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School violence came to the forefront of the news when two students brought guns to Columbine High School in Colorado and opened fire on the students, faculty and staff. Thirteen people were killed in the attack and another 21 individuals suffered injuries of varying degrees. This wasn’t the first incidence of school violence, nor was it the last, but it did focus America’s attention on the need for better prevention of bullying and other types of school violence.

Since then, the Columbine tragedy and other similar instances have initiated questions concering the causes of this type of behavior, including violence in movies and video games, medications for juvenile depression or attention-deficit disorders and even the discipine that American children do and do not receive at home. So far, there have been no definitive causes and thus no absolute solutions. What we do know is that horrific school violence situations can stem from what was previously considered to be ordinary bullying.

There is no such thing as harmless bullying. Not only does this type of behavior do massive amounts of harm to the victims, but also those guily of the bullying. When parents send the message that bullying is a part of growing up or should be handled by the children themselves, they are validating the emotional causes in the bully. When kids grow up believing that ”might makes right,” they have a difficult time adjusting to situations in which they enjoy little power, and may even have a higher incidence of adult criminal behavior.