Are You Being Bullied?

Updated: August 05, 2008

Thanks to surveillance cameras and metal detectors, crime and weapons in schools are down, says a government report released this month. But while the security measures can keep guns and knives out of schools, they can't do anything about bullies, which the reports says leads to more fear on campus than off.

The age-old problem of the school bully has actually grown, according to the joint report by the U.S. Education and Justice departments. Over the last two years, there has been a 3 percent increase in the number of students who reported being bullied. At the same time, the percentage of students who brought a weapon to school in the last 30 days has gone down, from 12 percent in 1993 to 6 percent in 2001.

Experts say that it's just as important to reduce bullying as it is to reduce weapons in schools. Bullying can lead to worse, more assaultive behavior, says William Modzeleski, who heads the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program. Already, an estimated 10,000 students miss a day of school each month because they fear being bullied.

Could you or a friend be a victim of bullying? Find out the telltale signs by taking the quiz, then learn ways to cope.