Bullying

OGDEN -- Being bullied in school is most often a negative experience, but Riley Pierce, of Ogden, and Lynna Landrouche, of Layton, turned that into a positive by writing about their pain for an essay contest.

Their thoughtful writings about bullying and youth violence earned the two teenagers a trip to Washington, D.C. Riley and Lynna entered the Do The Write Thing essay contest, held at their schools earlier this year, and were chosen as the top two winners for the state.

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- It used to be that a teenager who was pushed into a locker or taunted for somehow being different could escape to the haven of home after school.

Not any longer.

Bullying has expanded beyond the playground and into the personal space of students. Even in their bedrooms, kids often can't escape the threats of bullies, thanks to cruel texts, phony Facebook profiles, even online gaming.

"My child would never be a bully."

It's a response heard all too often by school counselors when they approach the parents of a bully.

"Usually, the bully's parents will defend their child and blame the victim," even when confronted with documentation of the incidents, said Susan Miller, counselor at Boulton Elementary School in Bountiful.

"If it's a true bully, it's repeated over time," she said. "It has to be over time, and there has to be an imbalance of power for it to be bullying. Otherwise, it is just a fight."

LOS ANGELES--Scientists have confirmed an axiom of teenage life: Kids intent on climbing the social ladder at school are more likely to pick on their fellow students.

The finding, reported in Tuesday's edition of the American Sociological Review, suggests that efforts to combat bullying in schools should focus more closely on to social hierarchies.

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Emerson, N.J., school officials failed to stop the constant bullying of a student who was physically assaulted, ridiculed on MySpace and threatened by classmates for six years, the state Attorney General said Tuesday.