Stand Up to Bullying

An LGBTQ+ student group routinely receives emails with death threats and accusations of pedophilia from the same anonymous social media account. A student repeatedly ridicules a classmate during the laboratory period of their chemistry class. A student posts embarrassing photographs and videos of another student on a social media site over the course of a semester. Someone places a noose on a Black student’s residence hall door as part of a broader pattern of targeted racist incidents. These are just some examples of the growing problem of bullying in higher education in the United States.

Despite public perceptions to the contrary, bullying does not disappear from the student experience after high school. Between 25 percent and 40 percent of college students report being bullied by peers, faculty, staff, or others on or beyond their campus, according to multiple academic studies on the topic. The effects are all too real. Bullying is associated with serious mental and physical health consequences, including anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, and can also lead to academic problems, such as missed classes. Some students may withdraw from college altogether. 

Yet many colleges and universities do little to intentionally prevent or meaningfully respond to bullying. Addressing the problem requires more than ad hoc interventions; institutions need to make sure the community has a clear understanding of how bullying manifests in higher education. They also need a sustained, proactive commitment to confronting it.

Bullying is typically defined as aggressive behavior or intentional harm often repeated over time and marked by a power imbalance. Cyberbullying, a common subset of the larger phenomenon, refers to those same behaviors when they occur through digital platforms such as social media, messaging apps, or online forums. Both forms are often difficult to identify and address at the college level because they rarely align with the popular image of overt schoolyard cruelty. 

Much of the behavior unfolds in spaces that are not fully public such as online group chats, residence halls, locker rooms, and off-campus settings that are beyond the immediate view of faculty and administrators. Students may also hesitate to report bullying, fearing that they will face social retaliation or be dismissed as overly sensitive in an environment that prizes independence and resilience. At the same time, institutions frequently lack clear definitions, reporting pathways, and coordinated ways to address bullying, especially when it falls outside formal harassment or Title IX frameworks. (Title IX requires colleges and universities to address bullying or harassment based on sex or gender when it interferes with a student’s access to education.) The result is a pattern of harm that is diffuse, normalized, and easy for institutions to overlook, even as bullying significantly undermines students’ well-being and ability to learn. 

Unfortunately, students with historically marginalized identities experience bullying at significantly higher rates than other students. Because of power imbalances, female students, transgender students, queer students, international students, students of color, and students with precarious immigration statuses are more likely to encounter bullying than their peers. Transgender students in particular face some of the highest rates of bullying, according to studies, including those conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent months, individuals with historically marginalized identities have experienced increased bullying. Bullies may feel emboldened by the inflammatory tone of the current political climate and by the assault on and elimination of campus diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. 

Perpetrators of bullying are often motivated by a desire to gain, reinforce, or maintain power. Bullying is more likely to occur in settings in higher education with power hierarchies. Student organizations can become sites of bullying when executive boards or leaders use their authority to gatekeep opportunities, silence dissent, or marginalize members who challenge prevailing norms. 

In addition, men are more likely to perpetrate bullying than women. My research indicates that men who endorse traditional conceptualizations of masculinity may support or perpetrate bullying—this is also true of men who surround themselves with other men who hold this viewpoint. These men often perceive bullying as a way to prove their masculinity by exerting dominance over others.  

The perception that bullying is a high school problem and the fact that it is often mislabeled as other behaviors such as competition or age-appropriate peer conflicts helps explain why so little is done within college and universities to address it. Furthermore, policies and codes of conduct, including at my own institution, often fail to directly name bullying, and standard interventions such as adult supervision are not appropriate for a college-age cohort.

Administrators, faculty members, and campus leaders can take the following steps to prevent and mitigate bullying among their students: 

• Establish policies on bullying. Clearly define both bullying and cyberbullying in conduct codes and other policy documents. Create procedures for responding to campus incidents. Policies should address both how to support victims and how to deal with perpetrators.
• Provide education. Faculty, administrators, and staff need knowledge, awareness, and skills to address bullying at their institutions. Professional training sessions on interpersonal violence should include education on bullying and offer information on how to identify, manage, and report incidents. Institutions should especially focus on education for professionals who work in student affairs offices, offices of diversity and inclusion, and health care and mental health service centers. Staff who are part of rapid response teams also need specific training. These individuals are likely to interact both with students who perpetrate bullying and those who experience it.
• Implement prevention and intervention programs for students. Provide guidance to help students identify and report bullying and develop resources such as social media campaigns to educate students about bullying. Bystander intervention programs are also important.
• Create enforceable digital conduct policies. In addition to explicitly defining cyberbullying in conduct codes, outline prohibited behaviors across platforms and make reporting pathways highly visible and easily accessible. Train faculty and staff to recognize online harassment and coordinate responses across IT, student affairs, and civil rights offices. Regular education for students on responsible online engagement, bystander intervention, and the consequences of online harassment can also help prevent harm, while timely investigations and proportionate responses reinforce the fact that institutions take cyberbullying seriously.
• Develop resources specifically for students with historically marginalized identities. As noted above, certain populations are more likely to experience bullying. Create resources tailored to the needs of these groups. Organizations such as the NAACP, Stand for the Silent, STOMP Out Bullying, and Trans Student Educational Resources offer guidance, training, and practical tools to help institutions create these resources.
• Cultivate partnerships with off-campus constituents and local organizations. Establish relationships with local mental health providers, community mediation centers, legal aid organizations, and social media safety groups. Collaborate, too, with local nonprofits and law enforcement on prevention education, threat assessment, and crisis response. This can include adapting existing youth-focused materials to reflect the social, digital, and developmental realities of college students.

Bullying in higher education does not garner headlines, but the phenomenon seriously harms campus culture, academic engagement, and student well-being. For the sake of student success and healthy communities, the higher education sector must do more to proactively address bullying. Students are 
depending on us. 

Illustration by Tara Anand