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Last week, Kate said:

"A while ago our schoolbus changed routes. Now we pick up kids who are younger than me and older (and much bigger) than me. They are always being rude. Two younger kids say that one of the older boys is looking down my shirt and that he wants to have sex with me. All of the older kids pick on younger ones and the youngest (a fifth grader) punched a 1st grader in the face because he had a bad day. Our bus driver is afraid that if he yells at those kids that they will beat him up so he won't tell the superintendant (we dont have a principal). I've talked to the superintendant but he just gives the kids assigned seats which are always next to eachother. Both my friend and I are constantly harrassed. What should I do?"

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96 SmartGirls replied:

8%	Speak up for yourself! Most bullies only pick on people because they get away with it. Tell the bullies, loudly and forcefully, to STOP!
17%	Bring a mini tape recorder onto the bus to secretely tape the sounds of what is going on. Then present the tape to the superintendent and hope that he will take these incidents seriously.
51%	Be persistent. Keep telling your parents, superintendent, and teachers what is going on. You should not have to deal with harassment, especially on the school bus!
6%	Don't ride the schoolbus anymore. Walk or get another ride to school, if possible.

Some SmartGirls said:

Tell your parents and get them involved. You should not have to put up with this under any circumstances! Have your parents talk to the superintendent. Hopefully he'll listen to them.

Stop worrying Kate. I understand that it must be really hard to always be picked on but ask yourself this, "do you really care what they think?" If the bullies have such low opinions of themselves that they have to make other people sad to feel better about themselves then they aren't worth your time or anybody else's time.

First whatever you do don't back down to them. Bullies want you to be afraid of them. Let them know they don't scare you. But don't give them too much attention either. Don't constantly tell them to leave you alone. Bullies want attention because somewhere down the line they aren't getting it. Last but not least, don't pick a fight with them, no matter how mad they make you. Bullies want someone smaller to fight and are usually afraid to fight someone their size (not to mention twice their size!)

Thanks to all of you that gave your advice! Please give your advice for this week's issue.

The advice represented on this page is the opinion of SmartGirl users who have responded to last week's Issue of the Week. It is not the opinion of SmartGirl.org or the University of Michigan.