Everyone has heard of the slogan,“Stop Bullying. Most people agree with the statement that, “Bullying is wrong ” or “ Don’t Bully”  and some believe that bullying builds character within an individual. The American Psychological Association defines the term ‘bullying’ as,“A form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or more subtle actions…”

Recently, PAHS has taken a stand against bullying, in response to National Bullying Prevention month in October. On Friday, Sketch club put up anti-bullying posters for October’s National Bullying Prevention month. Senior Emily Lascala won the design contest for National Bullying Prevention with the simple slogan, “Be Kind”.

Junior Emily Lascala says, “My mom’s favorite quote is “Be Kind to one another” by Ellen DeGeneres,  the TV show host, so I think that popped into my head and I thought it would be a great slogan. I think it is very important to bring awareness to the topic of bullying because you never know what someone is going through and it’s good to let people know that they are not alone.”

Mrs. Sara Arnold’s Sketch Club takes a stand against bullying by designing posters with the united slogan, “ Be Kind. Be Caring. Be Gentle.”

However, Freshman Emily Cordova strongly disagrees and she feels that posters will not aid in the cause of anti bullying around schools.

She says,”I really feel like it’s a waste of time because nobody is going to listen to a bunch of posters telling people not to bully. I think people should actually care about bullying and the effects of bullying, but sadly, it is going to happen no matter what.”

Junior Lily Kreisler conveys the positivity that making posters for bullying prevention brings. She said, “Making posters for bullying prevention

month was a fun and creative way to spread an important message. I personally enjoyed doing it because it was anonymous and a way for everyone to agree on something important. I see a lot of the posters hanging in the halls and I love how each one is completely different from the last. Creating these posters allowed for everyone in the sketch club to use their creativity without judgement, which I believe is the perfect way of spreading the message about bullying prevention.”

She also adds,“ Raising awareness for bullying is something I find important for a healthy school and community. Everyone has their own tastes and opinions, and that’s okay! Life would be boring if we were all the same uniform people. Putting others down for their differences is never okay and it makes them feel self-conscious, which could affect them for the rest of their lives. Why imprint negativity when you could treat others with kindness? Both negativity and kindness can follow someone forever, so everyone should decide that the latter is a better way to treat others. I think doing these kinds of projects should be ongoing in the future.”