To the majority of University students, bullying is a distant memory from junior high and high school. But the Oregon Student Association and the Oregon Students of Color Coalition have released two reports showing that the threat of prejudice experienced early in education can inhibit the long-term ambitions of minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students on campus.
The reports were released as state legislators began deliberating on House Bill 2599. The bill would require Oregon’s 200 school districts to establish anti-bullying safeguards in both school and cyber domains to protect vulnerable students. Emily McLain, communications director of OSA and last year’s ASUO president, became an advocate for the bill after the OSA and OSCC’s reports cited that junior high and high school bullying distracted vulnerable students from pursuing college degrees.
“We are really working to make sure students have a place to go when they are the targets of prejudice,” she said. “Nothing should distract students from setting goals and getting to college.”
A hearing Monday afternoon in Salem gave legislators an opportunity to listen to stories of students who experienced bullying first-hand.
Rachel Cushman, a recent University graduate, gave testimony on both her and her brother’s experience in elementary, junior high and high school. Their Native American background made them a central focus for school bullies, she said.
“If it weren’t for a Native American recruiter from the U of O, I don’t know if I would have felt motivated and supported enough to attend college,” she said. “Mine is a story of hope, but unfortunately my brother was like many other bullied students. He continued in downward spiral and never graduated high school.”
Andrew Plambeck, ASUO communications director, asserts that student prejudice does not dissolve between high school and college and suggests Oregon universities can do a lot to support minority and LGBTQ students once they arrive on campus.
“Discrimination is a serious issue on campus, but no student should feel like they don’t have a safe place to go,” he said. “The study by the Oregon Students Equal Rights Alliance found that in a survey of over 3,500 college students, over half of gay and transgender students concealed their sexual orientation for fear of personal rejection and safety. That is why organizations like the Queer Alliance Coalition have created a number of forums to establish cultural awareness.
However, some students, like Kate Harrison, think bullying is not an issue on college campuses.
“It is a lot easier to stereotype and segregate in high school and middle school than in college; I don’t feel like there is any bullying here,” she said.
Cushman also found that during her time at the University, prejudice was fairly uncommon because of her relationship with Many Nations Longhouse, a Native American student advocacy group.
“It was hard sometimes being the only student of Native background in my dorm, but for the most part, I experienced little discrimination,” Cushman said. “There were some students who were culturally incompetent, but organizations like Longhouse made me feel welcome at the U of O.”
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