While schools continue to try to push the idea of “acceptance” onto students, it seems as if intolerance of others’ differences is only increasing amongst the younger generation. One of the many victims of such intolerance and hatred is an 8th-grade student at Half Hollow Hills Middle School, who tragically took her own life in mid-October.
The student was pushed over the edge because she felt extremely insecure about her sexuality after excessive bullying from her peers. While this victim is yet another example of how bullying can drastically affect a student’s life, not much action has been taken in her school district or by the education system to address the issue of bullying.
Coming out is a difficult process to go through, as one must be brave enough to expose oneself to his or her peers and hope for acceptance. Disturbingly, the young adolescent experienced nothing close to acceptance from her fellow classmates. The victim became an outcast, was labeled homophobic slurs in the hallways and became the laughingstock of her class. This hopeless teenager felt so afraid and vulnerable that she took her own life by overdosing on a bottle of prescription pills that she found in her medicine cabinet.
The victim’s friend, Sahar Tartak, an 8th-grade student at Great Neck North Middle School, described her as “[an] amazing artist…she was really pretty and kind to other people.” Tartak also said that whenever she “complimented [the victim,] she was always really humble about it.”
For most people, it would be difficult to understand why she would kill herself when she was kind-hearted, beautiful, and an amazing artist, but those who wonder don’t consider the horrible negative consequences that bullying has.
During a difficult transition in life, most people look to their peers for acceptance and guidance; the victim of suicide, however, had no peers to lean on. The young artist was virtually shut out by all her friends when she came out. This social ostracization may have pushed her to believe that her sexuality is something to be ashamed of, while in actuality, sexuality is something that is out of one’s control. While the exact reason she committed suicide is still unknown, it is obvious that it has a direct connection to the bullying she experienced in school.
Most adolescents do not understand the negative effects bullying has on a child. With 24-hour access to the internet, bullying has only gotten worse in recent years.
The bullying epidemic is not entirely adolescents’ fault. Adult figures must teach teenagers the power of words, because without this valuable lesson, bullying may go on forever. One single comment can lead a child to do horrific things, either to himself or to others.
Yet, students still constantly call each other names, make fun of the clothes others wear, and spread rumors about other students that they know are not true.
Society as a whole is flawed when it comes to acceptance, because even as adults, people continue to look at the differences they have with others rather than looking at their similarities. It is important to understand that differences do not make people inferior or strange. These small differences that everyone has are what make them the unique person they are. They should be connectors rather than barriers, because differences are what make us unique.
The young girl’s death is extremely tragic and is not one that can easily be forgotten. While people continue to blame her peers for her death, it is important to understand that her school’s lack of diligence in teaching students about the importance of accepting others also makes their administration at fault. If everyone tries to accept one another and think before they speak, the world will become a much safer and happier place to live.