.
"I think it's going to be very effective, because we also updated all the new technology laws today, to include instant messaging, texting, YouTube, you name it, anything you can actually reach out and touch another person on," Senate President Therese Murray told reporters following approval of the bill.
She also pointed to a component of the bill preventing schools from being held liable for failing to report bullying, shifting responsibility to the parents.
"Parents will have to realize that they're responsible for their children's actions, and if they're learning this at home and the children bring it to school, there will be repercussions for that," Murray said.
In New Hampshire, a bill before the House of Representatives would revise the state's laws on pupil safety and violence prevention. Similar to what Massachusetts legislators are proposing, it would add comprehensive definitions of bullying and cyber-bullying and strengthen requirements for school training and bullying policies.
Carol Croteau, who founded the group Bully Free New Hampshire after her daughter was bullied in high school, is one of several parents who pushed for the legislation. She said parents, teachers, administrators and others involved in education have been involved in crafting the bill.
Croteau, a Kingston parent, said laws can be changed with a few words here or there, but those changes may not always matter. In this case, she said, the law will require action.
"We really feel that it's going to be a good law that will make a meaningful difference," she said. "That's the hope."
Like the bill proposed in Massachusetts, it would allow schools to intervene if the bullying is pervasive enough that it interferes with school. The New Hampshire law does not create any criminal penalties for cyber-bullying, but does not interfere with any other criminal law.
Students: Cyber-bullies hide behind their electronics
Young people with friends who have been the target of cyber-bullying said electronic taunting is the coward's way.
"Cyberspace is another world for them," said Rosnic Rosario, a Haverhill High junior who is a member of the school's Violence Intervention Prevention team that works to combat violence though education. "You can say what you want to someone and not have to face them in person."
Haverhill High students in the VIP group meet regularly with middle school students to discourage bullying and other violence.
At Hunking Middle School in Haverhill, eighth-grader Krysta Duggan said she knows students who have been bullied through text messaging and online. She said a common form of bullying involves forwarding a nasty text message to one student, who then sends it along to another. Pretty soon, dozens of students with cell phones are involved.
"I can't understand why they do it," she said.
Tougher laws might act as a deterrent, said Andrew Aviles, a Haverhill High VIP alumnus and current student at Northern Essex Community College.
"It could put fear into a kid and help them realize there are consequences to their actions," he said.
Middle school health specialist Lori Curry says tougher laws would attach the word "crime" to cyber-bullying.
"Detention is not a big deterrent to a kid," she said.
Methuen police spokesman Capt. Thomas Fram said the law enforcement community has been playing a game of catch-up with technology.
"With texting, Facebook, blogs, and other avenues for kids to do this stuff, we're fortunate that we have a school resource officer in each school and we work closely with (school officials)," he said. "We've had incidents of texting that have been brought to the attention of school officials. Many times the (resource officer) can intercede, maybe call a parent and it will put an end to it."
Fram said cyber-bullying often starts with cell phone text messages, and then continues at home, online, and beyond the reach of school resource officers.
"If you were to eliminate cells in schools, parents will say, 'My child will be in danger,'" he said. "There have been lives saved because kids with cell phones have been able to call out."
Fram said he welcomes any new tool the state can provide in combating cyber-bullying.
"Once the laws are in place, the majority of people will look at them and say, 'I don't want to get in trouble for this,'" he said.
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