Today, 160,000 students miss school due to bullying. During one class period at Stillwater Area High School, seven students around the U.S. are bullied, and 85 percent of the time no one intervenes. Schools are responsible for the security of their students and can not accomplish this without increased intervention, prevention and an established punishment for bullies.

In early October, two girls in Florida, aged 12 and 14, were given felonies for bullying another 12 year old girl, Rebecca Sedwick, that eventually caused her to commit suicide by jumping off a cement factory tower. Sedwick had received harassment both online and through texts for months by a group of approximately 10 girls.

There are laws in all states against harassment, verbal and physical abuse, stalking and threats. These actions are used by various students across the nation to tear down individuals, which makes bullying a crime. However, it is constantly not punished. Bullies should be suspended or even expelled from school grounds depending on the degree of bullying. They should be directed to further counselling and therapy to prevent a reoccurrence.

Opponents of punishment for bullies are correct when they say jailtime is not the answer. Most bullies are minors and deserve a second chance, but this does not mean bullies should be let off with a simple “don’t do this again” by their parents or teacher.

In May of this year, an anti-bullying bill passed through the Minnesota house but was put on hold until next year because “supporters of the anti-bullying law just ran out of time.” This anti-bullying law required each school board to adopt a written policy prohibiting intimidation and bullying of any student. This lack of time and “importance” will result in another 3.2 million students being bullied within the following year.

In the house Representative Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton called the bill a “one-size-fits-all unfunded mandate,“ and said, “This is something we don’t need to be doing, I think things are under control.”

Is bullying really under control? Seventy seven percent of students have experienced some form of bullying whether it be mentally, physically or verbally. Why don’t we ask the 282,000 students who are physically attacked in secondary schools each month if they believe the situation is under control? Schools need to do more in order to intervene and prevent bullying.

It is easy for those who have never been bullied or have never witnessed someone around them be bullied to oppose this idea. It takes the experience to ignite the fire to fight against bullying. Bullying takes all the core values of a particular individual and tears them apart making them seem useless. Pastimes become pointless, school becomes a torture chamber and life become a rollercoaster through hell.

This state and national lack of action has led students to take matters into their own hands. School is no longer a safe place for students. 100,000 students now carry a gun to school for protection. And people still question the increase in school shootings? Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school shootings.

All these statistics are too high for students in elementary to high school and are continuously rising. School Staff exhibit a lack of intervention and punishment.  It is the responsibility of the school to provide a safe environment for students to learn, not an environment where students dread every day.