"A person is a victim of bullying when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions by one or more other people, and has difficulty defend yourself." Dan Olweus (Olweus1). Bullying affects millions of kids every day and will most likely never stop. According to international studies, bullying is common and affects 9 to 54% of children (Parker-Pope). The statistics also show that 17% of students in grades six through 10 reported being bullied "sometimes" or more, with 8% reporting being bullied once a week, and 19 % said they bullied others “sometimes” or more (Olweus2). . Bullying has the ability to have lasting effects on one's psychological, as well as physical, state. No human being should be in constant fear of when a bully might strike or whether he or she will survive the next day. For this reason, bullying awareness programs should be implemented in schools across the nation to help and combat bullying to protect children and teach the importance of anti-bullying. The three important components of bullying are as follows; bullying is aggressive behavior that involves negative and unwanted actions, bullying involves a repeated pattern of behavior over time, and bullying involves an imbalance of power and strength (Olweus1). At one point, bullying meant a push on the playground, or a mean insult, but bullying has progressed since then. Bullying can be described as a systematic abuse of power (Smith3). Children take responsibility for hurting and putting others down, which is no excuse. It's painful and spiteful. Regardless of your personal feelings towards someone, ...... middle of paper ...... n. 2012. Hazelden & Clemson University Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. © 2011 Hazelden Foundation, 2011. Web. 02 January 2012. .Olweus, Dan "Peer Harassment: A Critical Analysis and Some Important Issues," in Peer Harassment at School, ed. J. Juvonen and S. Graham (New York: Guilford Publications, 2001): 3-20.Parker-Pope, Tara. "With Bullying, Suicide Risk for Victims and Tormentors - NYTimes.com." Health and Wellness - Bene Blog - NYTimes.com. The New York Times, July 18, 2008. Web. January 2, 2012. .Phan, Aimee. "The death of a soldier, bullying and prejudice." USA Today nd: newspaper source. Network. January 7, 2012.Smith, Peter K. and Sonia Sharp. Insights and perspectives on school bullying. London: Taylor and Francis, 1994.