Ohio Mayor Resigns After Bullying ‘Queer’ Cop
February 9, 2013No Difference Between Bullying and Drama
February 12, 2013Story shared from Centre Daily.
Gizelle Studevent doesn’t care to use the word “adversity” when reflecting on her life. She is simply following her dad’s advice.
“You don’t want this adversity to define you,” Ray Studevent would tell his daughter over and over again.
Now a senior guard on the Penn State women’s basketball team, Studevent’s life story is one of perseverance and overcoming the challenges of her past.
In California, Studevent was considered one of the top female players at her age. She joined the team with a lot of hype associated with her name. Her teammates didn’t take kindly to that. It didn’t help that she was Mexican.
It eventually became apparent that she was unwelcome.
A few months into her first year, Studevent traveled with the team to a tournament in Oakland, Calif. As an eighth-grader, she couldn’t play yet; she traveled to gain insight and experience from the girls she respected and admired.
Once back home, she found a folded letter in her bag. It was addressed to “Senorita.” The anonymous author insisted that she “go back to Mexico” and called her a “taco bitch.”
The author attacked her basketball skills viciously, telling her she wasn’t good enough to play on the team. The letter went as far as suggesting that Studevent’s father and the team’s coach were involved in some sort of sexual relationship.
“I was in tears,” Studevent said. “That was the first time I had ever experienced anything like that.”
A Pandora’s box of bullying and hazing had been opened. It would carry on for the next three years.
The letters continued, but that wasn’t all that she endured.
Studevent said she discovered that a girl had attempted to place drugs in her bag so she would get in trouble. Then someone placed pictures of her on lockers around the school to embarrass her.
She received a letter with a return address from a town in Arizona where the team had recently played in a tournament. Studevent didn’t travel to the tournament because it had taken place during finals week. She wanted to do well on her exams because she was interested in a few Ivy League schools at the time. Consequently, she now suspects that a girl or a number of girls on the team were responsible for the bullying.
Ray Studevent felt helpless throughout the series of events.
How are you helping your children to fend off bullying and stay positive?