I believe bullying used to be overlooked by both students and teachers for a very long time.  Olweus opened the eyes of many of us to really show what was happening.

Many students don’t have the heart to speak up against bullies or even speak up for those being bullied for the simple fact that there was no way of knowing the repercussions.

I have experienced both being bullied and facing the decision to stand up for a fellow student, and I know it isn’t easy to do either.

Olweus is something much appreciated from a lot of our students, though many won’t say it out loud. It provides a place to both vent and learn how we can approach the issue and handle it without feeling alone.

I believe that the school giving us that time to share our stories and comfort each other has helped us all build new relationships and has given us the guts to stand up for what’s right.

Not only does it help us build character but also it prepares us for the real world. It shows us that our parents won’t be able to fix everything, but with hard work and dedication, we can begin to fix things on our own.

Since we began having Olweus, I have noticed more of our students standing up to bullies. I’ve also noticed that many of the school bullies have begun to step back. Violence has gone down, and we’re beginning to become less of a stereotypical high school.

While most high schools deal with cliques and exclusion of singles, I have noticed that the cliques at Chapman have begun to intermingle.

It can be argued that even without Olweus this could have happened, but I’m sure that Olweus is what most of the credit should be given to.

Olweus is extremely beneficial to both our faculty and our student body, and I for one can’t wait to see what changes it’ll have next.