Why do people have to be bullies?  Do they even have a purpose for why they are bullies?  Is it for revenge or just for a title in the school food chain? What study found that bullies have a higher self-esteem and social status, as well as lower rates of depression and social anxiety.

Questionnaires were given to 135 Vancouver high school students who were then categorized into one of four groups.  In the groups, there are the bullies, the victims, the bully/victims which are individuals who pick on other but are also a victim of being picked on, and the bystanders.  The results show that the bullies reported the best self-evaluations.  The bully/victims however not so much.

McKinley High School language arts teacher Megan Serrao said bullies would be bullies because of how they think about others. 

“Deep down, they are insecure about themselves,” said  language arts teacher Serrao.  “I think they focus on people they think that won’t defend themselves.”

“I would not be a bully, but I do know why they become bullies,” said Language Arts teacher Jude Waterman. “They become bullies because many come from a challenging home environment.”

Waterman said that people are bullies because they want to feel power and control.  

“Yes, bullies focus on people that they know they can pick on,” said Waterman. “Bullying should not be tolerated by anyone in anyway shape or form.”

Some students might have other opinions. Freshman Creighton Rodriguez says they become bullies because of the others of what they did to them.

“People think their bullies because they think it’s cool,” said Rodriguez.

This article was originally published on September 9, 2015. Language errors were corrected on September 21, 2015