This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Principal at Bingham High School should be commended not criticized for her enforcement of the school dress code. She was, after all, trying to teach the targeted young women a valuable lesson. She demonstrated her capacity to be a "bully" and what "bullying" is all about.
Bully, as a noun, is "a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker." Principals are strong. Students are weaker. I am sure the students now know who is stronger and who can impose her will over others.
Bully is also defined as a verb, "to use superior strength or influence (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants."
"Go home or cover up your exposed body parts."
What the principal was unartfully trying to do was demonstrate what it feels like to be bullied. She was very successful, now those young women know what it is like to be bullied. Normally we associate the act of bullying with students' actions relating to other students. The principal was just trying to be one of her students. "See, I can bully you. Not a nice feeling, is it?"
The principal should be congratulated as the great teacher and educator she is. Now those young women and all of us know what it is to be bullied. So, Ms. Principal, as Teddy Roosevelt would say, "Bully to you."
You bully, you.
Bruce Cohne
Salt Lake City