Cyberbullying – a new word for internet harassment – has been reported here at Lipscomb, according to the counseling center’s Paul Cates.

Recently, the word “cyberbullying” was added to the Oxford dictionary, defined as “the use of electronic communications to bully a person, typically by sending messages of intimidating or threatening nature.”

However, this is not a new issue. With the popularity of social media and constant connection, stories of cyberbullying are becoming more common. One-third of U.S. teens are victims of cyberbullying, statistics show.

The media has reported numerous cases in which people have either been on the verge of suicide or actually committed suicide due to harassment they receive on the internet.

While most cases are dealing with teens, cyberbullying has no limits. It can be found in cases of all ages and in all countries.

Cates says he has seen a small number of cyberbullying cases here.

“Most instances of cyberbullying occur with females,” Cates said. “Usually victims of cyberbully at Lipscomb experienced the bullying prior to entering college, which leads to other issues and problems for their college years.”

“Victims have a background or personality that leads them to being susceptible to being picked on because they are emotionally vulnerable.”

The epidemic of cyberbullying comes from the sense that being online rather than communicating face-to-face is less personal or nearly anonymous. The comfort of their own home and the ability to filter their identity seems to give people more courage in their actions.

“The bully usually gets acceptance from their peers,” Cates said. “They may get a laugh, giving positive reinforcement from bystanders.”

Cyberbullying may not be a major threat on campus, but this campus has seen electronic communication controversy.

In 1999 students began what they called The Lipscomb Underground. It was a place for student to share what they thought about things going on around campus, but mostly a way to vent about topics that made them unhappy.

While not all students participated in the underground communication, those who did were very expressive. Whether it was an issue with chapel, a teacher, a class, the athletics, the president or just the campus in general, it was shared on The Underground.

While harmful comments to fellow students was not the main intent, it did happen on occasion. Patrick Cameron, the assistant director of Security and Safety, was in school when The Lipscomb Underground began.

“I do not recall people using the Underground to attack other students who were not a part of the Underground or just random attacks,” Cameron said. “Generally it was when someone would post a comment about an issue and someone else would say ‘I can’t believe you would say something that stupid.’

“The one that sticks out in my mind is the discussion of the Open Dorms/Visitation policy. A lot of barbs were traded between some of the residents of Fanning and some of the guys.”

Even the guestbook had derogatory statements to other visitors based on their expressed opinions. However, students had many strong opinions to share and rarely had a filter when it came to sharing how they truly felt. Many negative comments were made about the administration.

“I never looked at it. I did not want to know,” Cates said.

The Underground lasted a few years and there has been talk of bringing it back.

Lipscomb’s counseling center visits annual conferences of Associations of College Counseling, and every conference addresses at least one topic pertaining to issues on the internet. Even though there have been few cases reported of cyberbullying at Lipscomb, the counseling staff is well prepared to handle the situation.

The counseling center offers advice to anyone who has been bullied online. Usually the bullying stems from people the victim calls friends, and so they suggest getting out of that “loop” or finding new friends. However, the best response is not to reciprocate. Tell the bully their actions are hurtful and that they will not be accepted any longer.