Taunted and Harassed

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CNN Shines Spotlight on Bullies Big and Small

Max Follmer | 59 minutes ago

SURVEY SHOWS 37 PERCENT OF STUDENTS ARE TAUNTED AND HARASSED AT SCHOOL

In case there was any doubt that bullying makes life hell for children from every walk of life, CNN is out with a new survey showing that two out of three students who responded knew someone who had been taunted or threatened at school.

An almost equal percentage of adults say they know of kids in their neighborhoods who have been victimized.

CNN reports:

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Monday indicates that slightly more than a third of teens personally have been subjected to bullying behavior. In the poll, more than two-thirds of teens also said their friends had been bullied. Yet a majority of adults believe bullying is a minor problem or not a problem at all, according to the poll.

Slightly more than a third—37 percent—of teens have been ridiculed, humiliated, or verbally or physically threatened by another child, either in person or online, according to the poll.

Beginning Monday at 10 p.m. ET, CNN's Anderson Cooper is devoting an entire week to the series: Bullying: No Escape.

Last week, Cooper highlighted a strange and creepy story out of Michigan. Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general, has launched a one-man campaign against the openly gay student body president at the University of Michigan, Chris Armstrong.

Shirvell posted a video on his (now closed) anti-Armstrong blog of himself protesting outside the gay student's home—by himself, at 1 a.m.

Shirvell believes Armstrong is promoting a "radical homosexual" agenda that endangers the UM campus. And there's something about swastikas and rainbows....

Shirvell is on leave from his job, but his crusade against the UM student led to a squirm-inducing interview with Cooper, who asked "aren't you a cyber bully?"

Even Shirvell's own boss, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, said his underling was acting like a bully.

Watch the exchange below, and check out Stop Bullying Now for ways to help your kids and your school stamp out the problem.

The AP also has a comprehensive list of organizations and resources aimed specifically at gay teens.