If you see someone being bullied, what do you do?

[Soul Saint]

Bullying is a tame umbrella term everyone uses for the physical and verbal assaults that occur in schools. If this happened outside of school grounds it would be called a criminal offence, and "bullying" should be treated as such. I agree with this proactive method your (current/previous?) school is taking.

I also agree on the proactive method. Though the act of verbal, and physical, abuse is terribly pointless in the long run, the measures taken by Rehab's school is worth having. Though it shouldn't have to be needed, people don't always think about others as they think only of and for themselves, or of those they find common ground with. Society, religion(Regardless of following one or not, imho), and culture/tradition as a whole play their role in bringing these ways of life to be, just as much as how people are raised and taught by others in their environment. The way someone perceives a situation is not how another will. Someone could be arrogant due to pampered treatment, just as well as another could feel angst from how they're treated by others in their life - Even a combination of the two. Now I'm rambling a bit, so I'll end it here.

[Chiki]

Plenty of teenagers bully, but that doesn't mean they should have a criminal record for the rest of their lives.

[Soul Saint]

Plenty of teenagers bully, but that doesn't mean they should have a criminal record for the rest of their lives.

Just because that school brings in cops, doesn't mean they get arrested. Besides - When you're 18 in most states, your prior record is expunged(You get a clean slate). Sometimes they are simply sealed, or hidden from the public. Unless it's said by the person that those cops arrest the students and it goes on their record, and that their state doesn't do what most other states do with prior records once a person turns 18, I'm going to assume those cops only break up the fights. Where I went to school there were some big fights, and our lone rent-a-cop and the few teachers that actually tried to split the fights up barely cut it to stop any.

Also: There are ways to get records hidden/cleaned. If you go to your local courthouse, you can put in a written application to get it noticed and brought up in court. There is a fee for it to be done that varies from state to state(I'm pretty sure at least). Where I used to live, I think it costed something like $100 for minor stuff. Payment would be for each individual thing that was on your record, not all at once. It is different for each state. You can look up your states law about expungement here: http://expungement.uslegal.com/

[Chiki]

Just because that school brings in cops, doesn't mean they get arrested. Besides - When you're 18 in most states, your prior record is expunged(You get a clean slate). Sometimes they are simply sealed, or hidden from the public. Unless it's said by the person that those cops arrest the students and it goes on their record, and that their state doesn't do what most other states do with prior records once a person turns 18, I'm going to assume those cops only break up the fights. Where I went to school there were some big fights, and our lone rent-a-cop and the few teachers that actually tried to split the fights up barely cut it to stop any.

Also: There are ways to get records hidden/cleaned. If you go to your local courthouse, you can put in a written application to get it noticed and brought up in court. There is a fee for it to be done that varies from state to state(I'm pretty sure at least). Where I used to live, I think it costed something like $100 for minor stuff. Payment would be for each individual thing that was on your record, not all at once. It is different for each state. You can look up your states law about expungement here: http://expungement.uslegal.com/

http://www.girlshealth.gov/future/record/index.cfm

Your bad choice happened some years ago, and now you are graduating from high school and wondering if this past will affect your entrance into college or the military. The short answer is "it could." Having a juvenile record is serious. But, unlike an adult criminal record, it can be expunged — either destroyed or sealed — when you reach a certain age. Your juvenile record is not automatically expunged once you turn 18. You can take steps to have this done by contacting your probation office. You don’t need a lawyer to take care of this.

When you apply to colleges, college financial aid programs, professional licensing agencies, and employers, you might be asked if you have a criminal record. (A juvenile record IS a criminal record.) Only if your juvenile record is expunged can you say "no" on these applications.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/sealing-juvenile-court-records-32228.html

When the offense was committed. Often, a juvenile record cannot be sealed until five years have passed from the date of the offense or from the end of the juvenile court proceedings.

It isn't as simple as you claim. That can interfere with people's jobs, college applications, financial aid, etc.

Bullies can be mean, etc. but they don't deserve to have a criminal record because of it.