Article Analysis: Who Cares About Bullying

Who Cares About Bullying? “You’re a hoe”, “why don't you just kill yourself already?”, “fuck you”; these are all things regularly said in the halls of a public high school. These statements might seem like they have no meaning and are said as a “joke” but being told this day in and day out makes you question if these statements are actually true. These two articles, “Bullying: Students themselves may be the key to solving the problem” and “School-age bullying a serious issue and parents, schools must stop it”, zoom in on the growing issue of bullying in schools and the impact bullying takes on people. The first article, “Bullying: Students themselves may be the key to solving the problem,” explains, backs up, and also sheds light on the

The Editorial Board does a good job organizing this editorial. The board mixed ethos and logos with logical arguments into the article. They closely relate their claim to the increase of bullying in the world; focusing heavily on bullying and the impact it has on people. Some of the ethos used in this article was said by Andy Hagler, executive director of the Mental Health Association in Forsyth County. Hagler goes on to say, “Nowadays with bullying, it’s more than just the teasing...It has a lot to do with intimidation. It’s not just a rite of passage. It becomes fear-based.” The Journal Board uses this and logical reasoning to persuade the audience that bullying is beginning to become more extreme. Bullying today is much different than it used to be. With more social media nowadays, bullying can be online as well as in person. This opened the “bully door” for people to say things not to others faces. The authors bring up when Hagler explains how, people specifically targeted by the bullies are gay and lesbian students. This is logical to the audience: it makes sense that they are targeted

By using ethos with the Mental Health Association in their article really put themselves in a good place. Though there survey was a little weak it still was very logical seeing actual students reporting that bullying is a problem. While the second article did include much more tone and real life example of the effects of bullying, it didn't make me side with them. They used 90% pathos in their article and I wasn't convinced by the end, even after reading about Déjah commiting suicide due to bullying. To convince me they authors would of had to use some experts and facts about bullying. The one statement they did include in the article close to a fact was, “...surveys suggest that about one in three schoolchildren nationwide is bullied..” There was no specific study proving these findings the article just stated “statistics show...” This in turn, makes me not feel like the authors very credible. Where as the other article takes a topic that's up in the air and makes me feel like its really on the students to have this issue