Stephanie Peng
Staff Writer

High school hallways are notorious for being rampant with bullying.

That’s how it’s always been, and it’s easy to dismiss it as a constant problem. But recent incidents have called the issue to a new, disturbing light.

According to a special education teacher who wished to remain anonymous, a special education student was physically attacked and had his head shaved by a group of Cal High classmates off campus.

Less severe harassment has allegedly been happening to this student for years. To protect student confidentiality, administrators declined to comment on any specific incident.

“It is disgusting that someone could do something like this just because of differences,” said junior Amanda Bartelone, who volunteers with special education classes. “No one should be bullied, special education or not.”

Although bullying is widespread throughout campus and social networks, administrators and teachers acknowledge that specific groups of students are often targeted.

“As a whole it’s about attacking someone who is weaker,” said campus Resource Officer Hollis Tong. “That is the current trend.”

For example, Special Day teacher Ryan Kral has noticed that students with speech impediments are mistaken for being slow, and are often targeted verbally.

“Special education kids could be prone to be susceptible because they may not even notice they’re being made fun of,” said the anonymous special education teacher.

Bullying has also evolved to take many forms. Assistant principal Damon Wright, physical bullying has been a problem this year in the locker rooms, and relational bullying between boyfriends and girlfriends is very common on Facebook.

Senior Shayna Friedman works in special education programs and is pursuing a career in the area. A major concern to her is the long-term effects that bullying could have on any student.

“Bullying crushes self-esteem,” said Friedman. “It’s really hard to build it up again after being crushed like that.”

Wright saud there have been 15 reported cases of general bullying in the 2011-2012 school year, but acknolwedged that many cases go unreported.

The behavior of freshmen transitioning from middle school to high school contributes to bullying in the beginning of the school year, said support services department chair David Futterman. Bullying that may have been tolerated in middle school is not acceptable at Cal.

Administrators addresses the problem by promoting Grizzly guide policies, working with victims and issuing appropriate consequences. But a campus of 2,600 students depends highly on a collaborative community effort, said Wright.

Friedman said it is important to have programs where general education students can interact with special education students so they can get to know them.

“We have programs for these essentially invisible children,” said senior Bryan Williamson. “Programs like the FUN club, and Campus of Caring unify the student body.”

School psychologist Heather Cantero agrees.

“Tolerance is a place to start, but acceptance should be the goal,” Cantero said.

The student-run Fun Club takes this approach. The club meets Thursdays in room 117 at lunch to promote mingling between general education and special education students. Students talk, play games, listen to music, and hang out without teacher interference.

“Mixing groups breaks down barriers,” said Kral. “Peer-to-peer interaction, especially, helps students break down stereotypes.”

This year the district is also trying to bring the issue of bullying to a forefront with faculty, said teacher Cindy Bonagura, the Fun Club adviser. She said teachers were recently required to complete an online training course on bullying.

“Of course, there’s nothing we can magically do to get rid of bullying,” said Bonagura. “The best approach is to be aware and take responsibility.”

The district has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying. The district’s anonymous tipline can be reached at (925) 820–5632 to report any suspicious activity.

Principal Mark Corti said Cal is also working on implementing a program that will allow students to text from the location of a bullying incident to get immediate help.

School consequences for bullying vary from Monday School to suspension, to expulsion, depending on severity and frequency of incidents, Wright said.