Students should not have to worry about going to school or going on the Internet and wonder what bad thing is going to happen.

Bullying was once limited to name calling and school-yard fights. Bullying has taken a more serious turn, turning to violence and suicide.

Bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to Yale University. When victims get punched, they start feeling really bad, and then when people call them mean things, they start to believe what the bully is saying. They start to think they’re worthless.

In 2006, a 13-year-old Missouri girl named Megan Meier struck up an online relationship with a 16-year-old boy named Josh who lived in a nearby town. The two communicated through a social network site for several weeks, though they never met in person. Meier strongly bonded with Josh. When Josh posted that he no longer wanted to be her friend and suggested that the world would better off without her, Meier hanged herself.

Nowadays, people (kids especially) have gotten so attached to their electronics that they start believing everything on the Internet and that nothing can hurt them.

Bullying-related suicide can be connected to any type of bullying, no matter how insignificant. A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people arc related to bullying.

Congress should get stricter rules in schools and make better online databases to make the web safer. The Internet and schools should be a safe, relaxed place for kids to learn and communicate with friends.

Ryan Raby,

Samatar Iman

Editor’s note: In the case of Megan Meier, Josh Evans never really existed. Lori Drew, the mother of one of Meier’s friends, created a fake account and posed as “Josh.” Drew was charged in connection with Meier’s death, convicted in 2008 under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That conviction was overturned on appeal a year later.