It is a mystery why bullying is not a higher priority within schools. Suicides are mounting and yet schools are not giving harassment top priority. The suicides continue.
South Hadley Bullies
Nine students have been charged in connection with the death of Phoebe Prince. Prince killed herself in January of 2010 after having been unmercifully harassed by girls at her high school. Six teens were charged with felonies and appeared on national television with their names and pictures. Three more were also charged but as juveniles. The town is shocked by the strong action taken by District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel.
Scheibel charged the group with "relationship aggression" which labels the three-month onslaught of verbal insults and physical threats. In addition to these actions, the group scribbled out Phoebe’s picture in a student body composite handing on a classroom wall. The attacks then moved to the Internet where Phoebe was electronically slammed on Facebook where she received more hate-filled messages.
During the school day Phoebe was harassed in the library, in the hallways and even when she walked home from school. The day Phoebe died, a few South Hadley students followed her home as she walked home and shouted "Irish Whore" and "Irish Slut" while throwing a soda in her direction. Her entire day was filled with harassment. There seemed to be no escape and the school officials did not seem to take the threats against Phoebe seriously.
Harassment is a Violation of Civil Rights
After Phoebe’s death, high school students were interviewed about the bullying problem within their school. Surprisingly, many of them didn’t see it as a serious problem. Their view on the harassment was that it was "normal girl drama." Normal girl drama? What a sad commentary on society that such brutal and savage behavior is seen as "normal" by teenagers.
District Attorney Scheibel charged five teens with violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting. That statute carries a prison sentence of up to ten years. Richard Cole, a former Massachusetts assistant attorney general who consults on school safety and civil rights stated, "You have to show force or threat of force in violation of a secured right – here, the right to an education." [1]
Communication Breakdown of South Hadley School Staff
The question being asked in many discussions throughout the nation is "Where were the teachers while this was going on?" Apparently, staff members were present when harassment was evident. Phoebe’s mother stated, "The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff and administrators of the high school were alerted to the harassment of Phoebe before her death."[1]
Dan Smith, high school principal, stated, "There were instances of name-calling, with Phoebe, the week before she died. These were brought to our attention, we dealt with those kids right away. We also talked to her, we had her working with a school counselor, we talked to her mom." [1] Smith’s account does not match the information uncovered in the investigation. The schools account of the harassment is that they were aware of the problem only a week prior to Prince’s death. The district attorney’s account is that the harassment was ongoing for three months.
While some residents of South Hadley began demanding for the resignation of Smith, an anti-bullying taskforce meeting turned out to be a pep rally for Smith with "I Support Dan Smith" stickers being distributed to those in attendance. Perhaps, this Massachusetts community is not willing to address this serious problem directly at this time.
Bullying is a difficult and complicated issue for schools. Administrators and teachers are often unwilling to tackle this growing problem because of its time consuming investigation process and the angry parents of the bullies demanding their children did nothing wrong. And, in some cases, parents of the bullies are influential members of society and contribute generously to the school. While many schools are taking a zero tolerance stance against harassment, it is very evident that many are not.
[1] Bazelon, Emily. "Suicide in South Hadley: Nine teenagers have been charged with bullying Phoebe Prince. What about the adults who knew it was going on?," Slate.com, March 30, 2010.
Barbara Pytel - Email me Experience Although I was never particularly fond of going to school as an ELL student, I ironically became a teacher, ...
