Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

ALBANY, GA -- To take a stand against the recent trend of bullied students committing suicide, Albany High School held a panel on Wednesday night.

“People need to know that bullying is a nationwide problem right now. It’s nationwide and it’s right here locally,” says Albany High School Asst. Principal Kono Smith.

School staff says they've not only caught students bullying, but also the victims writing suicide notes because they just can't take being bullied anymore. The school wants students and parents to help stop the problem.

“Teachers have to be observant. Parents have to be observant. Notice the changes in your children’s moods. If they’re happy kids and all of a sudden they’re sad kids, they don’t want to go to school and they used to want to go to school, you have to notice that,” says Anita Tunstall, ninth grade lead at AHS.

At the panel, the issue of sending the message from school to home was highlighted.

“It starts with the parents. They’re going to have to address that issue at home as well, especially if your child is doing the bullying. I know we as parents don’t want to believe our children, we want to say what they’re doing is correct and they’re not doing anything wrong, but as parents we have to address that issue,” says Hochi Lumpkin, Chief Probation Officer for the Dougherty County Juvenile Court.

Panelists say these days the tools bullies are using aren’t their fists but websites like Facebook and MySpace, which they can access on their cell phones.

“I have to tell parents that I wish we did not have one cell phone in the school. I really do because, see, that’s one what that they communicate on Facebook and MySpace,” says Tunstall.

“Our biggest problem is the cell phone, text messaging, cyber bullying and I think the students don’t even know that’s a crime,” says Smith.

Some bullies go on to receive probation or anger management; others are charged with aggravated assault.

“As far as they’re concerned, they always use the excuses. ‘I’m doing it in self defense.’ They don’t want to say they’re doing anything wrong when in actuality they’re doing some outrageous bullying. It has gang overtones with it,” says Lumpkin.

School staff says if a student is being bullied, he or she needs to tell a counselor or teacher right away.