While police in South Hadley, Mass., investigate whether cyber bullying was to blame for the suicide last week of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, the teenager who had recently emigrated from Ireland suffered a final indignity – disparaging remarks believed to be posted by classmates to a Facebook page created in her memory.
Prince died on Jan. 14 after a rough freshman year. Friends and school officials told that Prince had been picked on and taunted since moving to Massachusetts last fall.
South Hadley High Principal Daniel Smith sent out a letter to parents of students at the high school. In the letter, he called Prince "smart, charming, and as is the case with many teenagers, complicated . . . We will never know the specific reasons why she chose to take her life".
School bullies taunted Phoebe Prince through text messages, the computer and on Facebook and other social networking sites.
Smith said the bullying often surrounded arguments about teen dating.
In the letter to parents, dated Jan. 20, Smith addressed the disagreements: "These disagreements centered on relationship/dating issues. School personnel immediately intervened . . . and both counseled and provided consequences as the situations required. It is what happened after those incidents were over that is cause for significant concern.’’
Even after her death, bullies posted disparaging messages on her Facebook memorial page. The comments had to be removed from the page.
A makeshift memorial was held for Phoebe Prince over the weekend.
Local police and the Northwestern District Attorney are investigating.
The information source - http://www.foxnews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment