Persuasive Paragraph

The rates of suicide due to bullying has increased by a major amount. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. Many teens have been taking their life away because they are being bullied at school verbally, physically, and even on Facebook or by texts. Six out of ten American teens witness bullying at least once a day. More than half of American teens witness other students at their school being bullied and can’t do anything. Some people think bullying is okay and just a part of growing up and everyone goes through it, but bullying can make people/teens feel all alone, depressed and scared. It makes teens feel unsafe at school and everywhere and make them not want to go to school any more. If we achieve the goal of stopping bullying the rates of suicides due to bullying will go down. Also teens will have better confidence and will feel safe, and want to go to school.

Statistics and Data

Data on Bullying:

* 1 in 2 students experience occasional bullying during any school ter
* Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
* A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying
* According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying

Data on Suicide:

*Between 15 and 25 children every year commit suicide because they are being bullied
*Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year
*For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.
* 10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide

Statistics on Suicide:
~U.S. Suicide Statistics~

*Emergency Room Visits

* Emergency room visits for self-made injury: 400,000

All suicides

* Number of deaths: 30,622

Firearm Suicides

*Number of deaths: 16,869

Suffocation Suicides

* Number of deaths: 6,198

Poisoning Suicides

* Number of deaths: 5,191

Statistics on Bullying:

* 1 out of 4 kids is Bullied.

* Surveys Show That 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically.

* 1 out of 5 kids admit to being a bully

* 8% of students miss 1 day of class per month because they fear the bullies.

Letter to PFLAG

Watertown Middle School
C/O Maya Farhat
68 Waverley Ave.
Watertown, MA 02472

May 20th, 2011

Greater Boston PFLAG
85 River St., Suite 3A
P.O. Box 541619
Waltham, MA 02454

To whom it may concern:

My name is Maya Farhat; I go to school at Watertown Middle School in Watertown, MA. In our eighth grade humanities class we are doing a project about trying to change a problem in this community and the topic I chose was suicides due to bullying. I’m writing to the Greater Boston PFLAG because I want to raise awareness of suicides due to bullying.

I know that your association helps with teen bullying. I think it is a very bad thing for young teens to take their life away because they are being made fun of at school. Also I believe that students should feel safe and happy at school not be afraid of going to school and feel unsafe.

I want to try to raise awareness and at least stop this problem in my community. So it would be highly appreciated if you could help with this problem.

Thank you for reading this letter, and thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Maya Farhat
Humanities Students
Watertown Middle School