Incident reports filed by students at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School have been ignored by the administration which raises concerns of how disciplinary measures are enforced.

Especially as our school’s administration constantly reminds us to keep the school a bully-free zone, things have gotten out of control as of late. And as social media plays a part in our everyday lives, online bullying has become common.

According to Principal Deb Smith, a victim does not have the right to know what the consequence will be once a situation has been reported. We think this is unfair because the victim should have the right to know what actions are taken.

When a student reports something as serious as bullying, a threat or harassment they confide that an action will be taken seriously whether it’s a small snap into reality or talk with the bully. A simple sorry note or an ask for forgiveness does not solve anything. There’s a chance that the same thing can happen again. We are high schoolers, therefore, we need to take responsibility for our actions and be able to get confronted about anything reported by another student.

Not only do we need to take responsibility for our actions but we need to know that there’s a limit for everything. Our school administration cannot prevent bullying, but they can help students who have been or are being bullied. No student should feel like their issues are not being given enough attention. If situations like these continue to arise, students will not want to report things that endanger their safety.

If you feel that your school administration is not adequately addressing harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability or religion, feel free to contact these numbers:

Your school superintendent at 213-241-1000

California’s State Department of Education at 916-319-0800

U.S Department of Education, Civil Rights Office(OCR) at 415-486-5555

U.S Department of Justice at 202-514-4092 or 1-877-292-3804 (toll-free number)