Did you know about 20% of students ages 12-18 have experienced bullying nationwide, and about 30% take their own life? (StopBullying.gov).  Schools run assemblies, make announcements and enforce kindness and respect but, is it enough? Studies show that 19% of students who experience bullying in school are still afraid to enter school.  This shows that there is still work to be done and schools should put more effort into making a safe environment for their students. The anti-bullying strategies used by schools are not successful. 

The first reason schools' anti-bullying strategies are unsuccessful is that students are being bullied physically and get no help from the school community. In the article, “Sweep Bullying Under the Rug No More,” the author states, “On Jan. 24, 2017, a student pushed Gabriel into a wall of a boys’ restroom, the blow knocking Gabriel unconscious for seven minutes. In a school video of the assault, other students stepped over Gabriel. A former assistant principal, Jeffrey McKenzie, found Gabriel but did not call 911. The boy complained of stomach pain and spent several hours at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center” (Coolidge page 2). This shows that students when bullied, are neglected and schools and students are not intervening and just shrug the incident off as if it is just a normal event. Schools need to put more effort into recognizing and educating their students on bullying as well as enforce better social practices. 

Another reason why anti-bullying strategies are unsuccessful is that students are still bullied and the bullying should be better recognized and stopped before a student takes his or her own life. An example of this is in the article, “Sweep Bullying Under the Rug No More” when it states, “He stayed home from school the next day, then on Jan. 26, two other students bullied Gabriel in a Carson restroom and stole his water bottle. That day, he killed himself in his bedroom at his mother's apartment.” ( Coolidge page 2). This shows the effects bullying can have on people and how students of many ages can react to it. This school was unsuccessful in making students feel safe and allowed students to be bullied. 

Overall there has been an effort to address bullying in schools but ultimately the anti-bullying strategies used by schools are still not enough.  It seems their efforts are unsuccessful because schools often don't acknowledge or completely neglect the bullying that happens.  This neglect causes mental and physical trauma to the students who are victims of bullying which could lead to a student taking his or her life.