A Violent Game//Yedica L.

As Derek Panez described his day at a Miami-Dade elementary school to his mom, the daily happenings included a trip to the playground, a macaroni and cheese lunch and being bullied by a fellow kindergartener. At the young age of five Derek experienced what thousands of kids experience throughout their academic careers.

“Sander pushed me for nothing,” is what Derek told his mom in more than one occasion.

Children are starting to become bullies at a very early age and the consequences of this early start can be catastrophic.


“Children are perfecting the art of bullying,” said Liz Noya, a psychologist from Miami, adding: “It goes beyond name calling, it has gotten very violent.”

In 1998, David Matallana and Leonardo Diaz, both students at G. Holmes Braddock Senior High in Miami-Dade, went to a parking lot to resolve a dispute when Diaz pulled out a gun and shot and killed Matallana.

In 2004, Jaime Rodrigo Gough, 14, was stabbed and left to die in a school bathroom at Southwood Middle School in Miami-Dade. Michael Hernandez, also 14, was charged with Gough's murder.

That same year, 35 school-related deaths were reported in the U.S, which outnumbered the total of the last two years combined.

The most recent bullying case in Florida gained statewide notoriety, when a Tampa teenager was awarded 4 million dollars when a bully broke his arm. Danny Heidenberg suffered permanent nerve injury, paralysis and deformity when a classmate purposely fell on his arm during a recess football game in 2004. According to court papers, the bully had been harassing Heidenberg since 2003. His parents complained to the school’s administration, but nothing was done about it.

According to the survey, Principals’ Perceptions and Practices of School Bullying Prevention Activities, done by Wayne State University and the University of Toledo shows that one out of five school principals are not carrying out bullying prevention activities. According to the study, these prevention activities are not being implemented due to the lack of training, perceptions regarding the extent of bullying and the number of bullying incidents being reported.

Noya believes our society considers bullying part of growing up.

“School authorities and teachers need to take bullying very seriously, it has become a dangerous game,” said Noya.

Matallana's parents filed a wrongful death suit against the School Board of Miami-Dade County for lack of security and for having ignored Matallana's complaints to a school security guard about Diaz's threats against him. On the Heidenberg case, the defendants accused the school’s faculty of “not supervising the situation.”

Sahily Panez, Derek’s mom, approached the school and Sander’s parents were contacted. “It was getting out of control,” said Panez, adding: “It had become an abusive routine.” As for Derek, he thinks Sander should get “time out”.

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