Re: Documents Detail a Girl's Final Days of Bullying

On Apr 8, 10:04 pm, "bella" <tinydancer...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Documents Detail a Girl's Final Days of Bullying
By ERIK ECKHOLM and KATIE ZEZIMA
Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old who killed herself after relentless taunting,
spent her final days in fear of girls who had threatened to beat her up,
according to the first official accounts released in a case in Massachusetts
that gained wide attention last week, when six students were charged with
felonies.

Ms. Prince, who entered South Hadley High last fall after moving from
Ireland, was in emotional torment after weeks of being called an "Irish
 slut" and other names, and also became increasingly worried about the
loudly voiced physical threats, students told investigators. She told a
friend that she was "not a tough girl" and "would not know how to fight,"
and at one point she asked friends to surround her as she walked in the
hall.

The documents were prepared by the district attorney for the Northwestern
District in Massachusetts in support of charges against three 16-year-old
students. They provide the first detailed accounts of verbal abuse and
physical threats that prosecutors say were heaped upon Ms. Prince right up
to the afternoon of Jan. 14, when she walked home crying and hanged herself
from a stairwell.

They also describe evidence suggesting that some teachers and administrators
had known for weeks about the harassment but failed to stop it, a contention
that school officials have disputed.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mr. Sayer said school administrators learned about the bullying only about a
week before Ms. Prince's death, when three of the hazing incidents described
in the documents were reported, modifying his earlier assertion of two
incidents. In one case, a teacher saw Ms. Velazquez bring Ms. Prince to
tears before class and reported it; Ms. Velazquez, who had often been heard
berating Ms. Prince and who said she would "punch her in the face," was
suspended for one day, the court documents said.

The harassment grew out of Ms. Prince's brief relationships with boys from
two different social groups, the prosecutors said. Sometime in November, Mr.
Mulveyhill, a senior and a football star, broke up with Ms. Prince, a
freshman, and resumed dating Ms. Narey, a junior. Mr. Mulveyhill then joined
with Ms. Narey and their friend Ms. Longe in belittling Ms. Prince.

In December, Ms. Prince had a brief relationship with Mr. Renaud, the
prosecutors said, drawing the wrath of his sometime girlfriend, Ms. Mullins,
and her friend Ms. Velazquez.

Ms. Mullins later spread word that she was going to "beat Phoebe up." Ms.
Prince told friends that she "was scared and wanted to go home," her friends
told investigators, and went to see an administrator. But she later returned
to class and told them that nothing was being done and she was still
frightened.

Mr. Sayer confirmed that Ms. Prince had gone to a school officer crying at
least once, although it was not certain this was the same incident, but that
she did not report the bullying.

On Jan. 13, Ms. Prince described the physical threats to a friend, according
to the documents, and said that school "has been close to intolerable
lately."

The next day the hazing only intensified.

Ms. Prince tried to ignore the taunts. But as she walked home that
afternoon, the documents said, Ms. Longe passed by in a car and threw an
empty energy-drink can at her, called her a name and laughed. Ms. Prince
walked home crying and later that afternoon, her younger sister found her
hanging by a scarf from the apartment stairwell.

complete article at link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/us/09bully.html

It's rough stuff for sure, but no worse than my worst month or two of
school - and that is true for most of us I think.

I'm still in the "What-else-was-happening-in-her-life?" camp.

Mick
.

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