1. Bullying: 
What It Is and What We Can Do
Amanda Nickerson, Ph.D.
Rebecca Ligman, M.S.Ed.
Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention | University at Buffalo
alberticenter@buffalo.edu
gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter
Presentation Site
Presentation Date

2. Overview
 What is bullying?
 What you can do to:
 Prevent it from happening
 Help yourself if it is happening to you
 Help others if it is happening to them

3. What Is Bullying?
 Being mean or hurtful to another kid who has a
hard time defending him/herself
 It usually happens over and over
 It is NOT the same as a disagreement among friends
or playful teasing where both people think it is
funny

4. What Does Bullying Look Like?
 Can be:
 Physical (shoving, kicking)
 Verbal (name calling, threatening)
 Indirect (gossiping, excluding)
 Cyber (posting rumors, sharing embarrassing
pictures – through text, Internet, or other
electronics)

5. Is This Bullying? Why or Why Not?
 Two friends working on a class project disagree about
how to divide up the work. One friend gets upset and
calls the other a stupid jerk. The next day, the two barely
speak to each other.
 A clique of popular girls makes friends with a new
student and then decide to ignore her. The leader of the
clique begins telling others that the new girl steals other
people’s boyfriends and is a tease.
 A group of students who like to joke around sit together
at lunch. The group often makes fun of one of the
students at the table who is confused by their joking.

6. What Do We Know about Students Who Bully?
 They may think that…
 bullying makes them cool and popular
 they are better than others
 they can use their power to hurt others
 They may have…
 learned how to bully others from their families,
friends, and/or the media
 other problems (fighting, using alcohol and
other drugs, getting in trouble with the law)

7. What Do We Know about Students Who Are Bullied?
 They may think that they are…
 Different
 Powerless
 Alone
 They may have…
 Feelings of sadness and self-blame
 Problems concentrating
 Physical complaints (headache, stomach problems) and
not want to go to school or be around other kids
 A tendency to bully others

8. What Are Kids Bullied About?
 Video clip from Cartoon Network Stop Bullying: Speak Up
Special
(www.cartoonnetwork.com/promos/stopbullying)

9. What Are Kids Bullied About?
 Why were kids in the video clip bullied
 What other things might kids get bullied
about?
(Note: Please do NOT use names or specific
examples that others will identify)

10. 
What Can You Do?

11. To Prevent It from Happening…
 Treat others with respect
 Use kind words
 Think before you speak (or type or text)
 Recognize when you are feeling frustrated,
angry, or wanting to be mean to someone
 Find another way to handle it (focus on something
else, talk to a friend or adult, write down how you
feel)
 If you have hurt someone else, take
responsibility and try to make up for it
(apologize, offer to help)

12. Help Yourself if It Is Happening to You
 Depending on the situation and your
comfort:
 Try not to show it if it makes you upset, as that could
make it worse
 Stand up straight, look the person in the eye, and
say “Stop”(or “Get a life,” “Enough,” “Give it a rest”)
in a calm, clear voice
 Say something to deflect it or make a joke of it
 Report it to a trusted adult
 Stay close to adults and trusted peers/friends

13. Learn More About It
Visit gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter

14. Did You Know?
 Youth see about 85% of bullying incidents, but
most do nothing or join in
 Video clip from Dateline NBC My Kid Would Never Bully
Special
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4kh4r99ZkI)

15. Help Others if It Is Happening to Them
 Don’t join in… speak up if it is safe to do so
 Band together as a group against the bullying (“That’s
not OK,” “Just stop already,” “Hey – he’s cool – don’t
bother him,” “We don’t do that here”)
 Tell an adult about the bullying
 Tattling/ratting = telling an adult to get someone in
trouble
 Telling/reporting = telling an adult because someone’s
behavior is unsafe or hurtful to another
 Reach out to someone being bullied (“I am sorry that
happened,” “Want to hang out?” “Don’t believe what
they say”)

16. Help Others if It Is Happening to Them
 Video clip from Dateline NBC The Perils of Parenthood Special
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEjVsMtf1d0)

17. What about Cyberbullying?
 Be a good “digital citizen”
 Only write things you would be OK about an adult seeing
 Electronic communication is PERMANENT!
 Report abuse
 It is against the law for websites to have personal
information about kids under the age of 13
(Facebook)
 Beware of anonymous sites (Formspring, etc.)
 Use the “off” switch
 Disconnect and give yourself a break (no 24/7)
 Do not respond to upsetting communications

18. Know that You Can Make a Difference!
“Be the change you want to see in the world”
- Gandhi
Video of Cypress Ranch High School The Cy Ranch Lip Dub Project
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=waAqJ6727Hk)

19. Reach out for Help
Talk to teacher, parent, counselor, therapist
 1-800-273-TALK (Suicide Lifeline)
 1-866-4-U-Trevor (LGBTQ Youth Suicide Hotline)
 716-834-1144 or 1-877-KIDS-400 (Buffalo Crisis
Services Hotline)

20. Resources
The following resources were used in developing this presentation:
 www.stopbullying.gov
 www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing
 http://gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter
 Cartoon Network Stop Bullying: Speak Up Special
 Dateline NBC My Kid Would Never Bully Special
 Dateline NBC The Perils of Parenting Special
 Cypress Ranch High School The Cy Ranch Lip Dub Project
 Newman, Horne, & Bartolomucci (2000). Bully Busters: A Teacher’s Manual for
Helping Bullies, Victims, and Bystanders (Grades 6-8). Research Press.
For more resources, please visit us at gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter

21. Questions?