The bare tip of the iceberg of school bullying is rising out of an ocean of disbelief, disinterest and apathy, Reed Cowan believes, and he won't be content until the whole ugly mass is revealed.
"The scars go on forever," said Cowan, morning news anchor on KTVX-Channel 4. One 65-year-old woman shared with him her tale of childhood abuse at the hands of schoolmates.
Cowan himself carried around a "backpack of horrible voices and horrible experiences" from his childhood in Roosevelt. "I wasn't like the other kids; I wasn't a cowboy. As far back as kindergarten, I felt excluded. There was name-calling, and I was beat up."
He was living in California and receiving counseling for the lingering effects of the bullying when he found himself launched on a crusade that he hopes will help newer victims of the pervasive problem.
"I noticed a common denominator in the (highly publicized) shootings that have occurred in schools. The shooters were adolescent boys who felt bullied," he said. The national focus on the topic and his own experience sent him to the Internet to see if there were others who shared his feelings.
He was "overwhelmed with a flood of narratives. I was extremely shocked by the response" from both those who had been bullied and those who had been perpetrators.
As Cowan gained some expertise and a stock of horror stories, he began to get invitations to speak, particularly to psychology and education students at California State University/Bakersfield. Soon he was speaking up to three times a week, while his archive of stories continued to swell.
Since moving to Utah, he has continued to share his findings and his convictions, talking to educators in Granite and Jordan districts. His message is that "it doesn't have to happen." School bullying is neither a natural phenomenon nor a permissible "rite of passage," he emphasizes. Parents who are aware that their children are being bullied at school have an obligation to speak up and address the problem, not sweep it under the rug.
In an era when various social groups have been strident in their demands for rights, it's time to look to the right of children to be spared the demeaning effects of bullying, he said.
Cowan's self-appointed "mission" has grown three legs: 1. To get the word out. 2. To publish a book titled "Atonement: No More Victims," which he hopes will be out this fall; and 3. To continue to accumulate an archive of stories that will substantiate the reality and the depth of the problem.
He welcomes new stories via e-mail at drcowan40@hotmail.com or rcowan@4Utah.com.
E-MAIL: tvanleer@desnews.com