South Hadley,MA Phoebe Prince 15 kills self over bullying

[jjenny]

Exactly who is this rude comment directed toward?

I am not trying to be rude at all. I am saying it is written in such a way that it's hard understand what it means, as evidenced by the comments from posters here.
You almost need to be a lawyer to understand and interpret what it means, IMO.

 

[elle1919]

Completely off topic....sort of, but an OMGosh moment when I read it and thought about the hell that Phoebe was subjected to and no-one moved a finger to do a thing about it. This 12 year old was handcuffed and detained at the police station for hours after doodling on her desk at a school IN NYC.

Article here: http://www.aolnews.com/crime/articl...ng-on-school-desk-sues-new-york-city/19425428

Not only that but this: snip~Gonzalez describes the ordeal as traumatizing and excessive, saying that after her Spanish teacher caught her doodling on her desk with erasable green marker, she was "physically dragged by a teacher and an assistant principal" to the dean's office, where school safety officials searched her by placing "their hands inside the rear and front pockets of her jeans." Police were then summoned to arrest her.~end

The hell that Phoebe went through...I just don't get this. Sorry I guess I was a tad outraged.

 

[Paladine]

wow, elle...that's outrageous!

 

[jjenny]

Effective communication is a duty of the speaker, not the responsibility of the audience. Your comment reads plainly that you feel your fellow posters cannot understand something that is clear to you, and that's rude.

Unlike your comments addressed to me, I presume. Thank you so much for pointing out I can not communicate effectively.

 

[stmarysmead]

I applaud the D.A. for the statutory rape charge. IMO it's called "throwing the book at them." She has charged these bullies in every legal way possible...and now a jury can decide.

Think of the many sleepless nights Phoebe endured knowing she had to return every day to that school and be tormented by these kids. I have no problem with them having sleepless nights now.

Perhaps a jury will show more mercy on them than they did to Phoebe.

We'll see.

 

[Paladine]

"Irish American nightmare for Phoebe Prince and her family"

"A schoolteacher and an American by birth, Annie O'Brien Prince moved over from County Clare with Phoebe and her sister, while their father Jeremy stayed behind in Ireland to sell the house.

It should have been an American dream.

Instead, it turned into an American nightmare.

Just last September, Phoebe enrolled in her first - and what would be her last - year in an American school.

Coming from a small town in Ireland where she had attended boarding school, she would have been doing her best to fit in.

But surely she could have felt secure in a town where people were called Mulveyhill, Narey and Mullins, all proud Irish American names.

Little did she know that there would be no Irish welcome from this particular group of Irish Americans.

Little did she know they would villify her as an "Irish ," and "Irish " using "Irish" as a term of abuse.

Did the Mulveyhills, Nareys and Mullins not realize they were Irish themselves?"

http://www.irishcentral.com/opinion...or-Phoebe-Prince-and-her-family-89813952.html

 

[Muffet]

I read on a blog or facebook page that Phoebe was only 14 when she first went out with Sean. I had not realized that before, so I had to look it up, and yep, she was born November 24, 1994.

That puts the statutory rape charge in a much more understandable light, to me.

 

[stmarysmead]

Comment under article...

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/re...id=1244349&cnum=1&format=comments&sort=newest

Irishgal, I'd be far more worried about the moral bankruptcy than the financial bankruptcy if this happened where I live. The bullying itself could have happened anywhere. But the inaction on the part of the school officials allowed it to escalate to the point it did.

Then there was the aftermath. It took weeks of public outcry and angry statements at meetings to get the students involved suspended when they should have been suspended much sooner. The Winter Cotillion went on right after Phoebe's death as if nothing happened. The students involved were allowed to attend and boasted as to how they misled investigators (per Kevin Cullen's Mean Girls column). A girl who was interviewed about Phoebe's death by a news crew was slammed against a locker and punched in the head by another girl. The Nasty 9 felt free to deface memorial pages dedicated to Phoebe. I've seen comments by their minions and defenders who try to imply things about Phoebe. Then there was all of the testimony by current and former parents of South Hadley High School which indicated that bullying there and inaction about it isn't an aberration, it's been a consistent problem.

Oh & then there was Principal Smith's press release where he named Phoebe by name, said she was "complicated" and made comments about "adjustment" problems. Yet refused to name the bullies. Did he even ask the Prince family for permission to release a statement like that to the media?

Now, I ask you, does this aftermath strike you as what would happen in a "wonderful" community? I'm not denying there are wonderful people in South Hadley. Such as the DA, the police and those students who tried to befriend and help Phoebe, as well as the parents of those children.

Kids like the Nasty Nine don't behave that brazenly, boldly and with that sense of entitlement unless they know they can get away with it. Since this went on for months and very little was done to stop it, it sent the message that they could do whatever they want without any consequences. I would also be interested to know what the football coach (Sean Mulveyhill being on that team) and the field hockey and lacrosse coaches (Kayla Narey being on those teams) knew. Were the other 7 involved in any of those teams? Sometimes school administrations treat athletes like they are above the law, if that's the case, that needs to be addressed too.

Finally, the Prince family didn't sue immediately. She died January 14th and they didn't file suit until April. To me that indicates they were waiting for the justice process to handle things. Just as it did when the DA relayed their wishes that people not take matters into their own hands during the indictments of the Nasty 9. I find it interesting that timing coincided with school officials trying to claim that the mother didn't go to the school about the bullying, that the staffer didn't see anything in the library, yet mysteriously managed to report what she didn't see after Phoebe's death, etc. I think they finally got fed up with Smith, Sayer et al's nonsense. If your town does go bankrupt, which I imagine it won't even if the Prince's win because towns usually have insurance, don't blame the Princes, blame Sayer, Smith et al.

 

[Muffet]

Paladine, I just want to thank you again for all the work you've done for us. :bow:

Your tracking all these things down has been a huge help, and keeping Phoebe's story hot here at WS will help us all pitch in to show the powers that be in cities everywhere just how important it is that they take this problem as seriously as they should. :thumb:

Kudos! :gold_crown:

 

[Paladine]

I read on a blog or facebook page that Phoebe was only 14 when she first went out with Sean. I had not realized that before, so I had to look it up, and yep, she was born November 24, 1994.

That puts the statutory rape charge in a much more understandable light, to me.

I read the same thing, 14, but didn't do the leg work...thanks

 

[Paladine]

Paladine, I just want to thank you again for all the work you've done for us. :bow:

Your tracking all these things down has been a huge help, and keeping Phoebe's story hot here at WS will help us all pitch in to show the powers that be in cities everywhere just how important it is that they take this problem as seriously as they should. :thumb:

Kudos! :gold_crown:

Thank you, Muffet...you are kind. My hope is to give this case a shove with some links and have sleuth's go through them for info, inconsistencies, etc...let's hold these officials feet to the fire.

 

[BeenaBobba]

Looks like Phoebe's family has retained a lawyer! Good for them!

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1244349

 

[BeenaBobba]

Thank you, Muffet...you are kind. My hope is to give this case a shove with some links and have sleuth's go through them for info, inconsistencies, etc...let's hold these officials feet to the fire.

I wonder if Phoebe will get her own board in the Hot Cases section. That would be cool because then we could start a different thread for our list of contradictory statements by the school's administration.

 

[Paladine]

Gus Sayer, the superintendent for South Hadley High, revealed Phoebe had been having counselling for "adjustment issues" but he said he could not speculate on why she did what she did."

"On February 15, superintendent Sayer confirmed that some students would face hearings leading to possible expulsions. He revealed that two students had been disciplined in the days leading up to Phoebe's death for calling her a vulgar name in class. He added that officials had not known about most of the harassment until after Phoebe's death. On February 22, Sayer announced that a number of the girls who bullied Phoebe in the lead up to her death would not be re-enrolling at South Hadley High and wouldn't be returning. He declined to comment on whether the students had left voluntarily before they could be expelled. Principal Daniel Smith added: "These students' lives have also been dramatically altered ... They won't be graduating from South Hadley High School."

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/bullied-to-death-2098808.html
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/students_face_explusion_in_pho.html


So, Sayer says in the above quote that students would be facing disciplinary action...for what? In this quote he says they only knew of 2 offenses and both were dealt with...

April 2/2010

]"She didn't reveal to people what she was being subjected to and, unfortunately, until January 7, we were not aware of what she was being subjected to, so [there was] very little way we could have intervened in the bullying."

Sayer cited two incidents that occurred on January 7. In one, a girl walked into a classroom and called Prince "an Irish ," he said. The name caller was taken to the principals office and disciplined, he said.

In the other, a girl "said something threatening about Phoebe" to another girl, he said. A staff member overheard the comment and reported it to the principal, who took disciplinary action, Sayer said.

He said it was school policy not to specify what disciplinary actions may have been taken against any individual student, though he said the latter case did not include expulsion and that the student returned to school.

"To our knowledge the action taken was effective in ending their involvement in any bullying of Phoebe," he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/01/massachusetts.bullying.suicide/

 

[Muffet]

A primer of sorts...

-snip-

"Phoebe had been due to attend the local dance or 'Cotillion' two days after she died. Despite the fact that one of their own had died, some 500 students of South Hadley attended the dance. One girl, K. B., who would later speak on camera to reporters about her shock and upset at Phoebe's death, was pictured laughing at the Cotillion with the boy who had gone out with Phoebe. He posted the pictures on his Facebook page. Both K.B. and the boy refused to comment when contacted.
Quote:
"One of the bullies responded with extreme callousness. A screensave I'm glad they have a screenshot of that, but the most important evidence will be proof of the "mission accomplished" comments. of a Facebook post (since removed) by one of the girls alleged to have been involved reads: "It was her own fault." This same girl later joined remembrance and anti-bullying groups online."
Quote:
"Meanwhile, the internet vigilantes of South Hadley were taking matters into their own hands. The addresses and phone numbers of the four girls alleged to have been involved in bullying Phoebe were posted on several web forums. What was interesting at that stage was many people who barely knew Phoebe in real life were prepared to install themselves as chief mourners. One boy who didn't know her at all set up a "remembrance page" for her. Another girl who had had written some fairly offensive stuff about Phoebe when she was alive posted all over this web page, loudly proclaiming her grief.
Quote:
"Meanwhile, the wider community in the town were extremely resentful at the media attention and with one or two exceptions they shut out journalists and other outsiders inquiring about Phoebe. One father alleged that his daughter was beaten up after speaking to reporters.

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/bullied-to-death-2098808.html

It's disturbing to see how so many of these kids sat quietly by and watched her torment, only picking up the torches to defend her after they saw a big mob established to go after the bullies.

I understand the fear behind their silence, especially since these bullies were the school's untouchables, but those kids still need to accept their own role in Phoebe's wounding. They need start being strong and having each other's backs when standing up to bullies, long before it's become the safe and cool thing to do.

And they need to do it without acting like a mindless mob themselves. Some of the "gang up for revenge" stuff they've posted make me think they don't get really get it.

ETA: Oops - forgot to say that the blue comments are little thoughts of mine I added to the quote.

 

[Muffet]

Looks like Phoebe's family has retained a lawyer! Good for them!

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1244349

Awesome.

It says they hired her, but I hope she's working pro bono. It appears she does volunteer her services quite a bit in this area...

If not, I'm sure they'll be able to get plenty of donations to help pay legal fees. I'd gladly help!

 

[Paladine]

I wonder if Phoebe will get her own board in the Hot Cases section. That would be cool because then we could start a different thread for our list of contradictory statements by the school's administration.

We can hope...

 

[Muffet]

-snip-
Gus Sayer, the superintendent for South Hadley High, revealed Phoebe had been having counselling for "adjustment issues" but he said he could not speculate on why she did what she did."
-snip-

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/01/massachusetts.bullying.suicide/

The counselor's notes and testimony could be pivotal. It would be great to know the details about when the counseling took place, and the depth and breadth of it.

I guess I'm not sure whether to worry about the pressure she's under to protect the school, or be angry with her for not being more proactive.

 

[Paladine]

The counselor's notes and testimony could be pivotal. It would be great to know the details about when the counseling took place, and the depth and breadth of it.

I guess I'm not sure whether to worry about the pressure she's under to protect the school, or be angry with her for not being more proactive.

Funny thing is...I heard the Prince Family spokesperson say that Phoebe NEVER got to see a counselor. That she was supposed to but it never happened. I have no sound on my fave laptop. But listening to what we can find on O'Brien, the spokesman, would be a start. I THINK it might have been said on JVM, last night...

 

[Paladine]

More on Gus Sayer...

Sayer admits that about a week before Prince committed suicide, two incidents came to the attention of officials. In one case, a faculty member overheard a group of students threatening Prince, who was not present. In the second, a student walked into a classroom where Prince was, called her an “Irish ,’’ and quickly departed.

Both incidents were immediately reported to the principal, Sayer said, and the students were “appropriately punished.’’
“That’s the only thing that was reported to faculty,’’ he said. “I think the principal did everything he could.’’
Sayer also disputed Scheibel’s assertion that Prince’s mother had spoken with at least two staff members about the harassment. He said her mother had met with a school nurse and a guidance counselor, but said bullying was not discussed.
Sayer called students’ behavior toward Prince “outrageous’’ but said he was surprised to learn that Scheibel drew such a strong connection between the bullying and Prince’s suicide.

“People have assumed the bullying caused her death,’’ he said. “But we don’t know why she took her own life. We think there were probably a number of possible causes.’’

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/school-official-defends-actions-in-phoebe-prince-bullying-suicide