To spread awareness of bullying in different countries, students in Pre-Ap Spanish 3 have been working on posters comparing bullying in Latin American countries to that of the United States. The students chose a specific Spanish speaking country at the beginning of the year that they would be studying throughout the entire school year for research over the country’s culture.

“They are doing a comparison on the country they chose to study,” spanish teacher Amanda Bainbridge said. “The idea of the project is so that students get some awareness of the differences that exist, and how important it is not only in the U.S. but also in Spanish speaking countries.”

Since the students are finished with the projects, the best poster out of each class will be put in the counselor’s office this week.

“The poster are being put in the counselor’s office for two reasons,” Bainbridge said. “To promote the awareness of bullying and a comparison around the world, and also for students to understand bullying around the world and its difference to bullying in the U.S.”

Bullying is one of the counselors main problems when students come into their office.

“In Frisco especially we have such a diverse and cultural influence here,” counselor Ryan Keifer said. “So raising awareness and promoting acceptable and not acceptable behaviors to keep our students safe is our priority.”

For the students making the posters, a look at bullying in other countries showed as many as 65 percent of children in Mexico have said they were bullied while 25 percent of children in the U.S have said that they have been bullied; numbers that are surprising to some students.

“I feel like the project was a great eye opener,” sophomore Vineet Sadarangani said. “The statistics of how many kids in America, Latin American countries and Spain blew me away because I didn’t really know before then how serious of an issue bullying is.”