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December 23, 2010
The Merionite EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL/LETTERS Letters to the Editor
Moving Beyond Bullying
Declaration of Independence
Bullying extends far beyond the parameters of high school TV shows and extends far beyond our advisory discussions on cyber confrontation or casual “put downs” that hurt people’s feelings. It also extends I have spent many a spring day in the LM cafeteria beyond the forward bully who intentionally hurts someone in order registering students to vote. I would like to clear up a to assert dominance, avoid confronting a personal shortcoming, or, misconception that Ella Schwamm mentioned in her most commonly, to get a laugh and a nod of approval from the socially recent article, “Thoughts of a First Time Voter.” Many “respected.” The most pervasive sort of bullying present in LM today is, students (and adults) share her misunderstanding. There is no “Independent Party” in Pennsylvania. If in fact, passive bullying. It is an ability that so many of us possess - the you do not register as a member of a political party, you ability to see someone be bullied and to allow it to persist; to chalk up show up on the voter rolls as “NP,” which stands for No our silence to fear or to claim that it is not our business is simply irreParty. sponsible - the wellbeing of our classmates is our business. To absolve The functional truth is that if you do not register with ourselves of the duty to defend one another is unacceptable. a party, it means you are giving away half of your voting Recently, a Merionite editor witnessed a case of bullying that exemrights. I think you can see that this is more like foolishplifies our passivity. This editor reports that he/she knows of a student ness, not “independence.” who spent an hour or so crafting a tool from school supplies to retrieve There are 2 elections every year. Only voters who are a helium balloon hanging in the Aces Atrium about 10 feet above his registered with a political party may vote in the spring head. When proudly sporting his balloon attached to his backpack in Primary, because the Primary is about each party choosthe cafeteria, another student ran up behind this student and popped ing its candidates. (There are some states that hold open Primary elections, but Pennsylvania is not one of them.) it. The bully then returned to a table of approving laughter from his Only in the November General election can any registrant friends. About half of the students in A lunch witnessed the event, but vote for any candidate. Everyone is “independent” in not one of them spoke up, reports the editor, who regrets his/her siNovember! lence. For this reason, I always encourage voters to register In our renewed LM initiative to stop bullying, we shouldn’t just fowith a party. However, more often than you would expect, cus on the active bullies like the balloon popper in the previous story. a student will tell me they don’t know enough to vote in a Bullying is a collective effort. By failing to confront a bully, we become Primary. I reply by reminding them that candidates send active participants. The table of laughing friends and the silence of the information to registered voters, and voters can talk to witnesses gave that bully his power and his motive – it is not human friends and parents about issues and candidates. Also, nature to enjoy causing pain, but it is human nature to enjoy being keep in mind that voters all over the place, who are not liked and accepted. While it is only a few of us that engage in active nearly as well educated as Lower Merion High School students, are never the less casting their votes. bullying, it is almost all of us that have, at some point, passively sub- Phyllis Rubin mitted our approval by laughing or remaining silent. LM Parent In light of recent events taking place both inside our school and nationwide, we should all consider how our actions – no matter how harmless and passive they may seem to us – may be hurting someone else. Being inactive condones bullying. It is imperative that we defend the honor of our school community, that we confront bullies in an effort to put an end to bullying. Whether or not we have personally bulSports Editors Danny Kane, ’12 Editors-in-Chief Conor Ferguson, ’11 lied or been bullied, the effects of bullying are evident- it Wenwen Yang, ’11 Leah Rosenbloom, ’11 impedes upon the primary purpose of a high school eduLayout Editor Anna Simon, ’11 Managing Editor Matt Rublin, ’11 cation- to teach students. It creates an environment in which students feel uncomfortable and it distracts stuWeb Editor Jake Delman, ’11 News Editors Maya Afilalo, ’12 dents. If we refuse to stand up for our classmates’ morEric Cohn, ’12 Photo Editor Madeline Berger, ’11 Ian Cohn, ’12 al rights, we are inconsiderate; however, if we refuse to Copy Editor Dann Weitz, ’11 stand up for the educational atmosphere of our school, Op-Ed Editors Avi Chatterjee, ’11 Jess Lebow, ’11 we are undermining our education, as our surroundBusiness Managers Andrew Sy, ’11 Jake Wellens, ’11 ings influence the way that we learn. Nick Normile, ’11
The Merionite
Features Editors
Arts & Entertainment Editors
Elizabeth Dunoff, ’11 Lisa Li, ’11 Danielle Moskow, ’11 Emily Shepard, ’11 Han Tran, ’11
Richie Weker, ’11
Staff Artists Zach Ostrum, ’11 Liora Ostroff, ’11 Advisor Mr. Chad Henneberry Business Advisor Mr. Sean Flynn
The editors believe all facts presented in the newspaper to be accurate. The paper acknowledges that mistakes are possible and welcomes questions as to accuracy. Inquiries regarding accuracy should be directed to the editors of the paper. Editors can be contacted via e-mail at merionite@gmail.com or in Room 200A. To represent all viewpoints in the school community, The Merionite welcomes all letters to the editor. Letters can be sent via e-mail or dropped off outside the Merionite office. The Merionite reserves the right to edit letters to the editor for length or clarity.
Additional Photos by Alissa Neubauer, Anthony Li, Chris Conwell, Ilana Nathans, Kei Nakagawa, Michael Lefkoe, Talia Lieberman, Sara Cheloha, Sarah Schelling, Naava Feingold, Robert Zhou Unsigned editorial on this page reflects the general opinion of student editors, not the views of individuals.