In the U.S., one in four students is bullied and one in five admits to engaging in bullying.

Be nice. is an anti-bullying initiative created by the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan in 2011. On Saturday, MHF Executive Director Christy Buck spoke to about 50 Grand Valley State University students at the 18th annual Professional Development Symposium.

“The period was intentionally put in our logo because that means no exceptions, no excuses,” Buck said. “Be nice.”

According to Buck, 56 percent of students in the U.S. have personally witnessed some type of bullying. Be nice. focuses on these bystanders as well as the bully and the victim.

“Would you ever want to be in their shoes? No,” Buck said. “If you don’t want to be in their shoes, can you imagine how that person feels to be in those shoes?”

Children today are exposed to bullying every day through Facebook, Twitter, texting and violent video games. Even reality shows like American Idol and the comedy television show the Rugrats portray forms of bullying, Buck said.

“A lot of people don’t understand ultimately what bullying is,” she said. “What we’re trying to teach throughout the education system is that bullying really is mental health related. We know that how someone is treated will affect how they think. They might have low self-esteem or be paranoid thinking that everybody is out to get them. That’s why it’s so serious right now that we start talking about these things and how we treat people.”

Buck said bullying can be seen in many forms. Physical bullying, property damage or theft, verbal bullying in the form of gossiping or teasing, intimidation and public humiliation are the most common. Signs of bullying include difficulty sleeping, headaches, loss of appetite, anxiety and decline in grades.

“It’s not one isolated incident,” Buck said. “It’s repeated over time. It’s intentional, not an accident.”

According to the National Association of School Psychiatrists, a victim of bullying is twice as likely to commit suicide as someone who is not bullied.

“Kids are dying because of suicide, dying because they are being bullied,” Buck said. “The bullying is the trigger to cause someone to be depressed, to have anxiety and for someone not to feel good in their own skin.”

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students nationally, Buck said. “We need to continue to talk about this,” she said. “Talking about suicide is not going to put the idea into someone’s head. It’s already there. Opening up a conversation can actually help someone.”

Buck defined depression as an illness that can be generally marked by a change in behavior that lasts two weeks or longer. Consistent headaches or stomach aches are often a sign.

“How people are treated affects how they think, act and feel, and that is their mental health,” Buck said. “Teenagers do suffer from mental illness, as much as people don’t want to call it that.”

Be nice. is currently working on a national curriculum that will be published at the end of November. Staff members are traveling to elementary schools in West Michigan and presenting an individualized lesson plan for each grade. Be nice. also meets with groups of 20 to 30 students in middle and high school to help create a message to deliver to the rest of the student body.

“We aren’t going to accept that behavior (bullying) anymore,” Buck said. “We’re going to target those people who can make a difference.”

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