Bullying in higher education refers to the bullying of students as well as faculty and staff taking place at institutions of higher education such as colleges and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. It is believed to be common although it has not received as much attention from researchers as bullying in some other contexts. This article focuses on bullying of students; see Bullying in academia regarding faculty and staff. In a

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

environment bullying and similar behaviors may include hazing, harassment or

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

. 18.5% of college

undergraduates Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

have reported being bullied once or twice, while 22% report being the victim of cyberbullying. All students, regardless of

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

, ethnicity, etc., can be targeted as victims of bullying."Bullying on College Campuses." Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. Two research articles have examined bullying at the post-secondary level in great detail. These articles both appeared in the

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

Adolescence in 2004 and 2006.4. MacDonald, Christine D. "Cyberbullying among College Students: Prevalence and Demographic Differences." Cyberbullying among College Students: Prevalence and Demographic Differences. N.p., 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. It is estimated that 100,000 students drop out of college each year due to bullying.

Bullying in academia

Bullying of scholars and staff in

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

, especially institutions of

such as colleges and

has been known to exist, although has not received as much attention from

researchers Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

as bullying in some other contexts.

Hazing

Hazing is the practice of

rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

and other activities involving harassment, abuse or

humiliation Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...

as a way of initiating a person into a group. Hazing is seen in many different types of social groups, including

gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

sports team A sports team is a group of individuals who play sports ( sports player), usually team sports, on the same team. The number of players in the group depends on type of the sports requirements. Historically, sports teams and the people who play ...

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

military units Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...

fraternities and sororities Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...

. Hazing is often prohibited by law and may comprise either physical or psychological abuse. It may also include nudity or sexually-oriented offenses. More than half of hazing incidents on college campuses result in pictures publicly posted on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. Students have reported that they are not adequately exposed to hazing prevention programs on campuses. Two out of every five college students acknowledge incidents of hazing on their campus according to RA Magazine. 55% of college students who are involved in campus clubs, teams and other organizations have reported being hazed in some form.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. This form of bullying can easily go undetected because of lack of parental/authoritative supervision. Because bullies can pose as someone else, it is the most anonymous form of bullying. Cyberbullying includes, but is not limited to, abuse using

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

text messaging Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...

websites A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wiki ...

social networking sites A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

, etc. In a study performed at Indiana State University, it was determined that electronic media such as social networking and text messaging are more common outlets for cyberbullying, while chat rooms and other websites are less likely to be used in cyberbullying. Once a young adult enters college, there is little to no computer monitoring, leading to the misuse of technology and the added probability of cyberbullying. There have been occasions where the bullying was not intentional, but still occurred. Even if the bullying was not consciously intended it can still have awful impacts. One study concluded that people had been ostracised online as a way of protecting another group of people. One woman had been listed as a political opponent on a pro-trans website due to misunderstandings and alternating views, which resulted in targeted messages and harassment. The listed person in question did not actually have any reservations against the trans community, and so they ended up being the bullied person. While the motivations of the authors of the website are unknown, it can be assumed that they did not specifically aim to target the person effected and thus the bullying was an inconsiderate result.

Techniques

According to an article in the

Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to r ...

, academic bullies have initiated a variety of covert behaviors used to target their victims. These subtle actions include interruptions during group meetings, eye-rolling, undermining credibility, and exclusion from

social interactions A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...

. Because of these techniques, bullying in academia is considered to be of a lower intensity.

Reasons

NoBullying.com lists a variety of reasons that bullying in college occurs. The first reason is that there are new targets available to the bully’s disclosure. The bully has said goodbye to the people he or she previously socialized with and/or bullied, so there is a need to satisfy such behaviors. Another reason is there is less direct authority. Leaving for college introduces many students to their first time on their own without the interference of parents and guardians. Faculty and staff are less interested in interpersonal relationships between their students and thus pay less attention to classroom dynamics as opposed to the attention a high school teacher might provide.12. "NOBullying.com." No BullyingExpert Advice On Cyber Bullying School Bullying. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014. College faculty and staff follow research that encourages them to take a backseat to bullying and allow the students to overcome adversity on their own. Students at most universities and colleges are not afforded the luxury of leaving after the school day as they would in highschool. Most have to spend time outside of school with their classmates whether they choose to or not. In college, a majority of the campuses are residential and thus students may see much more of their potential bullies and/or victims. Roommate conflicts inside the residential dorms can lead to active bullying. In fall 2012, a

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

student committed suicide after his roommate had been filming him and his boyfriend engaging in sexual activities and posted the video online for all to see. The roommate said he did not want him dead, but wanted his friends to know he was disgusted by his behavior.

Locations

Lynne McDougall uncovered, in her study of bullying in higher education, that the majority of the locations where bullying occurs in colleges were quite conventional. A majority of the bullying is reported as occurring in the same corridor or department, thus suggesting that students within the same groups, divisions or under the same faculty are responsible for the bullying of their peers.13. McDougall, Lynne,. "A Study of Bullying in Further Education." Pastoral Care (1999): 31-37. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Entrance ways of buildings are another prime location for bullying to occur. Entrances and exit ways are common areas where students have the opportunity to smoke and socialize in between their classes. The library was deemed an area of bullying in McDougall’s study as well, hinting that bullying occurs in places where little to no supervision or control is present. The advancement of technology in the classroom has allowed for cyberbullying to occur while students are gathered for the intent of education. Social media websites such as

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, allow students to actively post content bashing their classmates. College-specific accounts have been created where members of the student body can send posts and messages to an administrator who then retweets or posts the content for all the account’s followers to read.

Legality

Colleges are not mandated to produce strategies or policies regarding anti-bullying, however some have codes of conduct that encourage students to exhibit appropriate behavior at all times. In most codes of conduct the word bullying is never cited in the physical text. “Both the perpetrators and the victims are adults, so the legal framework is very, very different,” said Charlie Rose, the U.S. Department of Education’s general counsel. The difference between bullying and sexual harassment is the added context of sexuality. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that interferes with a student’s ability to learn, work, achieve or participate in activities. This can include unwanted sexual advances, sexual touching, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal and physical actions of a sexual nature. This includes spreading sexual rumors, making sexual comments, jokes, gestures, vandalism, pictures, written materials, rating students sexually and circulating Web content of a sexual nature. Human resource departments may be used to address bullying among faculty and staff, while judicial review committees apply sanctions and regulations to students charged with harassment of their peers.16. Prevention of Bullying in Schools, Colleges, and Universities. American Education Research Association, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.

References

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