A Tale Of Two Legislatures

Following two cases of students, Phoebe Price and Carl Walker-Hoover, who committed suicide after being bullied at school, the Massachusetts Legislature unanimously approved a new state law that would crack down on bullying. This new legislation requires all school employees to report any instance of bullying and requires school principals to investigate every report.

Senator Robert O'Leary, introducing his bill in the Senate: "Bullying is not new. Bullying has been with us from time immemorial. But what has changed is that it appears to be more pervasive, more destructive. We're going to send out a message that this kind of behavior is not acceptable and the community needs to deal with it."

Meanwhile, down in Georgia, the state Senate also voted unanimously, in the last hours of their legislative session, to approve an anti-bullying measure that would expand the definition of bullying while requiring schools to develop guidelines tailored to curb bullying in elementary through high schools.

The bullying bill was strongly backed by Georgia Equality, and though it does not specifically address bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity, lobbyists believe it will help LGBT students, who often face bullying in school.
Republican Congressman Mike Jacobs said he was moved to sponsor the bill by the death of DeKalb County fifth grader Jaheem Herrera, who committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied.

Great news, from up north and down south. Let's hope it spreads to other states that do not have anti-bullying laws.

They Knew, And Did Next To Nothing

It all could have been avoided, if only someone had paid attention, and someone had done something about it.

It seems that Phoebe Prince, the Massachusetts high school student, who took her own life after being relentlessly bullied by a group of "Mean Girls," apparently spoke to a school administrator about the abuse she suffered just a week before she killed herself.

New documents have been filed in connection with other charges facing the six South Hadley High School students who literally bullied and tortured Phoebe Prince to death. The new documents show just how much school officials knew about the bullying, and reveal just what happened in the last few hours of Phoebe Prince's all-too-short life.

It was on January 14th that Phoebe Prince hanged herself in family home, a week to the day since she had gone to a school administrator after learning that one of the defendants, Flannery Mullins, had told fellow students that she was going to "beat Phoebe up" and that she "needed to watch out at break after second block. There is no indication to whom Phoebe spoke, but it is clear that she was begging for help.

Help never came.

Phoebe told the school official that she was "scared and wanted to go home," but, instead, she was sent back to class, telling a friend that it seemed as though "she was still going to get beat up."

School superintendent Gus Sayer said school administrators were not aware of the bullying until January 7, when two teachers reported separate bullying incidents to the principal. In one incident, a student walked into Prince's classroom and yelled at her; in the other, a teacher overheard several students making remarks about Prince "that appeared to be threatening."

A week before she killed herself school officials knew these things.

The principal says he took immediate "disciplinary action against both students," though, citing school privacy rules, he won't say what action was taken. But it couldn't have meant much to those that were torturing Phoebe Prince, because the bullying intensified over the course of the next seven days, until, no longer able to stand it, feeling that everyone was out to hurt her, seeing that officials wouldn't offer any help, Phoebe Prince gave up.

On her last day, Phoebe Prince told a friend that that school "has been close to intolerable lately." She was in the school library at the same time as three of the charged teens--Sean Mulveyhill, Kayla Narey and Ashley Longe--and witnesses reported that that Prince was subjected to crude sexual taunts from Longe, including, "Irish whore." As she left school that day, she endured a barrage of name-calling, and, while walking home, a car drove past, and a beverage can was thrown at her. By this time, Phoebe Prince was in tears. At home, she exchanged several text messages with a friend for about two hours, talking about the verbal abuse she had received that day and the ongoing taunts.

Later, Phoebe Prince's body was found hanging in a rear stairwell of her family's apartment.

So, where were the school officials? Why, when one teacher overhears a conversation in which a group of students threatens another, is nothing done? For a full week, they knew that Phoebe Prince had been targeted by a band of thugs, and they waited. For what?

Kids can be mean. There are names called, and shoves in the hallways; cruel tricks. But this went too far; this was a daily struggle for Phoebe Prince, and when she went to the very people she thought could help her, they let her down.

Phoebe Price

In case you aren't following, or haven't heard, the story of Phoebe Price, here it is:

Phoebe Price was the "new girl" at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts, and, for being the "new girl" she was mercilessly tormented by a group of her fellow classmates until she finally could no longer stand the abuse and killed herself.

These students who tortured this girl, who were later dubbed the "Mean Girls" by Massachusetts newspapers, would call Phoebe Price "Irish slut" or "whore" on Twitter, Craigslist, Facebook and other "networking" sites. At school, though, her books were routinely knocked out of her hands as she walked the halls; people threw things at her; her face was scribbled out of photographs on the school walls; threatening text messages were sent to her cell phone.

Apparently, all this hatred at Phoebe Price was because she made the mistake of briefly dating a popular senior football player in her first freshman weeks at the school.

And now, she's dead.

On January 14th, after another day of hell in school, where Phoebe Price was harassed and threatened in the school library and in a hallway, she walked home. One of the "Mean Girls" drove by and threw a can of Red Bull at her. And probably laughed as she sped off.

Phoebe hung herself in a stairwell of her home.

An awful end, perhaps, except it didn't end there. Those bitches who tortured this girl posted vicious comments on the Phoebe Pince's Facebook memorial page. Even in death, Phoebe Price was taunted and bullied.

Nine students--seven of them girls--have been indicted on charges ranging from criminal harassment to stalking to civil rights violations. One little bitch--and you might think me mean by calling her that...you might think it bullying,...but that's what they are--was charged with assault with a dangerous--the Red Bull can. Two lovely young boys were charged with statutory rape.

Awful. Right?

Terrible, how hateful kids can be. Right?

Where do they learn these things?

Well, my guess would be, at home.

See, the mother of one of those nine bitches and rapists is defending her daughter, saying she might have said mean thing to Phoebe Price, but Phoebe Price was no innocent girl. Well, maybe Phoebe Price wasn't a nice girl; who knows. But she can't speak for herself, now, can she?

Angeles Chanon says Phoebe Price called her daughter, Sharon Chanon Velazquez, names, as well. Sharon is charged with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury. Angeles Chanon goes on to say, in her infinite wisdom, "They're teenagers. They call names." And a girl dies.

Angeles Chanon says her daughter cried the day she was indicted. really? How sad. But, and I'm guessing here, Sharon Chanon Velazquez didn't cry at all when Phoebe Price was pushed and shoved and called a whore; and Sharon Chanon Velazquez didn't cry when someone threw something at Phoebe Price, and I'm sure as hell positive Sharon Chanon Velazquez didn't cry when she heard the news that Phoebe Price hanged herself rather than face one more day at school.

So cry now, Sharon Chanon Velazquez. And let your mother defend you.

At least you're still alive so she can.