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 THE BYSTANDER EFFECT
Isha Pandey | SYBA
3 Minutes to read
"A Delhi woman was stabbed 22 times as bystanders watched and did nothing."
"Delhi Teen Murdered As Bystanders Watched, Why Did No One Stop It?"

When you look at these flashing headlines, it's hard to miss the common thread –
passive bystanders. Why are bystanders so often a threat to society? Let's delve into it.
The bystander effect is a phenomenon in which people are less likely to help someone
in an emergency due to the presence of other people (bystanders) around them. The
phenomenon of the bystander effect was first explained by two psychologists named
John Darley and Bibb Latané in 1968.
Researchers began investigating the phenomenon after the death of Kitty Genovese
on March 13, 1964, in New York City. The 28-year-old woman was attacked and
fatally stabbed by Winston Moseley near her apartment complex. What made this case
notorious was not only the brutal nature of the crime but also the alleged indifference
of numerous witnesses who failed to intervene or call for help during the prolonged
attack. This shocking response (or the lack thereof) sparked widespread public
outrage and raised questions about the frailty of human character.

After rigorous research, scientists have found some explanations for this behaviour.
Some of these are:
1. Pluralistic ignorance:
People base their actions on the percieved behaviours of others. Consequently, people
tend to hesitate to extend help to others – they keep observing their peers waiting for
them to initiate action.

2. Social Inhibition:
People are concerned about their image, their social standing. They don't wish to
draw unnecessary attention toward them. They fear being judged, especially by
unknown people. So they refrain from engaging in situations where they might be
subjected to scrutiny by strangers.

3. The cost and rewards of behaving:

According to the psychology professor, John F. Dovidio, people weigh the costs
against the benefits of certain behaviour. People are willing to help if the help does
not involve much money, time, risks, or other resources.
Put simply, the bystander effect tears the fabric of society, leaving it to fray at the
edges, and weaving a perilous narrative. It delays assistance to the needy while
individuals are busy debating whether to intervene or not. The event is forever etched
into the psyche of the victims – a feeling of vulnerability will continue to cloud over
them as they are surrounded by the masses.
With an unwavering resolve, we must address the issues posed by the bystander effect
and raise awareness. Let's say goodbye to the bystander effect and save lives. Perhaps,
one day, no call for aid will go unanswered.
 THE 3 DEAD MEN
Aryan Ghag | TYBA
4 Minutes to read

There’s a long-standing rumour in these parts of town that the graveyard is haunted.
This isn’t just hearsay. It happens to be true. Every Monday, at the stroke of midnight, the
people who died the previous week gather around the lone tree, positioned at the heart of
the cemetery. Why Monday? Why midnight? Why is there a tree right in the centre of a
graveyard? These questions, will perhaps, remain forever unanswered.
And so, as it goes, three dead men sat under the tree that night. For our convenience, let’s
call the 3 dead men Tom, Dick and Harry. (Yes, I couldn’t come up with better names.)
The three dead men had no clue why they gathered here, or who they were going to meet.
It was just an inclination, a feeling (Yes, ghosts can feel too.) that drew them to this very
spot. It was not the first time that the three dead men met. The last moments of their lives
are so intertwined that one person’s death cannot be fully understood without
understanding the others.

Let’s start with the simpleton –Tom. Tom died in a road accident, which was anything
but accidental. While he was driving back home at night on his old two-wheeler, a red
sports car calculatingly hit him. His head hit the street pavement, fracturing his skull,
leaving him unconscious with a gaping head wound just to die slowly due to excessive
blood loss. The person driving the sports car was a millionaire whose name was
associated with every business possible. You name a venture and somehow, this guy was
minting money out of it–some legally, most illegally. Dick (unintended) had a personal
vendetta here. You see, our Tom had some invaluable information that could burn down
to the ground everything that Harry had built from others’ blood, sweat and tears, of
those who lost everything before finding themselves in missing file reports.

Well, this is not it. Our third dead person, Harry, a petty thief, had witnessed this scene
from afar but chose not to interfere as he was too occupied in his thoughts and plan for
the night. Harry had wasted all his money on gambling and was now going to lose his
house because a very, very rich man (you know who) had illegally acquired his only
property. With nowhere to go, he decided to end things once and for all. That night, he
hanged himself in the same apartment that no longer was his home.

Now, you might be wondering, who then is the second dead man? It’s no other than Mr
Dick himself. Well… he died a death befitting his name and reputation. Dick died because
he could not take his very special medicine that in any other condition has no medicinal
properties. The reason why Dick never received his ‘medicine’ is because the man who
was assigned to deliver the parcel decided not to complete his last delivery as he was too
busy hanging himself.

Three men died that night. All three men were, in a sense, bystanders to the other’s death
and yet, all three men died because of their actions. The three dead men gathered around
the tree in the graveyard never spoke a word to each other. They just sat there staring at
each other, clueless, and forced to keep wondering for eternity who was responsible for
their death.