Editor’s Note: The following story was originally published in Bronx Youth Heard, a publication of the Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative, a free journalism program for Bronx high school students run by the Norwood News. We are currently accepting applications for our spring semester. To find out more about the program and how to apply, click here. The Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative is supported by the North Star Fund, the Johnson Family Foundation Fund, and City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, and is run in collaboration with CUNY’s College Now program at Hostos Community College.

By Giselle Lam

Last month, 17-year-old Kenneth Wong was tidying up his bedroom when his Blackberry vibrated on his desk. He was expecting to read a text from a friend, but instead found words that beat him up inside. The anonymous text accused him of being a bad friend who would “die alone from smoking” and need a “brain transplant for being a dumbass.”

Sixty percent of kids have experienced mean and hurtful things said to them either online or through their phones, according to i-SAFE, a non-profit foundation dedicated to educating the youth on internet safety. In addition, more than 50 percent have admitted to saying these insulting words to another person online.

Traditional schoolyard bullying has moved from campus grounds to the computers, and cell phones, of many teenagers. After a rash of bullying-related deaths last year, the public’s awareness of cyber-bullying has grown, and school administrators and government officials are taking more serious actions to prevent it.

This September, Bronx/Westchester State Senator Jeffrey Klein proposed a bill that would criminalize cyber-bullying. The legislation expands the definition of third-degree stalking, a class-A misdemeanor, to include online bullying, of anyone under the age of 21. The bill also calls for second-degree manslaughter charges for those deemed responsible for another’s suicide due to cyber-bullying, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

A Klein spokesperson said he hopes the legislation will publicize the problem and create “a chilling effect” on Internet taunting.

The bill began with the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old from Buffalo who committed suicide after being tormented online and over the phone. When Klein found out there were no laws relating to this type of harassment, nor were there any statistics and evidence to effectively pass a law, he decided to do something about it.

In New York City, the Department of Education recognized the severity of cyber-bullying and now considers it “dangerous or violent behavior.” The DOE classifies cyber-bullying as a misdemeanor in its Discipline Code. According to the handbook, cyber-bullying is described as “engaging in intimidating and bullying behavior through electronic communication, such as texting, e-mail, instant messaging, etc.”

Like Kenneth, another high school student who wished to stay anonymous, said she deals with online harassment on a regular basis. She often finds anonymous messages on her Tumblr micro-blog calling her “a hypocrite and a ho.” She tries to laugh it off but said she is still hurt by what she reads.

“I feel I’m being attacked,” she said, adding that she thinks Klein’s bill is a step in the right direction to prevent any more teens from “crying and dying.”

Some teens, however, think the issue has been blown out of proportion.

Zoey Soto says that while she does not cyber-bully or support it, she doesn’t think authority figures should be getting involved. Those on the other side of the screen can “still find a way around it” by doing things like creating fake online identity. She advises victims to shrug it off.

“[You] won’t be cyber bullied unless you let them,” Soto said.