The school yard bully is a stigma that has haunted children since the beginning of school itself. As we move forward into the twenty-first century, it is difficult to fathom how we, as an advanced society of human beings, in all of our advancements of knowledge and modern technology have still not found a solution to this ever growing epidemic. If anything, the development of advanced technology has offered a new avenue for those who wish to bring pain and suffering to others, to do so with complete anonymity. Although our awareness of this growing problem is steadily increasing, real solutions seem to be few and far between. As the development of anti-bullying programs are beginning to take root, many schools have not even begun to address the situation. For those that have, they are finding that a "cookie-cutter  style solution does not exist. Each school district must begin to find a more customized approach to dealing with the issues of bullying on a case-by-case basis. Implementing a zero-tolerance policy does not fully address the problem at hand and tends to ignore the underlying cause. In order to develop a more viable solution to the bullying epidemic, we must first understand where the problem originates. Children are not born exhibiting aggressive behavior and dislike towards others, but learn this behavior by observing those around them. Therefore, addressing this type of behavior early is crucial to its prevention. By allowing this type of behavior to go unchecked, it can lead to devastating effects for those children who are victimized. This can include, but is not limited to lower academic performance, lower self-esteem, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. In some extreme instances, suicide and school shootings have been the result. A test group in 2001, indicated that approximately 30% of the children sampled had moderate to frequent involvement in bullying, with 13% participating as the bully,