Mark O'Mara, the author of this article, says "We don't want to criminally punish kids for being kids. We don't want to make it illegal to call people names. (Who would judge such a thing anyway?)" This is a good question to ask, but with the growing suicide rate someone has to step in. So how do we judge when normal "name-calling" turns into bullying. How is someone supposed to know the affects that what seems to be normal teasing? For one person this harassment could be brushed off, but for another such as Rebecca Sedwick, it could mean the end of his or her life.
I think that the best thing to do in this situation is to make schools aware of the issue. Most schools already give talks about this but in a kind of naive way. No school wants to recognize words like "slut" or "bitch" as bullying. They almost paint the picture that the biggest form of bullying seen in schools today is your average school bully stealing lunch money from the short kid with glasses. With the advancement of technology and younger generations becoming equipped with the technology needed to communicate easily, I think that it is crucial that schools give a more up-to-date version of what bullying is when they warn students and parents.
