A cyber attack on a local high school leaves students crying. The attack, however, was launched from the inside--from the lunchroom. The attack was a written attack directed at others through a social media app called Yic Yak.

    The app allows people to post anonymous comments only viewable to other people in the area. And although the app was not intended for the use of minors, by the end of the school day, everyone at school had it on their phones. People posted rude comments and put others down so harshly that many went home in tears, too embarrassed or ashamed to speak.

     Friends of mine suddenly didn’t want to talk, and people pointed fingers while walking through the halls. Bullying reached a new low. For the first time, I saw 250 lb football players crying, beaten down by the shots others had fired. My school had become a battleground--and we needed medics and we needed peace.
     

Administration quickly took action by blocking the app in school and by working with  the company to set up a geofence around the school. The company cooperated, delivering an error message to anyone trying to use the app in or near school. Administrators tracked people who had accessed the app over school wi-fi and punished them accordingly. Justice had been served, but the things they said were not forgotten and grudges were held. The school psychologist was available to anyone who had been affected or needed counseling after the matter.

My school followed up their stop bullying campaign by participating in a nationwide NOH8 (no hate) week. Groups of students came together and wrote compliments on thousands of sticky notes and then put one on each locker. Former bullies and victims reunited as the school once again became a family. The school continues to work towards making the students one supportive body, and the students continue to work towards that goal. It is reassuring to know that there are hundreds of people to turn to.

     Today my school pushes the campaign that we are “One Team” and that together we can and will conquer bullying.