THIS IS A NO BULLY ZONE! THIS IS A BULLY FREE ZONE!

As a student in America’s public schools, you tend to see these signs everywhere — on the door as you walk in the school, in the bathroom and even in the hallways. In high school, we are told any form of bullying is not tolerated. We have antibullying assemblies and guest speakers come to talk about it.

Little do people know, this does not prevent bullying. We are told bullying happens because they do not have a good home life, or they are having their own insecurities and are taking it out on others. We are told bullying is when one person picks on another person relentlessly for a long period of time.

This is may be true, but it’s not the only truth. Bullying in high school is all about cliques and the power each one holds. If you want to be a part of a certain group, you do not like the people they do not like; you make fun of the same people they make fun of; you judge people who do not like the same things as you. It is when a group of people is relentlessly mean to anyone who does not fit their standard of cool.

Bullying is not prevented in high school; it is not condemned, because it is hard to recognize.

In high school, the bullies are masters of disguise. High school bullies are the kids who can hide behind their grades, and behind each other. In my experience, they usually have decent grades and participate in a few school activities. I am not saying that every chick flick you’ve ever watched is the spitting image of truth. No, not every jock or cheerleader is the bully who picks on the new girl who likes rock music and wears black. I am saying you can have bullies in all cliques.

In any clique, you have leaders. Two or three people who set the “standard.” If these leaders are bullies, boom, there is your group of bullies.

To help identify these cliques, you need to know the characteristics of each clique member.

In my experience, the follower is the easiest to spot. The follower is the person who, when the others are not around, acts significantly different. They talk to people outside of the clique and they have different opinions, when they get a chance to talk. The follower really isn’t a mean person, they just do not have the power to stand up to the leaders.

In contrast, the leaders are loud and want everyone to know how cool they are. They make sure to say and do the right things in front of teachers. Their goal is to become “best friends” with the teachers, so their relationship becomes different than everyone else’s. That way if they slip up in front of a teacher and are caught calling names, asking for someone else’s homework or making fun of someone, it’s easier to explain away.

There are subtle hints these bullies give away. If you can pick up on the hints, you can recognize the clique, address it and possibly stop them from fooling anyone else. If you catch them snickering about “how stupid” this other teacher is, or “that ugly shirt” that one girl wears, you can immediately see through their façade.

If we can find better ways to show more people about the truth of high school bullying, and how to see through those elaborate disguises, the more all kids will know they are stood up for. They will know they are seen.

If more people can see through the surface behavior of bully cliques, we can stop kids from becoming bully clique followers. We can help them discover who they are, what they believe in and what they will stand up for. Once there are no more followers, who are the leaders going to control?

If you see through those disguises, do something. If you see that one clique making snide remarks, say something. Students who see adults stand up to those cliques are the ones who become brave enough to do the same. That is how true leaders are made.

KYLIE KOONTZ is a senior at Earlville High School. She can be contacted via Assistant Editor Julie Barichello at jbarichello@shawmedia.com.