Name : Ave Angela Michelle S.

Student number :

How it feels to bully and be bullied

(CNN) -- Oklahoma City's Western Heights High School recently hosted some kids from Upward
Bound. The visitors took the stage to urge students to stand up for kids who are bullied at school.
Eighteen-year-old Marisa Velasco shared her story with CNN's "American Morning's" Carol
Costello, explaining that she knows how it feels, not only to be bullied, but also to bully.
Carol Costello: You also said that you were a bully?
Marisa Velasco: Yes.
Costello: What do you mean by that?
Velasco: I mean, in middle school, I felt superior. I mean I had my clique and like there were a
lot of us, I mean I can't really think of any right now, but I do remember putting somebody down. I
do remember saying mean words, hurtful words to them. But now I know that they do stick with
you and that people do take it to heart. And that it does affect people.
Costello: When you were calling people names did it make you feel better?
Velasco: It's not that it made me feel better; it's that I knew they felt worse.
Costello: And when you think back on it now do you have any clue why you would do something
like that?
Velasco: I don't really know. I think it just got to me, the whole eighth grade "you're superior"
thing. Yeah, and when you get to high school you're back to the bottom, and it's like, "OK, got to
start all over."
Costello: Is it worse in junior high than it is in high school?
Velasco: High school I would say was the worst for me... is the worst for me.
Costello: When you were in junior high, and you were the bully, were there kids who you picked
on who you just didn't like for any real reason?
Velasco: Um, I don't really know if there was a real reason. I guess it was just an easy target I
guess.
Costello: Is it because other kids were making fun of those kids, too?
Velasco: Yeah, there were a lot of others also bullying.
Costello: Sort of like a mob mentality?
Velasco: Yeah. ...
Costello: So If someone were to come up to you and say, "You know, look, that's really not a
very nice thing to do. Stop making fun of this kid." What would you have said?
Velasco: I would have said, "Back off. It's my business and not yours." And that's how high
school is right now. Nobody should get in any other person's business. 'Cause it's a one on one
thing, or even if it's others, it's personal. ...
Costello: So more than one person should come up to the person to say stop? Does it take
three? Does it take four?
Velasco: Well, one person can be the right person.
Costello: What do you mean?
Velasco: Well, I actually did have someone come up to me and say that isn't right. And [they
asked] why is the reason you are going against them? And I really didn't have a reason, so like,
whoa ... so ... I shouldn't.
Costello: So someone made you aware of what you were doing? And you were like, "Why am I
doing that?"
Velasco: Yeah, it was pretty much like I don't have a reason to ... just because they don't like
them, I shouldn't like them. That's not right.
Costello: So now you're taking part in this effort with Upward Bound and you're trying to fight
bullying because you've been both the victim and the bully. So you bring a really great
perspective, I think, to the group. So what advice would you have for kids in school?
Velasco: The No. 1 thing is to accept others -- how they are, who they really are, how they
dress, how they really act. That's the No. 1 thing. If you can't accept people, then you're going to
have a problem.
Costello: If one kid sees another kid bullying, what should that kid do?
Velasco: Stand up, not stand by.
Costello: So you should be brave enough to go up to someone and say that's not right.
Velasco: Exactly.
Costello: And sometimes that's all it takes?
Velasco: I think that it would make them the target, but together ... I think there is power in
numbers and you can do it together. You can actually put a stop to it and go forward and be the
helping hand.
Costello: Is it more effective for another student to approach a bully instead of another teacher?
Velasco: I think that when it's student-to-student there would be a conflict. And when it's a
teacher and it's up to them, they stop it for a while. So you don't know when it's really going to go
on. And it's going to keep on going. If it's a student that goes up to them, it depends -- it does get
to them. They get the message even if it's wrong or right.
Costello: A lot of schools are throwing assemblies and they have a lot of guest speakers saying
that you shouldn't bully and that it's wrong. Does that get through to someone who bullies?
Velasco: To me personally, I would listen and I would get pumped up in the assemblies. But as
soon as I walked out the door, it was something different. It didn't really, like, stick to me.
Costello: So the more effective thing to do is have kids speaking at these assemblies rather than
adults or teachers?
Velasco: I think being on the same level helps out a lot.
Costello: And what words do they need to use?
Velasco: That -- what does it get you? Why are you doing that? Accept others. Be somebody.
Be the change. Be the solution.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/05/bullying.q.and.a/index.html
Analyses

1. Generic Structure

 Orientation : Blue background

 Events : Green background
 Re-orientation : Pink background

2. Social Function

To retell the readers about Velasco’s experiences as a bully and as a victim when she was in middle
school and high school. The text also contains Velasco’s advice for kids in school to fight bullying.

3. Language Features

 Using simple past tense:

“…… I felt superior.”
 Using past continuous tense:
“When you were calling people names ……”
 Using temporal sequence:
“In middle school ……”
“When you were in high school……”
 Focus on specific participant: the writer.
 Using action verb: picked, said
 Using time order: when, as soon

4. Genre: interview/ conversation