When you’re a victim of bullying, you feel scared to stand up to them; you don’t have the confidence and you think the bully will do even more harm to you if you fight back. Not all children stand up to bullies for this reason, because they are scared of what the outcome will be. They don’t tell anyone, not their teachers and sometimes not even their parents,” says fourth-year student Veronica Blanco, who is showcasing her body of work this month at the Gales Gallery.
Bullying has been a hot topic in the news lately, so Blanco’s piece comes at an opportune time. especially considering legislation of Manitoba’s anti-bullying bill, Bill 18. The bill aims to integrate gay-straight alliances in schools, as well as to redefine the parameters of bullying; it is much like one passed in Ontario last year, and has similarly found itself in the cultural spotlight.
“A victim of bullying herself when she was younger, Blanco has created art pieces to symbolize her experiences in the fifth grade.”
These include a graduation cap, a diary, a lunch bag, her school portrait, and her report card, which she partly covers in black tar to represent her attempts at destroying those dreadful memories.
“Not all the objects are fully covered with the tar because as you know, it’s impossible to fully destroy a memory. It always stays with you. I will never forget what my classmates have done to me; their actions will always remain with me. Now all I can do is just move on from those horrible experiences,” Blanco says.
Blanco’s story is not a unique one. In grade school, the importance of anti-bullying awareness was always heavily emphasized through assemblies, performances, and even public service announcements.
On the other hand, people can downplay the severity of bullying or simply fail to recognize its societal harms.
There are several typically proposed solutions to bullying, like reporting incidents to school staff members and transferring students to other schools to ensure safety in a new environment. Do these solutions truly help to prevent or decrease bullying rates, or are talks of anti-bullying just ideas of what the ideal corrections should be, yet aren’t ever put into effect?
“Sometimes teachers don’t do anything at all when bullying occurs in a classroom. I’ve seen it, and I’ve heard from other people that teachers let bullying occur,” Blanco says.
She feels that rules set by teachers are ineffective as breaking them doesn’t lead to lengthy and legal consequences.
She wants to see the implementation of a law that gives teachers incentive to punish bullies and to search for solutions to their behaviour. As for recent legislation on bullying, Blanco says, “Placing a law is different than placing a rule. These are children in schools, and children rebel; they go against the rules.
With a law placed, it’s much more frightening to children because now it becomes illegal. There is the risk of dire consequences regarding their actions. They are always under constant watch.”
For Blanco, the process of creating the art was “therapeutic,” she says, since she simulated her thoughts, feelings, and results of her victimization as she encountered key artifacts; she physically expressed the anger and sadness she suffered that year, along with the other aspects of her life that were deeply affected, like her academics and social skills.
For her, art is the constant reminder of an pressing issue, and is greatly appreciated, as it is comforting to know that there is discussion in an educational setting.
The other part of her therapy is sharing her stories with visitors to the gallery, which will prompt her to present the meaning and significance of her pieces in relation to her experiences, as well as her overall response to the bullying problem.
Although no foolproof solutions to the bullying problem have been found, Blanco says the answer is input from law enforcement, especially targeting youth.
Blanco will be showcasing this body of work at the Gales Gallery this month from September 16 to 27, as encouraged by one of her professors.
Milica Markovi?
Contributor
