Source: Los Angeles Times

Gizelle Studevent was a 13-year-old eighth-grader at prestigious La Jolla Country Day School when the harassment began. She returned from a basketball tournament to find an unsigned note in her suitcase: Addressed to "Senorita," it mocked the girl's skills on the court and suggested she go home to Mexico.

Over more than two years, an anonymous band of bullies tormented Gizelle. Their acts grew increasingly cruel -- on the Internet, in notes and around school. Finally, she transferred.

"I would go home and cry every day," said Gizelle, now a junior at private Bishops School in La Jolla. "It was horrible. The scary thing for me was, what was next? What was going to happen?"

The 17-year-old is among a growing number of students who are reporting that they are victims of bullying, according to educators and experts. And bullying -- once largely restricted to stolen lunch money or hallway shoving that were taken somewhat lightly -- has grown increasingly serious, officials, parents and students say.

Today, parents are filing lawsuits against students and schools for failing to protect their children, administrators are taking stronger disciplinary action against perpetrators, and a virtual industry of antibullying programs has sprung up. Educators, who coined the phrase "cyberbullying" for online attacks, have increased teacher training and say they are on the lookout for symptoms of victimization or bullying behavior.

Administrators and teachers were once hesitant to get involved, but that attitude has changed, most urgently after two bullied Columbine High School students massacred 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves in 1999.

Victims of bullying are at greater risk than their peers of skipping school, dropping out, getting lower grades and bringing a weapon to campus. The constant abuse can lead them to change their daily behavior -- they are more likely to avoid certain parts of campus, such as restrooms or the cafeteria. Some become introverted or depressed.

Bullying is "a life-changing event," said Bakersfield attorney Ralph Wegis, who often represents students in cases against school districts.

"We're all familiar with the damage that can be done by physical assault or rape, but these school bullying cases are very much akin to those kinds of damages," he said.

For Gizelle, the harassment took its toll.

Although she worked hard to keep up her grades and her skills on the basketball court, she became withdrawn and didn't easily trust people.

Her parents constantly told her that it wasn't her fault. To cheer her up, her mother, Evelyn Sullivan, would take her out for manicures, and her father, Ray Studevent, would slip $20 and a supportive note into the armrest of her car. They tried to convince her to transfer.

"I felt like she needed to move on," Studevent said. "She had been through enough."

But when Gizelle refused, the bullying grew more brazen. When she returned home from a Midwest recruiting trip during her sophomore year, she found a note taped to her locker: "Notre Dame? Bitch shut up . . ."

The final straw -- when her name was posted on scores of pornographic websites -- forced her to transfer this fall."No kid should go through that," Gizelle said.

"No kid should go through that," Gizelle said.

She beams when she talks about her new school, and her parents say the change in their daughter's confidence and mood is undeniable.

"Once the bullying stopped, she blossomed as a young lady," Studevent said. "I've never seen her laugh so much."

Educators are increasingly weighing in, trying to change schools' culture so that bullying becomes unacceptable among students.

The Los Angeles Unified School District trains teachers about cyberbullying and warns parents about its dangers. New programs to teach children respect for one another began this school year at Roman Catholic schools in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and public schools in Orange County.

It's unclear how successful these efforts are -- particularly if the bullying happens online or off campus.

Experts insist more can be done. Because administrators face many obstacles in punishing students during off-campus activities, school violence expert Derek Randel suggests that schools require students who participate in extracurricular activities to sign pledges that specifically ban online bullying. Schools have used such contracts to curb student drinking.

Anonymous ways for students to report harassment, including telephone hot lines, may allow students to alert adults when they or their friends are being bullied without fearing retribution, he said.

Full article: Meaner bullying is leading schools to find new tactics - Los Angeles Times