New studies from the US Department of Education show that there may be signs of a “significant decrease” in bullying activity. This is the first notable decline since 2005, when the department originally began compiling the data.

While the study only depicts the percentage of students aged 12 to 18 that actually reported their bullying, and doesn’t include bullying that happened off school grounds, the report shows that only 22% of kids are reporting being bullied. That is, statistically, 2 out of every 10 students being bullied. This is a 10% decrease from 2005, when the average was 32%.

Students here do not feel that bullying is not a notable problem.

“I’ve never been bullied here, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone being bullied,” junior Adriana Chuecas said. “If I did I would’ve stepped in.”

Bullying can happen anywhere. There is no “stereotypical” bully, considering that anyone can be one. While bullying is more common during transition times like middle school, it is not completely eradicated from high schools.

“Smoky seems like an accepting community, but I know it’s not one hundred percent,” Chuecas said. “ I wouldn’t be surprised to find out someone is being bullied, but it also isn’t very common here. I feel pretty safe when it comes to expressing myself.”

High school isn’t exactly like the Mean Girls movie, but the film does make some good points.

“I’ve seen gossip get really out of control really fast,” Chuecas said. “It reminded me of Mean Girls because they practically tore into each other. It was scary, but in the end they made up. I don’t know, I guess it’s just the environment here. Everyone is so laid back and easy to get along with most of the time.”
Bullying may still be an issue faced every day by students all around the country, but it seems to be on its way out.