# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Jersey family to sue school district after 12-year-old daughter’s suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mallory Grossman killed herself after classmates cyberbullied her, her family says. They intend to sue the New Jersey school they say should have stopped it.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-jersey-family-sue-school-district-after-12-year-old-n788506
In the article, " Cyberbullying Tragedy: New Jersey Family to Sue After 12-Year-Old Daughter's Suicide" by Kalhan Rosenblatt, talks about how the school board and one of the alleged bullies parents, failed to stop the harassment. " She said every time she brought her fears to the school, she was dismissed, creating a cycle of inactivity that allowed the bullies to continue “malicious and nasty” behavior." When being bullied, it should never be taken lightly. Whenever someone comes to you with that type of information, it should always be taken seriously. Don't just push it to the side, if you do, it leads to people taking their lives, putting their families through great despair. For the parent of the alleged bully, to just say it 's not a big deal, is absolutely disgusting. What if that was your daughter being bullied? There are very evil and disgusting people in this world, never fall under pressure. Be kind, be generous, be a positive bad.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.wsaz.com/content/news/Deputies-send-stern-warning-to-parents-about-cyberbullying-504506751.html
In the article, "Deputies send stern warning to parents about cyberbullying" by Dan Klein talks about how the "Momo" challenge and how bad it really is. As it says in this article, "The Momo challenge is linked a spooky photo. Kids using some popular forms of social media, which are anonymous, are challenged to contact Momo, who then challenges them to a series of tasks, the last being suicide." To me this just sounds scary that a website that asks kids to do odd things then end it with suicide. I personally never heard about what the challenge makes you do only the memes and the YouTube trends which to me is click-bait. I also didn't know that this is a form of cyberbullying other than the fact that is is on the internet. I would not recommend trying this challenge on any levels even though it may sound tempting.

# data[].attributes.body
In the artical "Pre-teens Arrested for Cyberbullying Before Girl's Suicide" By Jasen Dearen.In the artical a pre-teen hung herself

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-tactics/index.html
"CyberBullying Tactices"
The article talkes about what a bully is. It also talkes about the bully tactices to get in our head and bully you. It states that if you share too much it could or will hurt you down the road if not then. The passage states that,"Some states have chosen to prosecute young people who bully for criminal harassment, including encouraging someone to die of suicide." That means that in some states they are not letting bullying go on any more or even makeing more harsh laws on cyber bullying or just bullying.

# data[].attributes.body
In this Article "Cyber bullying Tragedy: New Jersey Family to Sue After 12_Year-Old Daughter's suicide"
By:  Kalhan Rosenblatt https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-jersey-family-sue-school-district-after-12-year-old-n788506
This story is about a 12 year old girl named Mallory Grossman. She had committed suicide because of cyber bullying that happened at her school.
Her parents were very upset about how her daughter was getting bullying, so they had decided to talk to their daughter's teachers, counselors, principles, and the bullies parents.The bully would comment and say mean things, and it got to the point were she committed suicide. Her parents continue to file a sue for the school because they didn't do anything about the bullying.  Each time they had talk to those people they completely ignored them. Her dad said, “It got to the point where she didn’t want to go to school. She had chronic headaches, stomach aches,” Grossman said. “Her grades plummeted. This was showing that because of the bully, she was scared to go to school and she would constantly get stomach aches and headaches. This is bad because the bully is giving her so much pain that she doesn't want to go to school and were she is hurting so much. People always think it's funny to joke around and make fun of people, but how would feel if people were making fun of you? Not so great, i would like to think but kids that are getting bullied don't think of the jokes as jokes, they think of it as a serious matter. So next time, you post about someone, think about how that person would feel, because people's feelings matter.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=5409

# data[].attributes.body
In New Jersey 12 year old New jersey girl committed suicide because of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is where someone makes fun of you on the internet it mostly occurs with girls such as "Your weave is ugly" but it can happen with boys to such as your fat stupid EX . Cyber bullying can be done on internet devices such as video games social media and even in videos. Which makes kids or adults not feel comfortable where their grades start decreasing or they go to extreme and commit suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Jersey family to sue school district after 12-year-old daughter’s suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mallory Grossman killed herself after classmates cyberbullied her, her family says. They intend to sue the New Jersey school they say should have stopped it.

# data[].attributes.body
Cyberbullying is the effect of bullying taking place online; This was learned through "What Is Cyberbullying" posted by stopcyberbullying.gov. The most common places are Social Media, SMS, Instant message, and email. In  schools cyberbulling creates an effect of plummeting grades a downfall of positive activities and behavior. Cyberbullying is persistent do to it happining 24 hours a day and having no relief. "Most information communicated electronically is permanent and public, if not reported and removed. A negative online reputation, including for those who bully, can impact college admissions, employment, and other areas of life." This means that if someone is bullied online and it becomes big enough to where employers can see this or if you cyberbully than you can not get the job due bullying. Not many laws and sanctions are made due to this being a fairly new topic though discipline will be needed if caught.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior.

The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are:

Social Media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok

Text messaging and messaging apps on mobile or tablet devices

Instant messaging, direct messaging, and online chatting over the internet

Online forums, chat rooms, and message boards, such as Reddit

Email

Online gaming communities

Special Concerns

With the prevalence of social media and digital forums, comments, photos, posts, and content shared by individuals can often be viewed by strangers as well as acquaintances. The content an individual shares online - both their personal content as well as any negative, mean, or hurtful content - creates a kind of permanent public record of their views, activities, and behavior. This public record can be thought of as an online reputation, which may be accessible to schools, employers, colleges, clubs, and others who may be researching an individual now or in the future. Cyberbullying can harm the online reputations of everyone involved - not just the person being bullied, but those doing the bullying or participating in it. Cyberbullying has unique concerns in that it can be:

Persistent - Digital devices offer an ability to immediately and continuously communicate 24 hours a day, so it can be difficult for children experiencing cyberbullying to find relief.

Permanent - Most information communicated electronically is permanent and public, if not reported and removed. A negative online reputation, including for those who bully, can impact college admissions, employment, and other areas of life.

Hard to Notice - Because teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying taking place, it is harder to recognize.

Laws and Sanctions

All states have laws requiring schools to respond to bullying. As cyberbullying has become more prevalent with the use of technology, many states now include cyberbullying, or mention cyberbullying offenses, under these laws. Schools may take action either as required by law, or with local or school policies that allow them to discipline or take other action. Some states also have provisions to address bullying if it affects school performance. You can learn about the laws and policies in each state, including if they cover cyberbullying.

Frequency of Cyberbullying

There are two sources of federally collected data on youth bullying:

The 2017 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice) indicates that, among students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, 15% were bullied online or by text.

The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicates that an estimated 15.7% of high school students were electronically bullied in the 12 months prior to the survey.

See also " Frequency of Bullying."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else.

# data[].attributes.body
Aliyah Thompson 6th Grade

In  this article ‘’Pre-teens  arrested  for cyber bullying before girl’s sucide’’ written by Jason  Dearen .This news article from ABC News  talks about a girl named Gabriella Green that might have been cyber bullied she went to Surfside Middle School. The police asked parents if they could talk to their kids. One was a girl and the police said, ‘’ Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar  name calling…and threats to ‘expose’ personal and sensitive details of the victim’s life,’’ the police report said.’’ The boy had video chatted Gabriella and  told her to kill herself he regretted it after.

This was very shocking and sad because these kids said very hurtful things they even admitted they cyber bullied her. I think that this is not right and there needs to be an end to it. I feel bad for the parents because they were probably heart broken.

# data[].attributes.body
This article, “Chico cyber bulling case gets attention online” by James Villalobos. On 1/11/18 a Cyber bullying victim took their own life because of mean comments on a photo sharing app called Instagram . The comments that the bullies sent were about their body posture like they said “You may not be fat anymore but in reality everyone sees you as the little piggy that you are” and the bully was actually at one point the victims friend until that friend became a bully. The victims bully started calling her a pig at school and making pig noises when the victim passes by. Once the bully started cyber bulling the victim thought there was nothing to but kill themselves to get the bully to leave.

My opinion on this is that you should not kill yourself because someone is bulling you you should speak up and tell.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chico cyber-bullying case getting attention online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Chico, Calif.--A pleasant valley high school senior is being bullied over the photo-sharing app, Instagram. On Thursday many of those messages were getting a lot of attention online after a friend of the victim posted some of the screenshots for others to see.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about two middle school students being accused of making a girl kill herself. According to CNN when the family found the girl she was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The two girls said the girl had STD’s and made threats to expose personal information. The girl contacted a boy and she said she was trying to hang herself to which he replied “if you’re going to do it, just do it”. According to the boy he felt bad and tried to text her but got no reply.  According to CNN the received hundreds of supportive texts which is great that so many are supporting this mother. According to CNN “the suspect deleted the messages upon learning the deaths”. I think it’s horrible someone would cyber bully to the point of death and tried to remove any evidence linking her to the suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police charge two students in suicide of classmate, 12 | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student.

# data[].attributes.headline
Caiden Portier 6th grade Cyber bullying in Panama City, Florida

# data[].attributes.subject
Caiden Portier 6th grade Cyber bullying in Panama City, Florida

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/florida-cyberstalking-charges-girl-suicide/index.html
"Police accuse two students, age 12, of cyberbullying in suicide"

A boy and a girl were accused of cyber bullying after Gabriella Green, a 12 year old, committed suicide. Although,what makes me really sad is that the police told CNN, "The investigation only revealed that cyberbullying was transpiring at the time of her death." CNN interviewed her  mom and she said that she is receiving millions of text saying that her daughter is an ispiration to stop cyber bullying.

# data[].attributes.body
I just read this article of this “girl who was cyber bullied” to the point she caused suicide. On CNN it states “12-year-old Gabriella Green was found unresponsive in her home on January 10. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital, with a medical examiner announcing that she had died after hanging herself.” This was caused by her being cyber stalked. A boy and a girl where bulling her. The boy who cyber bullied her made a video saying “if you’re going to do it, just do it”. This happened before she hung herself.  The boy said to the police that he regretted saying that during the video chat. This is upsetting that a 12 year old girl was cyber bullied to the point she took her own life. Both of the bullies were 12 and charged them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Florida police have charged two 12-year-old students with cyberstalking after a fellow student committed suicide, as reported by

Panama City Beach authorities wrote in a statement on Tuesday that the body of 12-year-old Gabriella Green was found unresponsive in her home on January 10. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital, with a medical examiner announcing that she had died after hanging herself.

Investigators interviewed Green's friends and family, eventually zeroing in on two fellow students, a girl and a boy, who allegedly had been cyberstalking the young girl.

Police found a record of texts from a 12-year-old girl, which they detailed in a statement to reporters.

"Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," police said in a statement, noting that these texts had been deleted upon Green's death.

Authorities also found an incriminating video chat with the boy, who allegedly urged Green to actually commit suicide, as reported by New York Post.

"If you're going to do it, just do it," investigators note he said during the video chat, just before hanging up.

The unnamed 12-year-old boy has told police that he regretted saying that during the video chat, though he did not alert any adults later on, when he could no longer get ahold of Green, likely after she had already committed suicide.

Parents plan to speak at the Bay District School Board meeting Tuesday about bullying. This after two 12-year-olds were charged with cyberstalking after the death of Gabriella Green. We'll bring you the story today on air and online. pic.twitter.com/UHNcZ5t9mQ

- WJHG-TV (@WJHG_TV) January 23, 2018

Authorities have not indicated that cyberbullying was the only factor in Green's suicide, merely that it "was transpiring at the time of her death."

Tanya Green, the girl's mother, has stated that there is one positive takeaway from the tragic loss of her daughter.

"I have teens, children as young as third grade and adults messaging me from all over the world inspired by our girl and her beautiful spirit," she told CNN.

Ginger Littleton, chairwoman of the board in Bay District Schools, where the students attended, released a statement on the tragic loss.

"This tragedy has not only forever impacted one family, but the hurt and pain is now being felt by multiple families. We will continue to do all we can to guide and teach our students about the dangers of bullying and social media."

The family has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses.
[Featured Image: Twitter/screenshot]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Just do it:' Classmates allegedly push 12-year-old girl to commit suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Florida police have charged two 12-year-old students with cyberstalking after a fellow student committed suicide, as reported by CNN. Panama City Beach authorities wrote in a statement on Tuesday that the body of 12-year-old Gabriella Green was found unresponsive in her home on January 10.

# data[].attributes.body
A boy named phoebe prince committed suicide because of cyber bullying and so did 47 other people in his classroom just because of cyber bullying. “In k-12th grade there has been suicide” in the part of the city it said in the article. It said in the article that most people in the classes have been thinking about having suicide on themselves than their normal life like studying or playing like a normal kid does every day most of the time. It also said in the article that they have tried to stop bullying in all the classroom’s.

# data[].attributes.headline
By Alexander givens in 6th grade with a cyber bully article.

# data[].attributes.subject
By Alexander givens in 6th grade with a cyber bully article.

# data[].attributes.body
So i just read this article about this dude that killed himself because of some jerks on the internet. His name is Felix Alexander, and thats not right at all. So if you stopped cyberbullying, or if anybody stopped cyberbulying, then the world will be a bit better.

How can we stop cyberbullying?

Just don’t say mean stuff on the internet, you never know how sensitive a person is. If you think about it, you should expect people to be somewhat sensitive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Duke of Cambridge, inspired by a mother's story of loss, has launched a code of conduct to beat cyberbullying.

Lucy Alexander's son, Felix, killed himself aged 17 after years of being bullied on social media.

The prince, together with tech firms, children's charities and parents, wants young people to follow the equivalent of a Green Cross Code for the internet - to "stop, speak, support".

Facebook and Snapchat are also set to trial giving access to counselling.

Other firms, including Google and EE, have also taken part in the project.

At the final meeting of the cyberbullying taskforce at Google's HQ in London, Prince William urged tech giants to "innovate, collaborate and educate" people on the dangers of cyberbullying.

"You've heard me say before that this is a personal issue for me," he told representatives from Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Vodafone.

"My work with the air ambulance saw a lot of suicide, some of it from bullying, some from other areas of life."

The aim of the new code of conduct is to encourage 11 to 16-year-olds across the UK to stop negative behaviour, tell a responsible adult and support victims of bullying.

The Duke of Cambridge became interested in helping to tackle the issue shortly after his son Prince George was born, when he first heard about Felix Alexander.

In a moving video filmed to highlight the project, Lucy Alexander, from Worcester, told the prince about her son Felix.

"Social media was his life. It was the way everyone communicated, and if you weren't on it, you were isolated.

"If he was invited to a party, someone would text saying: 'You don't want to invite him. Everyone hates him'.

"And all he saw was negative. He saw himself as stupid and ugly," she told the prince.

"It just ate away at him inside, I think, but I had no idea of the depth of his despair at all."

How can I keep my kids safe online?

Is your child a cyberbully?

She believes the prince's initiative could have helped her son in his darkest times.

"It may not have changed my story, but it's got to be a step forward," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

What is cyberbullying?

It's bullying behaviour on social networks, games and mobile phones, which can include spreading rumours about someone, or posting mean or embarrassing messages, photos or video.

The NSPCC says children may know who is behind the bullying, and it may be an extension of bullying in school or elsewhere. Or the bully may be targeting someone using a fake or anonymous account.

Cyberbullying can happen at any time and anywhere, even when a child is alone in their bedroom, making it feel as if there is no escape.

Prince William also heard from Chloe Hine, who, aged 13, tried to take her own life after enduring sustained online abuse.

"You can't escape it. You're constantly with that bully," she said.

She described being part of a group who turned on her after she said something they didn't want to hear.

They decided they should all hate her and would twist her words, she said.

"Then it kind of spiralled out of control from there."

The prince highlighted the danger of anonymous bullying - which he says can come directly into a young person's bedroom but remain invisible to those around them.

"It is one thing when it happens in the playground and it's visible there and parents and teachers and other children can see it.

"Online, you're the only one who sees it, and it's so personal. It goes straight to your room." he said.

He also warned against cyber-bullies being able to ignore the real-world consequences of their actions.

"I think it is worth reminding everyone that the human tragedy of what we are talking about here isn't just about companies and online stuff - it's actually real lives that get affected," he added.

Instagram tops cyber-bullying study

How I felt when I ditched social media

Cyber-bullying relatively rare, says study

Speaking ahead of the meeting, taskforce chairman Brent Hoberman said William was instrumental in doing something that "almost no-one can do" by bringing together top representatives of rival companies.

He said he wanted to see the trial to give young people access to a counsellor rolled out universally.

Asked whether the onus should be on the tech firms to remove the bullying posts or messages, he told BBC's Today programme that removing them may not be as effective as helping the young person emotionally.

The message, he said, to young people was "don't be bystanders - step up speak out, stop this".

The responsibility to deal with this was "everywhere", he added.

What to do if your child is being cyberbullied

Talk about it - find the right time to approach them with your concerns.

Show your support - stay calm, be considered and tell them how you will help them.

Don't necessarily stop them going online - this can make them feel more isolated.

Help them to deal with it - advise them to tell the person how it makes them feel and ask them to take any pictures or comments down.

Don't retaliate - advise them against responding to abusive messages and to leave uncomfortable conversations.

Block the bullies - if messages continue, block the sender and report them to the social network or gaming platform.

Keep the evidence - take screenshots as proof.

Don't deal with it alone - talk to friends or your child's school for support.

Know when to take it further - consider telling the police if your child is in danger.

Don't stop when the bullying stops - keep talking and consider counselling.
Source: Internet Matters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mum's cyberbullying story prompts action

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Duke of Cambridge, inspired by a mother's story of loss, has launched a code of conduct to beat cyberbullying. Lucy Alexander's son, Felix, killed himself aged 17 after years of being bullied on social media.

# data[].attributes.body
This article that i read about that was talking about this girl suicide is awful because not only does this have to do with cyber-bullying but because whoever caused the little girl's death must of not realized that you can go to jail and no one will forgive you of what you did.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 14-year-old girl who was the angelic face of an iconic Australian bushmen's hat brand was remembered by hundreds of mourners Friday after her suicide focused attention on the dangers of cyberbullying.

The memorial service for Amy "Dolly" Everett was held in the tiny Northern Territory town of Katherine near her family's cattle ranch. Most mourners dressed in her favorite color, blue, and many had driven hundreds of kilometers (miles) from distant ranches.

A photograph of a young Dolly, her smiling face framed by sun-kissed curls and shaded by a rabbit-felt hat, has been featured in advertising of Akubra Hats since 2009, most recently this past Christmas.

More than a century old and one of Australia's most iconic brands, Akubra has made so-called bush hats, the Australian military slouch hats and even the fedora worn by Harrison Ford's character Indiana Jones in the 1981 movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Her family has blamed recent online bullying after Dolly's death last week but hasn't given specifics of the bullying or her cause of death. The tragic news travelled quickly via social media from the remote and sparsely populated cattle country of Australia's rugged far north.

"We are shocked and distressed to hear of the passing of 'Dolly'," Akubra said in a statement.

Stating that she chose to end her life to escape being bullied, the company said, "To think that anyone could feel so overwhelmed and that suicide was their only option is unfathomable."

Akubra, based in Kempsey, New South Wales state, has used the endearing Outback cowgirl image frequently in its marketing since it was taken at the remote Brunette Downs Station cattle ranch.

After the service, mourners released balloons and butterflies.

Her father, Tick Everett, flanked by his wife Meg and daughter Meg, urged parents to speak to their children about their relationships and bullying.

"Speak even if your voice shakes," he said, quoting a caption of a sketch of a dancer that Dolly had recently drawn. "Stop bullying and be kind and do it for Dolly," he added.

The debate about the perils to children of online communication caught the attention of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"From pain and loss, we must renew our commitment to say no to bullying," Turnbull wrote in a Facebook comment.

The government had established an eSafety Commissioner to tackle cyberbullying and to work with internet companies to promote online safety, Turnbull said.

The opposition Labor Party's last prime minister, Kevin Rudd, tweeted, "Any form of bullying is an assault on our values. And in this young girl's life with lethal effect."

Northern Territory police say they are investigating the bullying allegations on behalf of a state coroner who will report on the cause of Dolly's death. But no criminal investigation is underway. Coroners can recommend criminal charges at the end of an investigation into an unexpected death.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying blamed for child model's suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A 14-year-old girl who was the angelic face of an iconic Australian bushmen's hat brand was remembered by hundreds of mourners Friday after her suicide focused attention on the dangers of cyberbullying. The memorial service for Amy "Dolly" Everett was held in the tiny Northern Territory town of Katherine near her family's cattle ranch.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PCBPD said in a statement their investigation did not reveal cyberbullying was the sole cause of Gabbie's death, just that it was occuring at the time of her death.

PANAMA CITY BEACH - Two 12-year-olds have been charged with cyberstalking in connection with the death of Surfside Middle School student Gabriella Green, who committed suicide two weeks ago.

The arrests came as the result of an investigation by Panama City Beach Police into the mitigating circumstances around her death on Jan. 10. According to a news release, PCBPD was made aware of potential cyberbullying against Gabbie, which led them to examine several cell phones and social media accounts.

Through that investigation, PCBPD developed two 12-year-old suspects, who were then interviewed and allegedly confessed to engaging in cyberbullying conduct, knowing that their behavior would cause Gabbie emotional distress.

Because they are juveniles, their names were not released, but Gabbie's parents confirmed it is a male and female who were charged.

While Gabbie's parents have maintained that cyberbullying by classmates at Surfside Middle School directly led to Gabbie's death, PCBPD said in a statement their investigation did not reveal that was the sole cause of Gabbie's death, just that it was occurring at the time of her death. An official ruling on her cause of death has not yet been released by the Medical Examiner's Office.

Tanya Green, Gabbie's mother, said the arrests were "gratifying" after her daughter had to suffer in silence "with a smile on her face." However, she and her husband maintain that blame still lies with the parents and the school system.

"It's going to help others at her school," Green said. "It's going to start at her school. It's going to help others around the world."

In their release, PCBPD warned against allowing children and teenagers unrestricted access to social media and the internet, saying during their investigation, they found several middle school-aged children with "unmonitored access to several social media platforms."

"These specific cell phone applications have been found to be the root of several dangerous and negative situations, such as cyberbullying, sexting and potential access by online predators," the release read.

Some parents believe more has to be done at the schools.

Outside Surfside Middle School Monday morning, a handful of parents held signs against bullying and chiding the school's administration for what they said was a lack of action taken against bullying.

"Almost every parent here, their child has been bullied at this school," said Amy Strout, who has helped organize a Facebook group seeking justice for Gabbie. "This could have been my kid. This could have been their kid."

Many of the parents said they want to see action taken against the Surfside administration. Superintendent Bill Husfelt said in a statement on Monday the school district would not comment on any internal investigations at the school until they have had time to review PCBPD's statement and investigation.

"We continue to mourn the loss of Gabbie and our hearts go out to her family, her friends and to everyone at Surfside Middle School," Husfelt said. "This is an absolutely tragic situation and our counselors have been at Surfside since we first found out about Gabbie's death. The counselors have been, and will continue to be, an invaluable resource for the students, and faculty and staff, at this difficult time and they will be available as long as they are needed."

Others at the rally hoped Gabbie's death would help parents open up a dialogue with their children on empathy and bullying. Many of them blamed social media, but also took aim at parents for letting their children use sites unmonitored and without talking to them about the consequences of their actions.

"The parents need to step up and take care of their kids who are the bullies," said Nicole Ricker. "Stop the hatred. It's costing us our babies' lives."

Dawn Graff hoped that inside one of the hundreds of cars driving by their small demonstration on Nautilus Street and Back Beach Road was a child who was being bullied that saw their signs and knew someone cared about them.

"If it helps one kid that maybe drives by here and sees our sign and knows that somebody cares, maybe they'll come forward," she said. "Then it's worth it."

PCBPD said in their release they plan to host a training on cyberbullying, cyberstalking and social media for parents, and they urged parents who believe their child is being cyberbullied to contact them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Two juveniles charged in connection with 12-year-old's suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PCBPD said in a statement their investigation did not reveal cyberbullying was the sole cause of Gabbie's death, just that it was occuring at the time of her death. PANAMA CITY BEACH - Two 12-year-olds have been charged with cyberstalking in connection with the death of Surfside Middle School student Gabriella Green, who committed suicide two weeks ago.

# data[].attributes.body
This article, "Police accused two students, age 12 , of cyberbullying in suicide," by James Lynch and CNN is about a 12-year-old girl comitting suicide because of two cyberbullies. Police said Tuesday a girl named Gabriella green was found January 10 and was pronuced dead. One of the accused girls told the police that she wanted to start problrms with Gabby and the other girl. They started sending derogatory comments verbally and electronical. The comments hurted Gabby and made her feel so bad, that she hanged herself until she died.
As i read the article, it made me feel horrible. According to the article, the girls started rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, called her names, and threatser personal life. The accused girls deleted the messeges after hearing that she comitted suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police charge two students in suicide of classmate, 12 | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was "Police charge students, age 12, with cyber bullying in suicide." by Jamiel Lynch, CNN. CNN states that "police charged two middle school students with cyber stalking after the suicide of another student."  A student named Gabriella Green (Gabbie) was pronounced dead at the hospital after hanging herself, because of two students bullying her online. Before Gabbie's death she was texting a boy, and talking about how "she was having a bad day, and attempted to hang herself." Later on video chat the boy told her "If your going to do it, just do it." than he hung up.The boy and the other student were also sending Gabbie threats and were calling her rude names. He and the other student were both accused with cyber stalking in suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Gabbie Green, 12 and her mother, Tanya Green.

(CNN) - Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student.

Police said Tuesday in a statement that 12-year-old Gabriella Green, known as Gabbie, was found unresponsive at her home on January 10 and was pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner told CNN that the girl died from hanging.

During the investigation, family and friends alerted police that Gabbie had been a victim of cyberbullying. Police said they looked at cellphones and social media accounts, which led them to interview two children she knew.

Police did not say whether the suspects had lawyers present at the time of the interviews. Their parents gave permission for them to speak with investigators.

The accused girl told officers she intended to cause problems between Gabbie and another child and made derogatory comments verbally and electronically, a police report said. "Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life." The suspect deleted messages upon learning of the death, police said.

The accused boy said Gabbie texted him to say she was having a bad day and had attempted to hang herself and had marks on her neck, police said. During a video chat, she discussed taking her life, and the boy said something to the effect of, "If you're going to do it, just do it" and ended the call.

He said he regretted that comment and tried to message her, but did not receive a response, police said. The student did not reach out to any adults or authorities.

An officer wrote that the actions of the accused boy and girl caused mental distress to the victim.

The accused are not being named because they are minors.

Police said they did not find that cyberbullying was the sole cause of Gabbie's death. "The investigation only revealed that cyberbullying was transpiring at the time of her death."

In a press release, police warned that over the course of the investigation, they found several juveniles with access to social media applications that allow anonymous postings. They will be holding training in the coming weeks for parents on these applications and the dangers and signs of cyberbullying.

Gabbie's mother, Tanya Green, says that she has received messages of support from hundreds who have been influenced by her daughter's story.

"I have teens, children as young as third grade and adults messaging me from all over the world inspired by our girl and her beautiful spirit," she told CNN.

The Greens are sharing Gabbie's story on social media in the hope of bringing awareness to cyberbullying and saving lives.

Ginger Littleton, chairwoman of the board in Bay District Schools, where the students attended, released a statement.

"We cannot reiterate strongly enough the cautions and warnings that were delivered yesterday by the Panama City Beach Police Department. Let me assure you that each of us here today, and all of our administrators and staff in our schools, will continue to work with parents and students to help them understand the impact of our spoken and written words. This tragedy has not only forever impacted one family, but the hurt and pain is now being felt by multiple families. We will continue to do all we can to guide and teach our students about the dangers of bullying and social media."

Copyright 2018 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police charge students, age 12, with cyberbullying in suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
(CNN) - Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student. Police said Tuesday in a statement that 12-year-old Gabriella Green, known as Gabbie, was found unresponsive at her home on January 10 and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

# data[].attributes.body
A 14 year old named Mary Thompson and random person sent her a snapchat photo and said, The Blaze said. " I didn't know they let water bufflos on the bus. Mary cried herself to sleep when she found out. But Mary didn't stay silent she fought back and stood up to the bully. Also the person who bulied her was the guy who she picked up gave his wallet back to him.
After this she told every one who is being bullied that its ok to speak up. She also tells haters im a child of god and i don't care if im a water bufflo. The boy who bullied her got in-school detention for 3 days

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mary Thompson, 14, decided enough was enough after she said a boy she hardly knows posted a Snapchat photo of her and called her a "water buffalo" in the caption. Mary decided to stand up to the bully and fight back.(Image source: Facebook video screenshot)

When Mary Thompson found out, she was crushed.

The 14-year-old told KOTV-TV a boy she barely knows posted a Snapchat photo of her along with the caption, "I didn't know water buffalo were allowed to ride the bus" - and the image was making the rounds at her Oklahoma school.

"I cried myself to sleep the night I found out," the Locust Grove High School freshman told KJRH-TV.

Mary added to KJRH that she was "shocked because I've never done anything to the person that posted it." In fact, she told the station the only time the pair ever had interacted was when he once left his wallet on the bus - and she returned it to him.

And instead Mary's kind deed was paid back with an added fear that "people are going to give me a new nickname ... the water buffalo," she told KJRH.

But rather than letting the misdeed slide and staying silent, Mary decided to stand up to the bully and fight back.

How did Mary fight back?

First, she reported the photo to the school, KJRH said - and then she used social media to stand up to her tormentor.

"I'm fed up with cyber bullying, it's not right, it doesn't make you look better as a person to put others down," Mary wrote on her Facebook page Jan. 11, including the Snapchat photo in question and encouraging others to share her message. "I don't appreciate being called a water buffalo."

Mary added to KOTV that she "wanted to make sure that other victims of bullying know that it's okay to speak out, and you need to report it."

Soon Mary was receiving heartwarming responses not only from people she knows and loves - but from strangers.

"I got multiple messages saying that I'm beautiful," Mary told KJRH.

What happened to the cyberbully?

As for the boy who posted the Snapchat photo, Mary told KOTV he was given only three days of in-school detention and that he hasn't apologized - not that it's stopping Mary from taking the high road, mind you.

"I forgive him," she added to KOTV. "But I don't want him to say anything like that to anyone else."

In fact, the station said the culprit began getting threats - but that's not what Mary wants, either.

"Just stop it," she told KOTV, reacting to those leveling threats at the boy. "That's not what I meant to send out at all."

What else did Mary do?

A few days after she shared the Snapchat photo and its awful caption, Mary took control again by posting a Facebook video of her sharing a song - as well as a message of encouragement to her peers who get picked and pushed around.

"If you are getting bullied, you need to speak up," Mary said in the clip and reminding others to "stay strong" and never "let the haters get you down."

And she had a message for her "haters," too: "I don't give a crap what you say. I am a child of God. Calling me a water buffalo won't change that."

What did the school district have to say about all this?

The superintendent of Locust Grove Public Schools on Tuesday didn't immediately reply to TheBlaze's request for comment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Girl, 14, fights back against cyberbully whose heartbreaking insult left her in tears - at first

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mary Thompson, 14, decided enough was enough after she said a boy she hardly knows posted a Snapchat photo of her and called her a "water buffalo" in the caption. Mary decided to stand up to the bully and fight back.(Image source: Facebook video screenshot) When Mary Thompson found out, she was crushed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police charge two students in suicide of classmate, 12 | CNN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student.

# data[].attributes.body
In the article on ABC News called “Family of Cyber-Bullied NJ Girl Who Killed Herself to Sue School District of Negligence”, by Julia Jacobo. A 12 year old girl named Mallory Grossman took her own life by reading all the text messages she got on Snapchat. Her parents filed a lawsuit against The Rockaway Township School District and girls that bullied her. Her mother also got to talk to the girls families and got to talk about them it stated the girls were “mean’’,’’malicious’’ and “nasty’.It also said that when they filed a lawsuit on the school that every school should tell everyone about the situation on cyberbulling.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The family of a New Jersey girl who killed herself in June after what they said was "months of relentless" cyberbullying announced plans to sue their school district for negligence, alleging it failed to prevent the abuse, according to their attorneys.

Mallory Grossman, 12, took her own life after she was bombarded with bullying messages via Snapchat and texts, family attorney Bruce Nagel said in a Monday press release. Her parents "repeatedly" asked the principal "and others" at Copeland Middle School in Rockaway, New Jersey to intervene, but "they took no steps to do so," Nagel said.

At a Tuesday press conference, the girl's mother Dianne Grossman said the school never filed mandatory bullying reports, even though she says she requested them to file them "countless" times.

"New Jersey has some of the strongest laws around HIB [Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying], and the Rockaway Township schools never filed one report, to this day, even still, a report has not been filed," Dianne Grossman said today.

She added that she has heard from "several parents" that the girls who bullied her daughter were "mean," "malicious" and "nasty."

When asked by reporters whether she thinks other students have experienced similar situations, she replied, "I know it is. I know it's happening."

A notice of intent will be filed in the coming days, Dianne Grossman said. Then, the family will file a lawsuit against the Rockaway Township School District and potentially against the families of the girls involved in the bullying, she added.

Nagel said the lawsuit should shed light on the prevalence of cyberbullying among students, calling Grossman's death an "avoidable tragedy."

"This tragedy could have been prevented and this lawsuit should be a wakeup call to every school in every hamlet of our great country that cyber-bullying is going on every day and that the schools must immediately take [steps] to stop this and protect every student in the school," Nagel said.

The office of Rockaway Township School District Superintendent Dr. Greg McGann hung up on ABC News during a request for comment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Family of girl who killed herself after she was cyberbullied to sue school district

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The family of a New Jersey girl who killed herself in June after what they said was "months of relentless" cyberbullying announced plans to sue their school district for negligence, alleging it failed to prevent the abuse, according to their attorneys. Mallory Grossman, 12, took her own life after...

# data[].attributes.headline
Gabriella Lopez 6th grade Cyber bullying

# data[].attributes.subject
Gabriella Lopez 6th grade Cyber bullying

# data[].attributes.body
I just read this article called “Police charge students, age 12, with cyberbullying in suicide” it is written by JAMIEL LYNCH, CNN the article was about two middle school students that cyber bulled a girl named Gabriella Green. The students cyberbullying her called her names and “starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life.”The victim was said to have died because she hung herself because of being cyber bullied and other personal things happening in her life. One thing that one of the bullies did was during a video chat where she was “discussed taking her life and the boy said something to the effect of, "If you're going to do it, just do it” these things that the bullies were saying effected her that is why she took her life. The outcome of Gabriella Green’s  suicide is the cyber bullies getting charged and people reaching out to Tanya Green and sending messages of support and the Greens are sharing her story “in the hope of bringing awareness to cyberbullying and saving lives.”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Gabbie Green, 12 and her mother, Tanya Green.

(CNN) - Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student.

Police said Tuesday in a statement that 12-year-old Gabriella Green, known as Gabbie, was found unresponsive at her home on January 10 and was pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner told CNN that the girl died from hanging.

During the investigation, family and friends alerted police that Gabbie had been a victim of cyberbullying. Police said they looked at cellphones and social media accounts, which led them to interview two children she knew.

Police did not say whether the suspects had lawyers present at the time of the interviews. Their parents gave permission for them to speak with investigators.

The accused girl told officers she intended to cause problems between Gabbie and another child and made derogatory comments verbally and electronically, a police report said. "Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life." The suspect deleted messages upon learning of the death, police said.

The accused boy said Gabbie texted him to say she was having a bad day and had attempted to hang herself and had marks on her neck, police said. During a video chat, she discussed taking her life, and the boy said something to the effect of, "If you're going to do it, just do it" and ended the call.

He said he regretted that comment and tried to message her, but did not receive a response, police said. The student did not reach out to any adults or authorities.

An officer wrote that the actions of the accused boy and girl caused mental distress to the victim.

The accused are not being named because they are minors.

Police said they did not find that cyberbullying was the sole cause of Gabbie's death. "The investigation only revealed that cyberbullying was transpiring at the time of her death."

In a press release, police warned that over the course of the investigation, they found several juveniles with access to social media applications that allow anonymous postings. They will be holding training in the coming weeks for parents on these applications and the dangers and signs of cyberbullying.

Gabbie's mother, Tanya Green, says that she has received messages of support from hundreds who have been influenced by her daughter's story.

"I have teens, children as young as third grade and adults messaging me from all over the world inspired by our girl and her beautiful spirit," she told CNN.

The Greens are sharing Gabbie's story on social media in the hope of bringing awareness to cyberbullying and saving lives.

Ginger Littleton, chairwoman of the board in Bay District Schools, where the students attended, released a statement.

"We cannot reiterate strongly enough the cautions and warnings that were delivered yesterday by the Panama City Beach Police Department. Let me assure you that each of us here today, and all of our administrators and staff in our schools, will continue to work with parents and students to help them understand the impact of our spoken and written words. This tragedy has not only forever impacted one family, but the hurt and pain is now being felt by multiple families. We will continue to do all we can to guide and teach our students about the dangers of bullying and social media."

Copyright 2018 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police charge students, age 12, with cyberbullying in suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
(CNN) - Police in Panama City Beach, Florida, have charged two 12-year-old middle-school students with cyberstalking after the suicide of another student. Police said Tuesday in a statement that 12-year-old Gabriella Green, known as Gabbie, was found unresponsive at her home on January 10 and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article called

"12-Year-Olds Arrested For Cyberbullying Girl Who Hanged Herself"

by Beth Dalbey . I cant believe that kids at this young of and are telling other kid to hurt themselves or tell them many bad thing until they break and end up hurting themselves to the point of death. I feel very bad for family member who know miss this girl named Gabbie Green. One of the offences was “The girl who was charged admitted to "starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," according to a Panama Beach City Police report.” After this, bulling like this kept happening until she hung herself.

The two people who were charged for the crime was a boy and a girl both in the same grade level as the suspect. The girl was the one who wrote that in the quotation marks. The boy however was called by her and encouraged her to kill herself which resulted in her actually doing it as seen in this quote.  “'If you're going to do it, just do it,' and ended the call," according to the police report.” This is what shocked me the most because he told her to do it which is really sad. Now I after this I hope you stop bulling if your are or never to do so because suicide can be one of the result and then you can go to jail!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PANAMA BEACH CITY, FL - Two Florida 12-year-olds were arrested for cyberbullying - the often relentless torment that kids dish out online - after a classmate hanged herself earlier this month, police in Panama City Beach said Monday. The arrest of the two students at Surfside Middle School in Panama Beach City followed an examination of their cellphones and social media accounts, police said.

Gabriella "Gabbie" Green, 12, hanged herself at her family home on Jan. 10, and investigators began looking into her death after being made aware that she had been an online target of bullies, police said in a news release. Both of the students, a girl and a boy whose names were not released because they are minors, confessed to cyberbullying in an interview with investigators, the news release said.

Police didn't say implicitly that cyberbullying caused Gabbie's suicide, only that it was occurring during the weeks leading up to her death and that the two students who were arrested confessed to harassing her, both in person and online. The girl who was charged admitted to "starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," according to a Panama Beach City Police report.

The boy charged told investigators he had video-chatted with Gabbie after hearing she had tried to commit suicide, and he said "something to the effect of, 'If you're going to do it, just do it,' and ended the call," according to the police report. "He immediately regretted that statement, and began calling and text-messaging her, but did not receive a response."

Neither of the teens alerted adults or authorities that Gabbie was suicidal, the news release said.

Gabbie's mother, Tanya Green, said on Facebook that the family - Gabbie's dad and four siblings - draws "strength from knowing there are thousands of kids and adults that are going through the same thing." Patch has reached out to Green for comment, and we'll update this story if we hear back.

"By speaking out, we save lives. Children's lives," Green wrote in the Facebook post. She wrote that she has received hundreds of messages from people of all ages, including children as young as 8, who have been bullied. She called it a "global epidemic," and said her daughter is "giving them strength to tell someone, to talk to someone."

In an earlier post, Green detailed some of the torment her daughter went through. She had been targeted for a year, but the school didn't intervene. Surfside Middle School did not immediately return Patch's request for comment.

"She left this world being bullied at school for this last year," Green wrote. "We took it up with the school several times. They did nothing."

Her daughter's death dispels the stereotype that only kids who don't fit in are targeted by bullies. She described her as a "precious, beautiful, sweet, boisterous" and "popular, fun, ambitious young girl."

"Looking at her you wouldn't think she would have an issue being bullied," her mother wote. "Beauties get bullied too. ... You can be bullied. Even if you seem like you've got it all. You can be bullied."

She also offered advice for other parents. The Green family is close, she wrote, and everyone was at home when Gabbie slipped a dog leash around her neck and hanged herself in the closet. They had dinner together, and Gabbie "was excited to be going to a rally at her church" later that evening, her mother wrote.

"No matter how close you are. No matter how well you think you know your kids. They don't tell you everything. They will just say 'I'm ok,' " Green wrote. "They can be bullied so much that they can't take it anymore. They think there is no where to turn. They must get lost in their own teenage minds. Why my baby let these two kids tell her to just do it, push her to just take her own life. I just don't know.
See Also: 13-Year-Old Hanged Herself, But Bullying Killed Her Photo via Shutterstock

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
12-Year-Olds Arrested For Cyberbullying Girl Who Hanged Herself

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PANAMA BEACH CITY, FL - Two Florida 12-year-olds were arrested for cyberbullying - the often relentless torment that kids dish out online - after a classmate hanged herself earlier this month, police in Panama City Beach said Monday.

# data[].attributes.headline
alexander givens 6 grade cyber bully article

# data[].attributes.subject
alexander givens 6 grade cyber bully article

# data[].attributes.body
So i just red this article about this dude that killed himself because of some jerks on the internet. His name is felix alexander, and thats not right at all. So if you stopped cyberbullying, or if anybody stopped cyberbulying, then the world will b a bit bette

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Duke of Cambridge, inspired by a mother's story of loss, has launched a code of conduct to beat cyberbullying.

Lucy Alexander's son, Felix, killed himself aged 17 after years of being bullied on social media.

The prince, together with tech firms, children's charities and parents, wants young people to follow the equivalent of a Green Cross Code for the internet - to "stop, speak, support".

Facebook and Snapchat are also set to trial giving access to counselling.

Other firms, including Google and EE, have also taken part in the project.

At the final meeting of the cyberbullying taskforce at Google's HQ in London, Prince William urged tech giants to "innovate, collaborate and educate" people on the dangers of cyberbullying.

"You've heard me say before that this is a personal issue for me," he told representatives from Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Vodafone.

"My work with the air ambulance saw a lot of suicide, some of it from bullying, some from other areas of life."

The aim of the new code of conduct is to encourage 11 to 16-year-olds across the UK to stop negative behaviour, tell a responsible adult and support victims of bullying.

The Duke of Cambridge became interested in helping to tackle the issue shortly after his son Prince George was born, when he first heard about Felix Alexander.

In a moving video filmed to highlight the project, Lucy Alexander, from Worcester, told the prince about her son Felix.

"Social media was his life. It was the way everyone communicated, and if you weren't on it, you were isolated.

"If he was invited to a party, someone would text saying: 'You don't want to invite him. Everyone hates him'.

"And all he saw was negative. He saw himself as stupid and ugly," she told the prince.

"It just ate away at him inside, I think, but I had no idea of the depth of his despair at all."

How can I keep my kids safe online?

Is your child a cyberbully?

She believes the prince's initiative could have helped her son in his darkest times.

"It may not have changed my story, but it's got to be a step forward," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

What is cyberbullying?

It's bullying behaviour on social networks, games and mobile phones, which can include spreading rumours about someone, or posting mean or embarrassing messages, photos or video.

The NSPCC says children may know who is behind the bullying, and it may be an extension of bullying in school or elsewhere. Or the bully may be targeting someone using a fake or anonymous account.

Cyberbullying can happen at any time and anywhere, even when a child is alone in their bedroom, making it feel as if there is no escape.

Prince William also heard from Chloe Hine, who, aged 13, tried to take her own life after enduring sustained online abuse.

"You can't escape it. You're constantly with that bully," she said.

She described being part of a group who turned on her after she said something they didn't want to hear.

They decided they should all hate her and would twist her words, she said.

"Then it kind of spiralled out of control from there."

The prince highlighted the danger of anonymous bullying - which he says can come directly into a young person's bedroom but remain invisible to those around them.

"It is one thing when it happens in the playground and it's visible there and parents and teachers and other children can see it.

"Online, you're the only one who sees it, and it's so personal. It goes straight to your room." he said.

He also warned against cyber-bullies being able to ignore the real-world consequences of their actions.

"I think it is worth reminding everyone that the human tragedy of what we are talking about here isn't just about companies and online stuff - it's actually real lives that get affected," he added.

Instagram tops cyber-bullying study

How I felt when I ditched social media

Cyber-bullying relatively rare, says study

Speaking ahead of the meeting, taskforce chairman Brent Hoberman said William was instrumental in doing something that "almost no-one can do" by bringing together top representatives of rival companies.

He said he wanted to see the trial to give young people access to a counsellor rolled out universally.

Asked whether the onus should be on the tech firms to remove the bullying posts or messages, he told BBC's Today programme that removing them may not be as effective as helping the young person emotionally.

The message, he said, to young people was "don't be bystanders - step up speak out, stop this".

The responsibility to deal with this was "everywhere", he added.

What to do if your child is being cyberbullied

Talk about it - find the right time to approach them with your concerns.

Show your support - stay calm, be considered and tell them how you will help them.

Don't necessarily stop them going online - this can make them feel more isolated.

Help them to deal with it - advise them to tell the person how it makes them feel and ask them to take any pictures or comments down.

Don't retaliate - advise them against responding to abusive messages and to leave uncomfortable conversations.

Block the bullies - if messages continue, block the sender and report them to the social network or gaming platform.

Keep the evidence - take screenshots as proof.

Don't deal with it alone - talk to friends or your child's school for support.

Know when to take it further - consider telling the police if your child is in danger.

Don't stop when the bullying stops - keep talking and consider counselling.
Source: Internet Matters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mum's cyberbullying story prompts action

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Duke of Cambridge, inspired by a mother's story of loss, has launched a code of conduct to beat cyberbullying. Lucy Alexander's son, Felix, killed himself aged 17 after years of being bullied on social media.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was "Two children charged with cyberbullying in Teen Suicide Case" written by Kelly Grosfield. This article talks about how a teen named Gabriella Green comitted suicide bacuse of what two children did to her. They even confessed that they did it, "both children confessed to engaging in behavior that they knew would cause Green emotional distress." After reading the story I felt bad for the victims friends and family. Cyberbullying is never a good thing. If you see anyone cyberbullying someone immediately tell them to stop. If they don't stop tell the authorities. You would except someone to be at least a little bit quilty after cyberbullying someone to their death. Especially at the age of twelve.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - Two Children have been charged with Cyberstalking following the death of Surfside middle schooler, Gabriella Green.

On January 10th, PCPD responded to a call referencing 12 year-old Gabriella or "Gabbie" Green as unresponsive. She was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Following her death, Beach Police began an investigation into the cause. During the investigation, Police became aware of Cyberbullying that may have attributed to Green's death.

Friends, acquaintances and family members of Green were interviewed regarding the incident. After numerous interviews and reviewing various social media accounts-- along with information found on cellphones, police say they have identified two 12 year-old children that were allegedly Cyberbullying Green.

The names of the children have not been released, but authorities say both children confessed to engaging in behavior that they knew would cause Green emotional distress.

Although, the children are being charged in relation to Green's death, authorities say that during their investigation they did not determine Cyberbullying as the sole cause of death; only confirmed that she was being Cyberbullied at the time of her passing. The official cause of death has not been released.

Beach Police say Cyberbullying is a huge issue and they plan to combat the problem by hosting a training session pertaining to this topic in the weeks to come.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Two Children Charged with Cyberstalking in Teen Suicide Case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - Two Children have been charged with Cyberstalking following the death of Surfside middle schooler, Gabriella Green. On January 10th, PCPD responded to a call referencing 12 year-old Gabriella or "Gabbie" Green as unresponsive. She was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

# data[].attributes.body
I read an article called "Cyberbullying Tragedy:New Jersey Family to Sue After 12-Year-Old Daughter's Suicide" by Kalhan Rosenblatt. This article has left me in complete shock as to the way the situation was handled. A 12 year old girl named Mallory Grossman was cyberbullied through Instagram,Snapchat, and even private text messages. The upset parents went to the school multiple times about the situation, but what they did obviously wasn't enough. The parents plan to sue the Rockaway School board district for neglect to the situation. The school & the school board had ignored the situation for months, the situation had been going on since October, regardless of how many times the parents came to the school and talked to other parents about it. The article says, " In a self-assessment given last year, Copeland Middle School gave itself an “A” grade of 94 percent for how it dealt with bullying within the school, according to NBC New York". This can't be true if this poor little girl killed herself, she had done nothing wrong to anybody (based off of what the article says), it sounds like she was the type of kid to never bother anyone.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-jersey-family-sue-school-district-after-12-year-old-n788506

# data[].attributes.body
"Irish mum tells of daughter’s cyberbullying hell which drove girl to attempt suicide twice" by Aoife Finneran describes 17 year old Zoe O'Sullivan's expierence with Cyberbullying, an inappropriate video was posted and people accused Zoe of being in the video when she actually wasn't. Because of this people sent hurtful messages to her that eventually led her to attempt suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A MUM whose daughter attempted suicide after horrific cyberbullying has called on young people to "understand the damage they're doing from behind a laptop, tablet or phone".

Joni O'Sullivan's daughter Zoe, 17, has been subjected to sick taunts on social media for over a year.

The violent and persistent nature of the abuse has had a devastating impact on the teen, with Joni revealing she has been afraid to sleep in case she loses her child.

However, she's bravely speaking out about their ordeal in a bid to shock cyber bullies into thinking twice about their actions.

Disturbingly, since recounting the details of Zoe's situation in a Facebook post, Joni has been inundated with messages from parents of children as young as 11 who have self-harmed as a result of cyberbullying.

She told the Irish Sun on Sunday: "There is no point in brushing it under the carpet, cyberbullying in Ireland and worldwide is an epidemic and this has become very evident to me by the amount of messages I am receiving from parents."

Zoe was first targeted when she was deliberately falsely named as the person in a sexually explicit video which was shared online.

It became so severe that she was even targeted in the street by strangers who wrongly linked her to the video.

Joni, from Limerick, revealed: "Zoe was getting upwards of 50 messages a day from kids from all different schools around Limerick telling her to kill herself, calling her 'slut', 'whore', 'disgusting' and she attempted suicide to get away from constant torment and abuse.

"Thankfully she was unsuccessful but ended up in hospital.

"She was being called 'whore' and barked at in the street by complete strangers. It was even done in front of me when she was representing the school in UL for athletics by a kid from another school. Kids can be so cruel."

Adding to the impact, Zoe was ostracised and left without any support when she was at her most vulnerable. She attempted suicide a second time and suffered a breakdown.

The situation appeared to have blown over in recent weeks but last week Zoe was subjected to a fresh torrent of abuse when the video was shared on Snapchat.

Once again, it was passed around her peers, with Zoe again being incorrectly identified as the person in the video.

Joni explained: "Zoe was inundated with messages again telling her to kill herself and calling her 'whore' and 'slut'.

"No one understands fear until you wake up to your teen screaming from an inability to cope with online bullying coming in through their phone into what should be the safety of their own home."

And the bullying shows no signs of slowing down, as Joni added: "She woke up to 57 Facebook friend requests from teens wanting to taunt her and call her names."

The horrified mum has now contacted gardai and has made a formal statement about the abuse.

However, she's also speaking out to show young people the devastating impact of bullying and to encourage them to think about their behaviour on social media.

She said: "Maybe they don't understand the damage they're doing from behind a laptop, tablet or phone.

"Children need to understand there is a child behind the username on Snapchat or Facebook they are sending the abusive and threatening messages to, or sharing a video that they are falsely portraying to be of someone. That child can suffer psychological harm, anxiety, and even commit suicide because of their actions.

"Just because they don't have eye contact with the person, and don't see the mental anguish and pain they are inflicting on the victim of cyberbullying, does not make them less responsible for the damage they have caused.

"Children need to be educated and made aware of the effect of cyberbullying on others, and that even one message to someone they know is being cyberbullied could be the one message to tip them over the edge."

Joni is calling for swift action to introduce legislation to deal with cyberbullying, pointing out: "At the moment, cyberbullies are not being held accountable for their actions and this needs to change."

Following recommendations by the Law Reform Committee in its report on Harmful Communications and Digital Strategy, a Bill aimed at protecting people from all forms of harassment was finally introduced. However, it has yet to be enacted.

Joni revealed she decided to publicly share details of Zoe's torment to help warn other parents about what their own children might be going through.

She said: "I can't help thinking of the parents of children who have committed suicide from bullying and wondering whether they were even aware it was going on, and whether they felt they had done enough to try to stop it."

And the determined campaigner is hoping that parents who hear her story will take steps to ensure that their own children are not involved.

She said: "Parents need to check their children's phones and apps such as Snapchat to see if they are involved in cyberbullying other children - and then hold them accountable.

"If you are automatically defending your child's behaviour and not telling them it is wrong because you don't want to take ownership of the issue, then you are perpetuating the behaviour and they will continue to bully online.

"The perpetrators of cyberbullying need to be punished, either by prison, fine, or both, or their parents charged in their place - or this will continue indefinitely."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Irish mum tells of daughter's bullying hell which drove girl to attempt suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
JONI O'Sullivan's daughter Zoe, 17, has been subjected to sick taunts on social media for over a year. The violent and persistent nature of the abuse has had a devastating impact on the teen, with Joni revealing she has been afraid to sleep in case she loses her child.

# data[].attributes.body
In New Jersey a 12-year old  girl named Mallory Grossman was exposed to cyberbullying. Like all cyberbullying cases the victm was a happy go lucky person until they got the negativity on thier device. One day she snapped, and commited suicide. R.I.P Another case is when a girl named Amanda Todd was seduced by a pedofile on the  internet. The man convinced her to send him nude pictures. She did and when her clas mates found out they started to bully her. She also decided to commite suicide. R.I.P

# data[].attributes.body
The Article of a Girl, named Gabriela Peyton Green. She was a fun and happy girl from Florida, until some girls in Middle School started to bully her in person and online. She even told her mother about it and her mother told the School district and they didn't do nothing about it or anything to prevent it. Then, a Hour later she was found dead in her closet on January 10, 2018 her family members were devastated and wanted to know who did this. In the article it states," Why my baby let these two kids tell her to just do it, push her to just take her own life". I understand how Tanya Green feels because, why would she just listen to two little girls to kill herself. Instead of killing herself she should have told the bullies parents or move somewhere else like a different school. http://www.tampabay.com/storyimage/HI/20180123/ARTICLE/301239596/AR/0/AR-301239596.jpg?MaxW=2000

# data[].attributes.body
I read a article about two girls who went jail for cyber bullying someone."Her action charged with cyberstalking before girl's suicides consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," the police report said." (Jason Dearan) They were saying all type of false thing about the girls. She started to get tired of those thing and hung her and she had marks all over neck. It makes me feel so bad for her family and friends because they lost a loves one and they didn't know anything about the bullying.  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/01/23/2-12-year-olds-charged-with-cyberstalking-in-girls-suicide.html

# data[].attributes.body
In this artical a man and woman where cyberbullying the mans ex-girlfriend so much that she killed her self. The two where put in jail. They had a $2,500 bond. She killed her self using a gun. The artical says "I't didn't work. She pulled the triger,". This could have been stoped if she told some one about what had hapend and she could have surviverd and not kiled herself.

# data[].attributes.body
After reading this article I was left shocked. To begin with, Gabriela “Gabbie” Green was being cyberbullied and wanted for this to end, Gabbie went to her mother, Tanya Green for some advice on to stop the harsh drama and texts coming from a social media website. According to the article from Tampa Bay Times, “Gabriella "Gabbie" Green went to her mother, Tanya Green, for advice on some "girl drama" and harsh text and social media messages she was receiving from classmates at Surfside Middle School in Panama City Beach.

Less than an hour after that conversation on Jan. 10, Gabbie was found dead in her closet. She had completed suicide, the News Herald reported. ” (Tampa Bay Times) Sadly, I suspect that Gabbie cracked from the harsh messages sent to her and decided to take her own life. On the other hand, the two juvenile children partly responsible for Gabbies death were reported doing the following, “A police report states that one of the suspects told an investigator that she had started rumors about Green in person, and online. "Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," the police report said.” (Fox News) In completion, I believe that Gabriela “Gabbie” Green, didn’t deserve the pain and misery that she was put through and that the two minors that were involved should receive the consequences that they brought upon themselves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Gabriella "Gabbie" Green went to her mother, Tanya Green, for advice on some "girl drama" and harsh text and social media messages she was receiving from classmates at Surfside Middle School in Panama City Beach.

Less than an hour after that conversation on Jan. 10, Gabbie was found dead in her closet. She had completed suicide, the News Herald reported.

On Jan. 22, The Panama City Beach Police Department announced that two 12-year-olds had been charged with cyberstalking in relation to her death, according to WJHG.

Their names weren't released because they are juveniles, but Green confirmed with the News Herald that a boy and girl were involved.

PCBD's investigation found that cyberbullying took place around the time of her death, but an official ruling on the exact cause hasn't been released, WJHG reported.

However, Gabbie's parents believe that constant cyberbullying lead to Gabbie's death, and her school didn't do enough to prevent it.

"[Gabbie] left this world being bullied at school for this last year. We took it up with the school several times. They did nothing. Looking at her you wouldn't think she would have an issue being bullied. Beauties get bullied too," Tanya Green wrote on Facebook Jan. 12. "Why my baby let these two kids tell her to just do it, push her to just take her own life. I just don't know."

According to school records obtained by the News Herald, Gabbie was written up monthly for infractions in the beginning half of 2017. That changed to nearly weekly infractions in the latter half of the year.
RELATED: New law takes the battle against cyberbullying off campus
She received multiple detentions and suspensions for numerous infractions, including fighting, chewing gum, dress code violations and skipping class and detention, according to the News Herald.

Gabbie's parents said she was bullied soon after moving to Panama City Beach in October 2016, which led to the school's disciplinary actions. They aren't sure why the bullying started, but speculated that boy issues and Gabbie's friendly nature could be the root.

Most of the bullying took place via texts and social media platforms, including SnapChat. The messages eventually escalated to demands that Gabbie kill herself.

Shane Green, Gabbie's father, said he confronted school officials about the bullying, but didn't receive help.

"I went up there, and I never thought this would come to fruition," Shane Green told the News Herald. "And I said, 'Someone's going to end up dead.'"

Bill Husfelt, superintendent of Bay County Schools, said on Monday that the school district won't comment on the situation until they look over PCBPD's investigation.

"We continue to mourn the loss of Gabbie and our hearts go out to her family, her friends and to everyone at Surfside Middle School," Husfelt told the News Herald. "This is an absolutely tragic situation and our counselors have been at Surfside since we first found out about Gabbie's death. The counselors have been, and will continue to be, an invaluable resource for the students, and faculty and staff, at this difficult time and they will be available as long as they are needed."

Tanya Green said that she was satisfied with the arrests and said it would lead to changes at Surfside Middle School.

"It's going to help others at her school," Tanya Green told the News Herald. "It's going to start at her school. It's going to help others around the world."

Friends and loved ones flooded Green's Facebook with messages of support and posted tribute videos on YouTube. Gabbie is remembered as a fun, intelligent and competitive girl who participated in softball and gymnastics. She also enjoyed art.

"[Gabbie] as I said was competitive. She beat everyone. She beat us! She beat us and her 4 siblings, myself and my husband to Heaven," Green wrote on Facebook Jan. 12. "Gabriella is a beautiful Angel that just made heaven that much more of a spectacular destination. Love our girl to heaven and back."

Contact Donovan Harrell at [email protected] Follow @dono_harrell.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parents of 12-year-old Florida girl say she was bullied into suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gabriella "Gabbie" Green went to her mother, Tanya Green, for advice on some "girl drama" and harsh text and social media messages she was receiving from classmates at Surfside Middle School in Panama City Beach. Less than an hour after that conversation on Jan. 10, Gabbie was found dead in her closet.

# data[].attributes.body
In the article, "Teens charged with cyberstalking before girl's suicide," by Jason Dearen, Gabriela Green was "cyberstalked" into killing herself. This was becuase a girl and a boy said things like "if your going to do it, just do it," speaking of suicide of course. With all of the, persuasion, Gabriella hung herself in her closet.
I think kids saying things like that is insane and shot be delt with imediatly. If anything like this happened to me I would tell a teacher or guardian imediatly, about what is going on.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Florida minors charged with cyberstalking after girl’s apparent suicide, police say

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two minors in Florida were charged with cyberstalking in connection to a 12-year-old girl’s apparent suicide, police said.

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/12/us/keaton-jones-bullying-video-reaction/index.html

"How Keaton Jones' bullying plea brought him more bullying"

By Eliott C. McLaughlin

In this story is about a little boy who tries to show how much that his childhood bullying on social media, mutiple celeberties then reposting the video showing how hurtful bullyinig is this aparently made every thing worst for example somebody commented this tow weeks after the event "One of Jones' missives was addressed to "butthurt Americans" and said, "If you aren't bleeding, no bones are sticking out & you can breathe, STOP crying!".THis story was about how  pepole  can be so rude aginst a little boy trying to make a diffrenc.

# data[].attributes.body
this letter X game sounds really messed up. what they do is they send a letter X to a random person ,most of the time a peer they dislike, and they tell all of their friends and they roast the crap out of them like full on dissing and a lot of the time it ends with said peer committing suicide or extreme depression

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I was growing up in the late 80's and all of the 90's, bullying was merely a way of life and a right of passage in becoming a strong man. You'd come home and profess that you had a "bully" and your parents would respond with "Well, that tends to happen, kiddo."

However, back in those day, the bullying ended in the afternoon when it was time to leave school for the day and get on with your social life. Nowadays though, bullying is an unending episode of the twilight zone that can follow you home and take over your online life as well.

Cyberbullying has become an epidemic in the 21st century and caused numerous innocent children to take their life and you really can't blame them because even the strongest of us can't deal with mental torture all the time.

In Texas, the schools are warning parents about a new "game" on Snapchat in which one child will send the letter "X" to a friend, then said friend will choose someone at random (or someone they particularly despise) for everyone in their inner circle to ridicule and torment. This is now happening across America, but Texas is the first to warn against it.

Why Snapchat?

You're probably asking yourself why Snapchat and why not Twitter or Facebook. First of all, Snapchat is the most popular social media outlet with school kids today because it's new and exciting. The biggest reason is evidence, because with Snapchat you don't have to delete your posts as they automatically disappear after 24 hours.

The most obvious solution to a cyberbullying problem on the video sharing service would be to simply stop using the service altogether, but that is not an option for teenagers. Being a part of something that is detrimental to your social life is better than having no social life at all.

This Snapchat "game" is scary to me as a parent because I already have to grill my daughter for information at age ten and I can't imagine when she becomes a teenager. The majority of teenage suicides are a complete shock to the parents and they always state they had no idea of the bullying.

Texas is ahead of the curve for good reason

Unlike most other states, Texas has laws in place that require each and every school to have anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies in place. This law was put into effect in 2011 and has included cyber-bullying since its conception.

This year, the lone star state instituted a law that deems any cyberbullying resulting in suicide a crime. I think this should be implemented in every state because kids are fragile and driving them to taking their own life is a form of personal terrorism.

The law is titled " David's Law" after David Molak who sadly took his own life in January of 2016 after months of online bullying that continued even after he switched schools. It was deemed a case of harassment and not a single person was held accountable or charged.

There is no solution, but perhaps some prevention

Just like we can't cure cancer but we can try to prevent it, there is a potential precaution to cyber-bullying. We all teach our kids about "stranger danger" so perhaps now we need to prepare them for the dangers of bullying too.

We need to do this to not only prepare them for being the victim, but maybe to stop bullies before they are created. Also, the dangers of social media should be discussed because it is no secret that some of the vilest people on Earth thrive online so it's a good idea to let our children know.

If you know anyone that may be a potential victim of bullying, click here for some help.

[Read More: 5 Lost Phone Apps That You Can Trust]

Comments

comments

John was born in Germany to American military parents. After high school he worked in auditing and management until he realized he craved adventure. He spent several years hitchhiking around the United States, stopping in various towns and getting into adventures. It was on these adventures that he learned of his passion for writing and began working on his first novel. "Clouds of Tyranny" was turned down by everyone and John eventually decided to self-publish his first fiction novel. John is currently working on two additional fiction novels and a nonfiction book about his adventures on the road. John has a deep love for new technology and has contributed to various tech and gaming sites, but Tech Digg is his favorite...by far.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Snapchat Has Become An Unexpected Cyberbullying Tool

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When I was growing up in the late 80's and all of the 90's, bullying was merely a way of life and a right of passage in becoming a strong man. You'd come home and profess that you had a "bully" and your parents would respond with "Well, that tends to happen, kiddo."

# data[].attributes.body
this article is about cyberbullying"Fox news

Smartphones really are dangerous for our kids (they put them at risk for suicide and more )" Dr.Marc Siegel. in this article is about how dangerous smart phone can be and how some time they can lead to suicide and it says 50 percents of kids indicate at least one suicide action.  " A study recently released   by Florida State University showed a strong correlation between suicidal thinking and cellphone use, with those who used electronic devices for more than five hours per day showing close to a 50 percent incidence of at least one suicidal behavior."

my reasoned to this cyberbullying I think that is not good if your have suicide though you need to talk to someone theirs theirs always a way around suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Alarming new reports that should concern every parent link heavy smartphone use by children to an increased rate of social isolation, depression, suicidal thoughts and even suicide.

This is, unfortunately, just the latest example of a technological advance that was designed to make our lives easier turning out to have harmful consequences.

We've seen this happen before. When cars replaced horses as our primary mode of transportation, traffic accidents and deaths soared. When airline travel became widespread it led to rare but costly accidents that claimed many lives. And when television and later video games were introduced, both cut the time children spent reading and playing outdoors, contributing to difficulties in school and an increase in childhood obesity.

It's been 10 years since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. Today 92 percent of teens have a cellphone.

Though smartphones have made it easier for us to communicate with each other in many different formats - including social media - they have paradoxically increased the risk of social isolation. This is especially true among teenage girls, who may look to Snapchat or Instagram only to discover that a party is going on that they were not invited to attend.

And cyberbullying - something that didn't exist until a few years ago - has caused far too many teens terrible pain, making life miserable and driving some to suicide.

The Centers for Disease Control found that from 2010 to 2015 the rate of suicide and severe depression increased by over 30 percent in teens age 13 to 18 - a stunning increase. More than 60 percent of the increase occurred in girls.

Our teens spend a lot less time today talking to each other than they did a few years ago, and a lot more time communicating with each other on their smartphones without saying a word. They post messages, photos and videos. Waiting rooms of bus and train stations, airports and restaurants are filled with teens texting rather than talking to each other.

A study recently released by Florida State University showed a strong correlation between suicidal thinking and cellphone use, with those who used electronic devices for more than five hours per day showing close to a 50 percent incidence of at least one suicidal behavior.

The study's authors reported that "adolescents who spent more time on new media (including social media and electronic devices such as smartphones) were more likely to report mental health issues."

Conversely, the authors reported that adolescents who spent more time away from their smartphones - engaging in activities such as sports and exercise, doing homework, reading print media, and attending religious services - were less likely to have mental health problems.

In a letter to Apple this week, Janus Partners and the California State Teachers' Retirement System - which together own about $2 billion in Apple stock - criticized Apple for not helping to oversee overuse of iPhones by children.

The authors of the letter were concerned about the proven negative effects of heavy iPhone use including depression, sleep problems and learning problems. Apple and its defenders replied by placing the blame on parents' shoulders.

In fact, recent research reveals that many young children in their formative years spend more time with their phones than they do with their parents.

A new report from Common Sense shows that 42 percent of children 8-years-old or younger now have their own tablet - up from just 1 percent in 2011. These children are spending 48 minutes per day with mobile devices - up from five minutes in 2011. This certainly isn't Apple's fault, though the company is supplying the devices. More parental control of phones would really help.
What to do?
France is in the process of completely banning cellphones from lower and middle schools. This is something school districts in the U.S. should seriously consider. Another option is for schools to provide iPads or other electronic devices, restricted to school-related or independent academic work.

Other places that children attend should consider restrictions as well. For example, my children have all been to sleepaway camps where regular cell phone use is not allowed. This definitely enhances the experience and appreciation of the outdoors.

Another highly useful approach is to educate young users about proper etiquette and how to best use smartphones, tablets and computers. For example, Cyber Civics was developed by Diana Graber, an expert on digital literacy, to direct and inform middle schoolers.

According to the Cyber Civics website: "Lessons emphasizes critical thinking, ethical discussion and decision making about digital media issues ... all through role-play, hands-on projects, and problem solving tasks."

Graber told me in an email exchange: "Because Cyber Civics is taught to students weekly from 6th to 8th grades, it provides them with a 'safe space' to talk about and work through the complexities of their digital lives - which are many ... including sometimes, feelings of isolation and depression. When we conduct activities in the classroom that address cyberbullying ... we teach students strategies to reach out to those who may seem in need of help. The goal is that they learn to transfer empathetic face-to-face 'human' skills to the online world. Or even better yet, discover the importance of offline relationships too!"

We can't turn back the clock to eliminate smartphones, any more than we can turn back the clock to the days before cars and start traveling on horseback or in horse-drawn carriages to cut traffic accidents.

But just as we teach our children how to drive safely before we give them the car keys, we need do a better job teaching them how to handle smartphones safely and how to develop their basic communication skills before giving them a phone of their own.

Marc Siegel, M.D. is a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Medical Center. He has been a medical analyst and reporter for Fox News since 2008.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Marc Siegel: Smartphones really are dangerous for our kids (they put them at risk for suicide and more)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Alarming new reports that should concern every parent link heavy smartphone use by children to an increased rate of social isolation, depression, suicidal thoughts and even suicide. This is, unfortunately, just the latest example of a technological advance that was designed to make our lives easier turning out to have harmful consequences.

# data[].attributes.body
the article i read was ''Cyberbullying blamed for Australian child models death'' written by Rod Mcguirk. This article talks about how cyberbulying led to a 14 year old named Dolly Everrett. She did it because she was becoming the target for cyberbullying. ''speak even if your voice shakes'' dollys father quoted. The fact that he said this make me feel really bad for dolly, and sad that she decided to end her life so quickly. After reading this article i feel so bad for dolly, and that stuff like this still happens to kids just like her. these kids dont need to be cyberbullyed, they have so much they could do before death.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/cyberbullying-blamed-for-australian-child-models-suicide/2018/01/12/3149cc40-f75b-11e7-9af7-a50bc3300042_story.html?utm_term=.489ddc4a49e

# data[].attributes.body
So  I read an article on "Teens charged with cyberstalking before girl's suicide." It was about two girls cyberbullying someone that caused the death of 12-year-old Gabriella Green on Jan. 10. The girl hung herself and police found 2 12-year-olds guilty for the act. The police did not release the names of these kids because they were minors. They interviewed two suspects with their parents' permission, and say both confessed to cyberbullying.

A police report states that one of the suspects told an investigator that she had started rumors about Green in person, and online.

"Her actions consisted of starting rumors of the victim having sexually transmitted diseases, vulgar name-calling ... and threats to 'expose' personal and sensitive details of the victim's life," the police report said.

The other suspect, a boy, told police he video-chatted with Green after she told him she had attempted to hang herself and had marks on her neck, according to the report.

"(He) responded by saying something to the effect of, 'If you're going to do it, just do it,' and ended the call," police wrote. "He immediately regretted that statement, and began calling and text-messaging her, but did not receive a response."

Reading this now makes me think: WHAT THE HECK IS WITH CHILDREN THESE DAYS! I feel sorry for the parents of the suicider for their kid hanging them selfs and for the parents of thie kid who got arrested because their child made some on kill them selfs and their kids got arrested for it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Florida minors charged with cyberstalking after girl’s apparent suicide, police say

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two minors in Florida were charged with cyberstalking in connection to a 12-year-old girl’s apparent suicide, police said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One moment, she had passed out in her friend's car. The next, she woke up in a jail cell, according to KATC.

But it's what happened in between that landed Celina Dally in the Lake Charles, La., jail, charged with public intoxication and battery of an officer, KATC reports: She had tried to bite a police officer while she was very, very drunk, she says.

The college student had been at a wine tasting event on Oct. 7 when she drank a few too many glasses, she says - and in her belligerent state, she assaulted an officer, she told KPLC. She later gave him a "Sorry I Tried To Bite You" cookie cake to make amends, and posted about it on Facebook.

It was a response to guilt that had been gnawing at her, Dally wrote on Facebook, according to the Palm Beach Post.

"I felt horrible, that's all I could think about day in and day out, so I knew I had to do something about this," Dally wrote, according to KPLC.

To Dally's mind, a cookie cake was the clear way to absolve her guilt.

"Everybody loves a cookie cake so I said 'I'll get him a cookie cake,'" Dally said, KPLC reports. "As police officers, I know they have to go through a lot of things that people don't deserve to go through, and I didn't want to add to that, so I figured I'd right my wrong with a cookie cake."

The Lake Charles Police Department confirmed that it received the cake, and the officer was included in the picture of the cake she posted online.

But not everyone accepted her apology.

Dally posted about the entire incident on Facebook, along with a picture of the remorseful gift. The post was shared thousands of times, the Palm Beach Post reports, but Dally took it down after what she described as an overwhelming and at times viciously negative response, primarily from strangers.

"Cyber-bullying is not okay. People will say things over social media that they wouldn't normally say to your face," Dally said in a video she posted after taking down the picture of the cake. "This really just opened my eyes."

Dally, a criminal justice major, told KATC that she's now trying to use the publicity to underscore the dangers of cyberbullying.

She encouraged Facebook users to share her video about the cyberbullying she's endured.

"This is something that needs to be seen," Dally wrote. "Way more than a stupid cookie cake."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
She gave the cop a 'Sorry I Tried To Bite You' cake. Not everyone accepted her apology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One moment, she had passed out in her friend's car. The next, she woke up in a jail cell, according to KATC. But it's what happened in between that landed Celina Dally in the Lake Charles, La., jail, charged with public intoxication and battery of an officer, KATC reports: She had tried to bite a police officer while she was very, very drunk, she says.

# data[].attributes.body
The article, ''Cyberbullying pushed Texas teen to commit suicide, family says'' by CBS News, is about a beautiful 18 year old girl named, Brandy Vela, who committed suicide because people were harassing her about her weight. The people who were harassing her also made fake dating profiles of her, gave away her personal information and also lied and say that she is giving herself up for sex for free. Brandy told her school that she was getting harassed outside of school before the Thanksgiving break. But it only got worse. Brandy even changed her phone number, but her bullies would always find her. This happened continued for months until one day she had enough. Brandy sent an email to her family letting them know she was going to commit suicide. Her last words before she shot herself in the chest in front of her family was '' I love you so much just remember that please and I'm so sorry for everything.'' Then she pulled the trigger. In the news article it states,'' ' she said she'd come too far to turn back. It was very unfortunate that I had to see that.It's hard when your daughter tells you turn around. You feel helpless' ''. This quote that Bandy's father said had me shook. Imagine that you had a beautiful daughter and people have insulted her so much that she shot herself in the chest in front of including your whole family.This is just sad. This also makes me angry that people would actually make fake accounts of her for fun and bully her and say false things about her and putting her information to the public. This is why we need to stand up and start getting more strict on cyberbulling because no one should ever have to go through this.

# data[].attributes.body
Teen who shot herself in front of her parents is still being bullied

# data[].attributes.body
The article "School warns parents about cyberbullying game" by Ashlei King  is about a game called "Letter X" which is used to  encourage peers to cyberbully others. This method of cyberbullying is carried out by a classmate sending the letter x to another classmate, who then names another peer to which that other person responds by bullying the suggested classmate. A qoute from the article states, "Lopez Middle School principal Eric Wernli sent out a letter to parents that said he has recieved word that students are using snapchat to play a game called "Letter X". This qoute bewilders me as it shows the extint students go to in order to bully their peers and I find it crazier how they utilize the internet to commit these horible acts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SAN ANTONIO - A Northeast Independent School District principal school is warning parents about a cyberbullying game that has hit schools across the country.

Lopez Middle School Principal Eric Wernli sent out a letter to parents that said he has received word that students are using snapchat to play a game called "Letter X." The game encourages cyberbullying, according to Wernli.

Snapchat is a picture and video message application for smart phones. Users can record ten second video or snap a picture and send them to followers. The videos and pictures disappear in 24 hours.

The "Letter X" game starts when someone sends the letter X to another child. That person then replies with the name of a victim and then the classmates begin sending insults about the victim.

"I have made the teachers aware and asked them to monitor closely and have the students put their phones away," Wernli said in the letter to parents. "Phones will be confiscated if used outside of the teachers' directions, as per our cell phone policy."

He also suggested parents send their child a text telling them not to participate in the game. He said he would not confiscate the phone if they are looking at the text from their parent.

A NEISD spokesperson said the concern originated from a parent calling the school to speak with a counselor. The parent had heard about the alarming trend and wanted advice from the school, according to the spokesperson.

"Hopefully this is just a rumor and no one is harmed. We are currently investigating and consequences will be dealt according to evidence reached," Wernli said in the letter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
School warns parents about cyberbullying game

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
SAN ANTONIO - A Northeast Independent School District principal school is warning parents about a cyberbullying game that has hit schools across the country.Lopez Middle School Principal Eric Wernli sent out a letter to parents that said he has received wo

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was “Nursing home employee charged, accused of cyberbullying 82-year-old Alzheimer's patient ”  by ABC News 4 . This article shows a horrible act of cyber bullying which is actually a crime. A couple of nursing home employs who work at SweetGrass Court Assisted  Living in South Carolina verbally and cyber bullied a couple patients. It was one patient that stood out more than the rest, that was because she died. The 25 year old criminal was sent to jail for attacking patients on snapchat and in person. One of the victims suffered, the snapchat video caused a stomach ulcer-which led to the 82 year olds death. “Officers asked the employs why they did it and they said ‘they thought it was funny’.” I was surprised when I read this because how could someone think bullying is funny, I don’t. But both the attackers and the company faced horrible consequences and got what they deserved. Cyber bullying or any kind is serious and a crime if you do this then be ready for harsh consequences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story listed Kelly Carleton as the director at SweetGrass Court Assisted Living. Carleton was listed in two lawsuits as the director of the facility. Since learning Carleton was not employed at SweetGrass Court Assisted Living, the attorney's office involved in the case has dropped her name from the civil suit.

---------

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. ( WCIV) - It's been a few months since a couple of employees at SweetGrass Court Assisted Living were caught verbally abusing their patients on Snapchat, and now one of them is being charged by police.

Mount Pleasant police announced late Friday night that 25-year-old Nandhina Lance was arrested and charged with being a peeping Tom. She was booked at the detention center and given a $10,000 bond the same day.

Police said Lance and another staff member were fired from SweetGrass Court back in March after they posted a video of themselves to Snapchat verbally abusing two patients.

According to a police report, the employees were seen telling one 82-year-old woman that "she is stupid, her mother is stupid, and not to touch them because she had bodily fluids on her hands."

The Post and Courier obtained the video in question and posted it to YouTube.

The executive director of SweetGrass Court told police the patients had been checked for physical abuse but no evidence was found.

Police said they asked one of the victims about the video and the verbal abuse but she did not remember it happening.

Officers asked the employees why they did it and they said "they thought it was funny."

The facility's parent company owned by Five Star Senior Living is facing two lawsuits from the families of the women who were abused.

One lawsuit claims wrongful death in the case of Alzheimer's patient Betty Dick, one of the women verbally assaulted in the video, by failing to "ensure the personal safety" of patients and failing to "assign sufficient and qualified staff."

The lawsuit claims the Snapchat video caused the patient to "suffer severely, including without limitation developing a stomach ulcer which led to her death" and that she suffered "severe debilitating injuries which resulted in permanent decline, as a result of which the Plaintiff has suffered severe and emotional distress, anxiety, physical injuries, medical bills, the likes of which no person should endure."

The suit also claims SweetGrass failed to "establish and maintain an infection control program." The victim's husband told The Post and Courier his wife died from sepsis due to a perforated gastric ulcer.

The second suit filed by the family of a second Alzheimer's patient in the Snapchat video accuses SweetGrass Court of negligence and fraud, claiming the family was told their loved ones would be well cared for at the facility. The plaintiff in that case was shown in the video partially clothed as a staff member tries to record her in her room.

The family of that victim told The Post and Courier that she is no longer at the facility and does not remember the incident occurring.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nursing home employee charged, accused of cyberbullying 82-year-old Alzheimer's patient

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story listed Kelly Carleton as the director at SweetGrass Court Assisted Living. Carleton was listed in two lawsuits as the director of the facility. Since learning Carleton was not employed at SweetGrass Court Ass

# data[].attributes.body
The article "Cyber-bullying concerns growing over popular app Sarahah" by  Andrew Ramos talks about a viral app by the name of sarahah. The app has now been associated with cyber-bullying due to the fact that app users are able to anonymously tell people things. Many teenagers began to use this app this past summer and are taking advantage of the anonymous settings. "In some cases, anonymous trolls have encouraged users to commit suicide." Although personally I don't use this app myself a lot of my peers do and I see the either mean or provocative things people say. Most times people will say things like "kys" which means kill yourself and although they might not be serious no one should ever say that to any one. However, some users of the sarahah app do boost people's self esteems by saying words of encouragements/compliments. The only time I will ever anonymously say something I'm going to make sure I'm only being a nice person and thinking before I do. Also, this app does provide a setting to where people can only send messages by signing up which makes it no longer anonymous. That would be a safe way to avoid trolling or hurtful words. Overall this app should be used cautiously and users should be aware of the words that may be coming their way before signing up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
NEW YORK - It's called Sarahah - an app that functions a lot like a social network, except users send and receive messages anonymously.

Its developers initially wanted to help employees give anonymous feedback to their bosses to encourage a more productive work environment.

With zero marketing, Sarahah - which is the Arabic word for "candor" - has become a monster hit with teenagers in the United States, propelling it to the top of the iTunes app store and Google Play.

While the app encourages users to anonymously send constructive criticism to their peers, some critics say Sarahah has become a breeding ground for cyber bullying. In some cases, anonymous trolls have encouraged users to commit suicide.

"I've definitely seen a lot more positive messages than I've seen negative," high school student Treasure Bruce told PIX11 News.

The 16-year-old downloaded the app a few weeks ago and says she doesn't use it often but has friends who do.

"One of my friends got called out from somebody in her past that she dated," she explained. "She's been called a hoe."

Family therapist Dr. Kathryn Smerling says the activity on the app is more than likely to produce depression and anger and even potential suicide in teenagers.

"[Teenagers] actually don't understand the full and far-reaching effects of their comments and or their actions and how it could potentially affect them later in life," she said.

As Sarahah remains the most downloaded app in the country, many experts believe its overnight rise is unsustainable and its popularity will soon fizzle out, a lot like past summer successes like Pokemon Go and Yik-Yak.

Developers for Sarahah tell PIX11 there are privacy features on the app that allow users to report abuse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying concerns growing over popular app Sarahah

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NEW YORK - It's called Sarahah - an app that functions a lot like a social network, except users send and receive messages anonymously. Its developers initially wanted to help employees give anonymous feedback to their bosses to encourage a more productive work environment.

# data[].attributes.body
Two student suicides in two days, both following social media posts, leave Littleton community seeking answers

http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/news/colorado/ci_31268911/two-student-suicides-two-days-both-following-social

An article by the daily Record In Colorado written by Jennifer Brown and John Ingold talks about a teen that commit suicide and post their suicide note on snapchat. the article states that after being humiliated online Adam Powers posted a picture of a gun and a suicide note on snapchat and then shot himself in the head. This made me extremely sad because this kid had such a bright future and just ended it because he was being bullied.

# data[].attributes.headline
Kylee Loynachan 8th Grade   "Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied." " The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened up a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with distrubing poss about her; the cyberbullying was literally following her to the grave." (That was a a quote from CNN) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Kylee Loynachan 8th Grade   "Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied." " The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened up a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with distrubing poss about her; the cyberbullying was literally following her to the grave." (That was a a quote from CNN) 

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/14/health/teen-suicide-cyberbullying-continues-trnd/index.html
It made me incredibly sad and disapointed that someone was cyberbullied to the point where she killed herself and she did it with a gun right in front of her parents and even after she died people were still bullying her even though she was already buried and in the cemetry. Nobody deserves to die and it makes it even  worse because people takes things very seriously when mean words are said. Follow the Golden Rule people "Treat others the way you want to be treated."
I w

# data[].attributes.body
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/14/health/teen-suicide-cyberbullying-continues-trnd/index.html

The name of the article was "Teen who shot herself in front of her parents is still being bullied" which was written by Carma Hassan from CNN. I've read about an 18-year-old girl who was pushed to her breaking point when abusive bullying messages were sent to her phone-even after she had committed suicide. At first when I read the title, I couldn't believe it. How can someone be bullied AFTER she or he's dead? Well, social media. The passage reports about the teenager's social media page having hurtful comments on them.

A few of them posted hurtful messages such as, "After a few minutes, either four people or the same person posting four times said some things harassing Brandy about being a big fat cow, writing 'you finally did it' with a picture of a gun, writing 'you're a coward,' 'you should have done this a long time ago,' some really horrific things.'" This truly frightens me because not only was this posted on her social media page, but she was already dead so they could keep doing it without her reaction. As well of a bunch of other people posting mean things as well. Just to give you an idea of how bad the messages were, her parents reported to the police screenshots of the text, and the article said that the comments were so abusive, they refused to post them. It's insane to know how cruel a human is to another human.

Her father was so upset about this, that he wouldn't put up with anymore cyber-bullying. He states, '"Right now, my job is to raise awareness. I'm not trying to blame people or point fingers. I want people who are still being bullied to know that I want to change things. I feel like she put this in my hands to try and get help for people in the same situation. It's unfortunate that something tragic has to happen to make changes come,'" And when I read this, inside my head I was screaming "Preach!" because of how terrible the concept of cyber-bullying is.

It is also reported that her father demands action to be taken and put into police's hands. He states word for word, "...he wants every police department in the nation to have at least one officer trained to pursue cyberbullying crimes. He called Brandy's death a murder, saying she was pushed to the breaking point. 'I feel like these people are cowards, these people hiding behind the texts and fake pages. They're the ones who pushed her to this point. She lost all her self-esteem, lost all her self-worth,' he said." This man has gone through too much and wants to stop cyber-bullying. To this man, I support, and I hope he has been able to recover from the tragedy of his daughter's suicide.

# data[].attributes.body
"David's Law" by Ken. David Molak was found dead in his backyard.

# data[].attributes.body
I read this article called "Cyber Bullying Stories: Megan Meier". This article was about this girl who had a MySpace account and met a boy and her ex-best friend was telling the boy bad stuff about her. Megan had ADD so she consistently checked her account even though her mother did now want her to. Her birthday was coming up and she invited a lot of people but she heard know one was going to show up because of the stuff they heard on my space so her mom told her to stop reading and go upstairs.
"The most disturbing part about this account is that it was a fake account created by her ex-best friend and her mother". I was so shocked by this quote. The fact that an adult would participate in cyber bullying crushes me because adults were supposed to set good examples for there kids. I also feel like adults should take more action when dealing with cyber bullying. Knowing that there kid is going through this stay with them, talk to them, get them counseling, to help them and the child should stay away from social media for a while.

# data[].attributes.body
This article"Cyberbullying pushed Texas teen to commit suicide, family says" by CBSNEWS is about Brandy Vela who committed suicide from being cyber bullied. She emailed her parents and told them she was going to kill her self while she. She was still alive when they made it home. They tried to persuade her to put the gun down, but it was to late to persuade her and she her self. her last text was"I love you so much remember that please and i'm so sorry for everything."

After reading this it makes me feel so sad and mad to know how horrible people are. The people that were cyber bullying caused a 18 year old girl to commit suicide. Her family must have been so miserable after there 18 year old daughter died right in front of your eyes. The father thought he could stop her but the only thing he really could do was just watch her die. I'm sure the family will be scarred for life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying.

Brandy Vela's family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family's Texas City home as family members watched.

Her father, Raul Vela, said she had been receiving abusive text messages for months from bullies using an untraceable smartphone application. Her father said someone made a fake Facebook page of her, creating another cyberbullying medium.

On Tuesday, Brandy sent an email to her family members telling them she was going to kill herself, CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reports. They rushed home and found her alive.

"We tried to persuade her to put the gun down, but she was determined," Raul Vela told KHOU-TV. "She said she'd come too far to turn back. It was very unfortunate that I had to see that. It's hard when your daughter tells you to turn around. You feel helpless."

"I heard someone crying," Brandy's 22-year-old sister, Jacqueline Vela, told KPRC-TV of Houston, "so I ran upstairs and I looked in her room, and she's against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest and she's just crying and crying and I'm like, 'Brandy, please don't. Brandy, no."

Jacqueline Vela said she went to her parents' room, "and I just heard the shot and my dad just yelled, 'Help me. Help me. Help me.'"

"I was almost certain that I could persuade her to put that gun down. It didn't work. She pulled the trigger," Raul Vela said.

Her final cellphone text to her family was, "I love you so much just remember that please and I'm so sorry for everything."

Her family said the harassment focused mainly on Brandy's weight.

"They would make dating websites of her, and they would put her number and they would put her picture (on the sites), and lie about her age and say she is giving herself up for sex for free, to call her," said Jacqueline Vela.

The family said they reported the bullying to the Texas City school district and several law enforcement agencies.

"School was a safe environment for Brandy," said school district spokeswoman Melissa Tortorici. "She had a lot of friends and was thought of warmly by her peers and teachers. She did bring it to the school's attention before Thanksgiving break that she was getting harassing messages to her cellphone outside of school. Our deputy investigated it, and the app that was being used to send the messages was untraceable. We encouraged her to change her phone number."

Brandy Vela changed her number, but bullies always found her, her family said.

"We have lots of incident reports, and they always say the same thing: They can't do anything about it," Jacqueline Vela said.

A Texas City Police Department statement says it continues to investigate the Velas' complaints. Jacqueline Vela told KPRC that she and her siblings have a good idea who may have been behind some of these attacks and have been assisting in the investigation.

The father said that he hopes for stricter laws against cyberbullying and greater awareness of the problem to give some meaning to his daughter's death.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying pushed Texas teen to commit suicide, family says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying. Brandy Vela's family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family's Texas City home as family members watched.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was “Cyber bullying Pushed Texas Teen to Kill Herself” by CBSNEWS. The article was about young Brandy Vela who was cyber bullied to the point of suicide. She sent an email to her family before the family found her alive, but she had a gun pointed at her chest. “I was almost certain that I could persuade her to put that gun down. It didn’t work. She pulled the trigger.” Raul Vela, Brandy’s father who was there when she killed herself. The bullies used an untraceable program to sent mean messages. They would even create accounts for her on dating websites causing people to call her asking for a night with Brandy.

This was upsetting. The cyber bulling caused a young smart girl to lose her life because they wanted to see her in pain. Her family must have went through so much, her father thought he could save her from herself but in the end she took her life anyway. This is truly sick and cruel must these people hurt someone so much to the point of death. Not only was her life taken away but her family will permanently be scarred by this memory forever.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying.

Brandy Vela's family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family's Texas City home as family members watched.

Her father, Raul Vela, said she had been receiving abusive text messages for months from bullies using an untraceable smartphone application. Her father said someone made a fake Facebook page of her, creating another cyberbullying medium.

On Tuesday, Brandy sent an email to her family members telling them she was going to kill herself, CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reports. They rushed home and found her alive.

"We tried to persuade her to put the gun down, but she was determined," Raul Vela told KHOU-TV. "She said she'd come too far to turn back. It was very unfortunate that I had to see that. It's hard when your daughter tells you to turn around. You feel helpless."

"I heard someone crying," Brandy's 22-year-old sister, Jacqueline Vela, told KPRC-TV of Houston, "so I ran upstairs and I looked in her room, and she's against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest and she's just crying and crying and I'm like, 'Brandy, please don't. Brandy, no."

Jacqueline Vela said she went to her parents' room, "and I just heard the shot and my dad just yelled, 'Help me. Help me. Help me.'"

"I was almost certain that I could persuade her to put that gun down. It didn't work. She pulled the trigger," Raul Vela said.

Her final cellphone text to her family was, "I love you so much just remember that please and I'm so sorry for everything."

Her family said the harassment focused mainly on Brandy's weight.

"They would make dating websites of her, and they would put her number and they would put her picture (on the sites), and lie about her age and say she is giving herself up for sex for free, to call her," said Jacqueline Vela.

The family said they reported the bullying to the Texas City school district and several law enforcement agencies.

"School was a safe environment for Brandy," said school district spokeswoman Melissa Tortorici. "She had a lot of friends and was thought of warmly by her peers and teachers. She did bring it to the school's attention before Thanksgiving break that she was getting harassing messages to her cellphone outside of school. Our deputy investigated it, and the app that was being used to send the messages was untraceable. We encouraged her to change her phone number."

Brandy Vela changed her number, but bullies always found her, her family said.

"We have lots of incident reports, and they always say the same thing: They can't do anything about it," Jacqueline Vela said.

A Texas City Police Department statement says it continues to investigate the Velas' complaints. Jacqueline Vela told KPRC that she and her siblings have a good idea who may have been behind some of these attacks and have been assisting in the investigation.

The father said that he hopes for stricter laws against cyberbullying and greater awareness of the problem to give some meaning to his daughter's death.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying pushed Texas teen to commit suicide, family says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying. Brandy Vela's family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family's Texas City home as family members watched.

# data[].attributes.body
I read an article called “Bulled Teen Kills Herself in Front of Family” by Carma Hassan.  The article was about an 18 year old girl who killed herself after people cyber bully her online. They made fun of her weight and call her ugly. Then one day she couldn’t take it anymore so she shot herself in front of her family. She was rush to the hospital but she was later pronounced dead. According to the article,” They would say really, really mean things like, 'Why are you still here?' They would call her fat and ugly” (CNN).

When I read this article I was mad. I couldn’t believe people would say things like that to an 18 year old. I hope who ever posted those comments get caught and put to jail. They should face the consequences for their action. Those people were so cruel to that girl.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Blue hearts, for her "beautiful blue eyes," are taped up and down her high school hallway.

All of them a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short.

Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to. She was 18 years old -- and she had been relentlessly bullied.

Bullied for her weight

Brandy's sister, Jackie, says the teen had always been bullied for her weight, but the cyberbullying ramped up in April.

"People would make up fake Facebook accounts and they would message her and she wouldn't respond and they would still come at her," Jackie said.

"They would say really, really mean things like, 'Why are you still here?' They would call her fat and ugly. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful; the only thing people could find to pick on her was her weight."

Jackie says her sister changed her phone number and reported the bullying to police, but was told they couldn't help her.

"They couldn't do anything because [the suspects] used an app and it wasn't traceable and they couldn't do something until something happened, like they fight," Jackie said.

'I'm sorry for everything'

Jackie said she knew something was wrong when she got a text from Brandy on Tuesday saying "I love you so much, please remember that, and I'm sorry for everything."

Worried, she called her parents and grandparents. They rushed home to their house in Texas City, Texas, where they found Brandy in her room with a gun.

The family pleaded with the teen not to pull the trigger. But Brandy had made up her mind.

A devastated community

Melissa Tortorici, the communications director for the Texas City Independent School District where Brandy was a high school senior, says the community is "devastated."

"Brandy was well-liked and friendly. Texas City High School students really liked her. She has touched many people as evident by the outpouring of love from her schoolmates," Tortorici wrote in an email to CNN.

Texas City police Capt. Joe Stanton told CNN that detectives were interviewing the family and will be contacting people the family believes are suspects. They're also following up on several tips that came in.

In addition, sheriff's deputies will be addressing cyberbullying again with students next week.

"Today's young adults and teenagers have grown up with technology and they have access to it 24/7. Many times they become very bold over technology and text things they would never say directly to someone's face," Tortorici said.

"It's extremely difficult to stop someone from sending messages when apps make it easy to remain anonymous."

Tortorici said students are planning to release blue balloons in Brandy's honor Friday.

A new reality

After she shot herself, Brandy was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her organs, including those eyes, were recovered.

"She had beautiful eyes," Jackie said, adding the family hopes to meet the person who receives them.

For now, Jackie is adjusting to her new reality.

'I'm going to miss having her be here, going into her room and laying with her and talking to her."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
bullied teen kills herself in front of her family - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bullied teen kills herself in front of family

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Blue hearts, for her "beautiful blue eyes," are taped up and down her high school hallway. All of them a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short. Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to.

# data[].attributes.body
The article "After Brandy Vela’s Suicide, Her Family and Community Rally Against Cyberbullying" by Caitlin Keating was about a young girl who took her life because she was being stalked and cyber bullied. The people that bullied and stalked her would make multiple Facebook pages and post about her weight and how she looked." Even when the Facebook pages were deleted after the family reported them, new ones were created in a matter of days." Eventually Brandy couldn't handle it anymore and she shot herself in the head in her room as her family pleaded her not to.
After reading this article i felt sick to my stomachache. It is hard for me to believe why someone would do something so cruel to someone. Also if this happened multiple times and someone was reporting the instances than the police should have done something more serious than make them delete the accounts and the police knew that they kept making the accounts because there were multiple altercations and reports. So I think they should've been arrested and charged for there wrong doing. So in all i think that this shouldn't of happened to her and i hope that in the future this will never happen again and consequences will be served for the people that did this to her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How a Bullied Teen's Family and Community Are Rallying for Change After Her Suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"We don't want this to happen to anybody else," her sister says

# data[].attributes.body
“Cyberbullying Follow Teen to the Grave” by Carma Hassan is an article explaining how an 18 year old committed suicide while in front of her family due to cyberbullying . However, after her tragic death, the disturbing posts persisted, hence the article title. Posts like, ”You finally did it” and, “You should have done this a long time ago” had surfaced on a page dedicated to her memory. The posts leading up to her death were mostly associated with her being called fat and mostly referenced her with large animals.

It sickens me that these are the types of comments left on a page dedicated to ones memory. The fact that people can sleep at night knowing they are the cause of someone’s death and continue to comment horrible things clearly shows they have mental issues. They are the true cowards in these situations considering the fact that they speak behind screens and keyboards. I do feel sorry for every victim in these cases but it should be treated as a wakeup call.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied. The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with disturbing posts about her; the cyberbullying literally following her to the grave.

Her father is fighting back.

"The continued harassment reported by Mr. Vela is being investigated," Texas City police Capt. Joe Stanton said. "We currently do not have any suspects or persons of interest identified."

The harassment continues

"Two days after her funeral, somebody opened up a social media page in her name," Vela said, "and people thought the family did it, so it started with people putting sincere condolences. After a few minutes, either four people or the same person posting four times said some things harassing Brandy about being a big fat cow, writing 'you finally did it' with a picture of a gun, writing 'you're a coward,' 'you should have done this a long time ago,' some really horrific things."

The Vela family provided screenshots of the posts, but CNN is not publishing them because of their offensive nature.

One of the posts shows a smiling Brandy with the words "my face when you shoot yourself in front of your family." Another is a stick figure holding a gun with the words, "oops am I dead?" A third shows a gun hidden inside a book.

"People are more likely to write horrible things when they think they're being anonymous," said psychologist Susan Swearer, co-founder of the Bullying Research Network. "From a psychological perspective, people who write horrible things about other people, particularly after they've passed away, they have their own mental health issues."

She says Vela did the right thing by reporting the social media pages to authorities.

"When people feel emboldened to write mean and hurtful things about other people, they'll just extend it to siblings or families," Swearer said.

Vela, whose family was avoiding social media in the wake of Brandy's death, said the posts were first brought to their attention by friends.

Shortly after the news of Brandy's death broke, people also began attacking Vela online, he said.

"People were putting comments about me saying that I should have done something different, so I blocked it all. I'm not reading it anymore," he said.

"They're still harassing her, but she's no longer with us, so it's more like they're harassing me and my family."

Police have told the Velas that they'll be able to trace the posts, and the culprits will be prosecuted.

Raising awareness

Vela can't change what happened to his daughter, so he's trying to persuade state lawmakers to increase restrictions on social media, making it harder for cyberbullies to stay anonymous.

He met with local legislators and community representatives and says they came up with good ideas, such as providing specialized counseling and mental health support at schools for victims like his daughter.

"Right now, my job is to raise awareness. I'm not trying to blame people or point fingers. I want people who are still being bullied to know that I want to change things. I feel like she put this in my hands to try and get help for people in the same situation. It's unfortunate that something tragic has to happen to make changes come," Vela said.

He said he wants every police department in the nation to have at least one officer trained to pursue cyberbullying crimes. He called Brandy's death a murder, saying she was pushed to the breaking point.

"I feel like these people are cowards, these people hiding behind the texts and fake pages. They're the ones who pushed her to this point. She lost all her self-esteem, lost all her self-worth," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
cyberbullying follows teen to the grave  - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied. The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with disturbing posts about her; the cyberbullying literally following her to the grave.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was about a girl named Brandy Vela who was 18 and shot herself in front of her family. It was written by Carma Hassan on Wednesday December 14, 2016. "After a few minutes, either four people or the same person posting four times said some things harassing Brandy about being a big fat cow, writing 'you finally did it' with a picture of a gun, writing 'you're a coward,' 'you should have done this a long time ago,' some really horrific things."

After reading this it made me realize that bullying is for real and people take their life from it. Cyber bullying is to be taken seriously and its not a joke. I think more action needs to be taken before more families are hurt and someone they love is gone. Also it hurts me to know that some people that do bully don't feel the least bit sorry for what they drove that person to do.In the end people need to realize that cyber bullying is a crime and you shouldn't do it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied. The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with disturbing posts about her; the cyberbullying literally following her to the grave.

Her father is fighting back.

"The continued harassment reported by Mr. Vela is being investigated," Texas City police Capt. Joe Stanton said. "We currently do not have any suspects or persons of interest identified."

The harassment continues

"Two days after her funeral, somebody opened up a social media page in her name," Vela said, "and people thought the family did it, so it started with people putting sincere condolences. After a few minutes, either four people or the same person posting four times said some things harassing Brandy about being a big fat cow, writing 'you finally did it' with a picture of a gun, writing 'you're a coward,' 'you should have done this a long time ago,' some really horrific things."

The Vela family provided screenshots of the posts, but CNN is not publishing them because of their offensive nature.

One of the posts shows a smiling Brandy with the words "my face when you shoot yourself in front of your family." Another is a stick figure holding a gun with the words, "oops am I dead?" A third shows a gun hidden inside a book.

"People are more likely to write horrible things when they think they're being anonymous," said psychologist Susan Swearer, co-founder of the Bullying Research Network. "From a psychological perspective, people who write horrible things about other people, particularly after they've passed away, they have their own mental health issues."

She says Vela did the right thing by reporting the social media pages to authorities.

"When people feel emboldened to write mean and hurtful things about other people, they'll just extend it to siblings or families," Swearer said.

Vela, whose family was avoiding social media in the wake of Brandy's death, said the posts were first brought to their attention by friends.

Shortly after the news of Brandy's death broke, people also began attacking Vela online, he said.

"People were putting comments about me saying that I should have done something different, so I blocked it all. I'm not reading it anymore," he said.

"They're still harassing her, but she's no longer with us, so it's more like they're harassing me and my family."

Police have told the Velas that they'll be able to trace the posts, and the culprits will be prosecuted.

Raising awareness

Vela can't change what happened to his daughter, so he's trying to persuade state lawmakers to increase restrictions on social media, making it harder for cyberbullies to stay anonymous.

He met with local legislators and community representatives and says they came up with good ideas, such as providing specialized counseling and mental health support at schools for victims like his daughter.

"Right now, my job is to raise awareness. I'm not trying to blame people or point fingers. I want people who are still being bullied to know that I want to change things. I feel like she put this in my hands to try and get help for people in the same situation. It's unfortunate that something tragic has to happen to make changes come," Vela said.

He said he wants every police department in the nation to have at least one officer trained to pursue cyberbullying crimes. He called Brandy's death a murder, saying she was pushed to the breaking point.

"I feel like these people are cowards, these people hiding behind the texts and fake pages. They're the ones who pushed her to this point. She lost all her self-esteem, lost all her self-worth," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
cyberbullying follows teen to the grave  - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied. The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with disturbing posts about her; the cyberbullying literally following her to the grave.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was, “A Nude Snapchat Video and Cyber bullying Lead to Teen’s Suicide” written by Demetria Lucas D’Oyley. This news article from The Root was about a teenage girl, Tovanna Holton, 15, who had an inappropriate video posted on Snapchat by a friend without her permission. Tovanna was taking a bath when a “friend” took a video of her, viewers to screenshots and spread the photo to other social media cites. One of Tovanna’s more recent boyfriends took the video and posted it on twitter, the morning before her death. “He did it because he knew he could, and that it would hurt her feelings.” (The Root).

Making someone kill themselves because you were mad is no excuse. To think that someone could post derogatory photos of someone as a joke or for revenge is simply cruel. And then the suicide that comes from it deserves some form of punishment. “Holton-Teamer found her daughter on the bathroom floor bleeding from a headshot June 5. Tovanna had used her mother’s gun to kill herself.” (The Root). No one deserves to be punished for the pleasure of another, and definitely not an unaware victim or happy family.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Florida teenager committed suicide last week because of cyberbullying. Tovanna Holton, 15, was recorded by a "friend" while bathing, according to the Daily Beast. Without Tovanna's permission, the friend uploaded the video to Snapchat, where viewers took screenshots and began to post the images on other social media platforms.

One of the viewers was Tovanna's most recent boyfriend, who posted the video on Twitter after they broke up-also the morning before Tovanna killed herself, according to her friend Christian Coyle-Watts, who spoke to the Daily Beast.

"[He] posted it, trying to expose her in a derogatory way," said Coyle-Watts, who described the intent of the video as "body appreciation." "He did it just because he knew he could, and it would hurt her feelings."

Another friend, Zoe Vereen, said that she saw Tovanna at the beach the week before her death and people were "calling her names."

Tovanna's mother, Levon Holton-Teamer, that her daughter had been bullied before and had hinted that something was wrong leading up to her death.

Holton-Teamer found her daughter on the bathroom floor bleeding from a headshot June 5. Tovanna had used her mother's gun to kill herself. A spokesman for the local sheriff's office said that the events leading up to Tovanna's death are under investigation.

Tovanna's story is an all-too-familiar scenario that we've seen previously in the high-profile stories of teenagers such as Tyler Clementi, Jessica Logan and Amanda Todd who committed suicide after being harassed online by their peers. According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, nearly 20 percent of high school students have experienced cyberbullying. And 90 percent of students who have been cyberbullied have also been bullied offline.

Where Holton's story becomes unique is the aspect of revenge porn-that is, the posting of nude images or video of someone without their consent. The vast majority of revenge-porn victims are assaulted by an ex-boyfriend, which Tovanna experienced. But the initial poster appears to have been a so-called friend, which happens in just 7 percent of revenge-porn incidents, according to the website End Revenge Porn Now (pdf).

Bullying is nothing new, especially for teenagers, and though it's always been devastating for the victims, it takes a new dimension each time technology springs forward. What's meant to be (yet) another way to connect and share also becomes another way to torture and shame. The easy connections mean that stories come and go quickly, since there's always something new to talk about. But it also means that incidents are spread further and faster than ever before.

We're long past the era of "telephone," the old game in which one person passed a message along from ear to ear. It's a wild new world, where images and video can be disseminated to hundreds, if not thousands, with the click of a "send" button and reshared outside the initial social network just as fast. Incidents that would once have circulated only around a schoolyard can now circulate around the world. And that range means a whole lot of strangers have the opportunity to comment and pounce on a single person at once.

It's devastating to be the target of hundreds, if not thousands, of people using varying words to send the same message: "You ain't s-t." I've been on the receiving end of it. I've had to shut down social accounts and lock others before I went to sleep at night so that I didn't wake up to an onslaught of people telling me how much they hated me and how worthless I was or how I should die. Have you any idea what it's like to be afraid to turn on your phone or open your computer? And this is coming from a moderately level-headed adult. What kept me from going crazy was remembering something that my deceased grandmother used to say: "Just keep living."

I can't even imagine how a teenager deals. To see your nude image spread around as if it's a trading card, for strangers to critique your body? To be called all types of names by your peers and strangers alike? And knowing that all of it sticks around on the internet forever, in some form or another?

It's hell. But eventually the noise dies down; eventually you graduate from high school, and college; and God willing, your chances of facing it as an adult become much less (unless you do something crazy like sign up for a reality-TV show). We have to remind kids that high school is a phase in their lives, that it's OK to ask for help and tell an adult when they're feeling overwhelmed, and that as bad as it seems, as the anti-bullying slogan goes, "It gets better." Eventually.

Demetria Lucas D'Oyley is a contributing editor at The Root, a and the author of Don't Waste Your Pretty: The Go-to Guide for Making Smarter Decisions in Life & Love as well as A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life. She is also a blogger at , where she covers pop culture and travel. Follow her on and .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Nude Snapchat Video and Cyberbullying Lead to Teen's Suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Florida teenager committed suicide last week because of cyberbullying. Tovanna Holton, 15, was recorded by a "friend" while bathing, according to the Daily Beast. Without Tovanna's permission, the friend uploaded the video to Snapchat, where viewers took screenshots and began to post the images on other social media...

# data[].attributes.body
The article "Texas teen who was Cyber bullied kills herself in front of her family" by Carma Hassan CNN. Brandy Vela, 18 shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly Cyber bullied. Her family says "People have posted disturbing things on a memorial page. She had many friends at school that thought she was well-liked and friendly but she was still being bullied online. This was awful. The Cyber bullying caused a young girl to lose her life because the people who were doing the bullying wanted to see her in pain. "I feel like these people are cowards, these people hiding behind the texts and fake pages. They're the ones who pushed her to this point, She lost all her self-esteem, lost all her self worth," Vela said.
After reading this article it makes feel sick to my stomach because this girl had such a horrible life that she decided to take her life away even when her parents try to convince her not to do it. Why would someone be so mean to Brandy who died because of the things you and other people like to do to make the person feel bad.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied. The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with disturbing posts about her; the cyberbullying literally following her to the grave.

Her father is fighting back.

"The continued harassment reported by Mr. Vela is being investigated," Texas City police Capt. Joe Stanton said. "We currently do not have any suspects or persons of interest identified."

The harassment continues

"Two days after her funeral, somebody opened up a social media page in her name," Vela said, "and people thought the family did it, so it started with people putting sincere condolences. After a few minutes, either four people or the same person posting four times said some things harassing Brandy about being a big fat cow, writing 'you finally did it' with a picture of a gun, writing 'you're a coward,' 'you should have done this a long time ago,' some really horrific things."

The Vela family provided screenshots of the posts, but CNN is not publishing them because of their offensive nature.

One of the posts shows a smiling Brandy with the words "my face when you shoot yourself in front of your family." Another is a stick figure holding a gun with the words, "oops am I dead?" A third shows a gun hidden inside a book.

"People are more likely to write horrible things when they think they're being anonymous," said psychologist Susan Swearer, co-founder of the Bullying Research Network. "From a psychological perspective, people who write horrible things about other people, particularly after they've passed away, they have their own mental health issues."

She says Vela did the right thing by reporting the social media pages to authorities.

"When people feel emboldened to write mean and hurtful things about other people, they'll just extend it to siblings or families," Swearer said.

Vela, whose family was avoiding social media in the wake of Brandy's death, said the posts were first brought to their attention by friends.

Shortly after the news of Brandy's death broke, people also began attacking Vela online, he said.

"People were putting comments about me saying that I should have done something different, so I blocked it all. I'm not reading it anymore," he said.

"They're still harassing her, but she's no longer with us, so it's more like they're harassing me and my family."

Police have told the Velas that they'll be able to trace the posts, and the culprits will be prosecuted.

Raising awareness

Vela can't change what happened to his daughter, so he's trying to persuade state lawmakers to increase restrictions on social media, making it harder for cyberbullies to stay anonymous.

He met with local legislators and community representatives and says they came up with good ideas, such as providing specialized counseling and mental health support at schools for victims like his daughter.

"Right now, my job is to raise awareness. I'm not trying to blame people or point fingers. I want people who are still being bullied to know that I want to change things. I feel like she put this in my hands to try and get help for people in the same situation. It's unfortunate that something tragic has to happen to make changes come," Vela said.

He said he wants every police department in the nation to have at least one officer trained to pursue cyberbullying crimes. He called Brandy's death a murder, saying she was pushed to the breaking point.

"I feel like these people are cowards, these people hiding behind the texts and fake pages. They're the ones who pushed her to this point. She lost all her self-esteem, lost all her self-worth," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
cyberbullying follows teen to the grave  - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Brandy Vela, 18, shot herself in front of her parents after being relentlessly cyberbullied. The Texas teen, who was described by her school as well-liked and friendly, was buried December 7. By Friday, someone had opened a social media page in her memory, but it was quickly filled with disturbing posts about her; the cyberbullying literally following her to the grave.

# data[].attributes.body
After reading the article “Teen who shot herself in front of her parents after relentless cyber-bullying is STILL being trolled by sickos” by Jackie Salo I learned that after being bullied online for several months Brandy Vela shot herself in front of her family. When she was still alive she was being bullied online and many people made fake accounts under her name saying she would do inappropriate things. “But as they grieve their loss, they say bogus Face book accounts of the high school senior continue to crop up online”(The Sun).  Even after her death many mean people post things making fun of her and how she died.

After reading this it makes me sort of lose faith in the world because this girl had such a bad life she decided to take it in front of her family even after her parents tried to convince her not to. How could so one be so mean to make fun of someone who died because of things you and people like you did and said? I will never be able to understand how someone could impersonate a dead girl and how they could keep making fun of her like that.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
THE family of an 18-year-old girl who committed suicide said the online harassment that tormented her during her life has continued.

Last month, Brandy Vela fatally shot herself in front of family at their home in Texas City, Texas.

The family insists she took her life after months of relentless cyber-bullying on social media, including fake profiles offering sex.

But as they grieve their loss, they say bogus Facebook accounts of the high school senior continue to crop up online.

One of the profiles showed guns on a photo of her, while another had a picture of the teen, who was bullied for her weight, as a pig.

"I know what she was going through now. It's not that easy just to shut it off and let it go," her father Raul Vela told news station KHOU on Tuesday.

He said the harassing pages of their daughter are making it difficult for the family to grieve.

"I thought all this was behind us but it's not over," he said.

The pages were removed after the family complained to Facebook, but authorities have not been able to determine who was behind the bullying.

Police are still investigating the death as a cyber-bullying crime.

Before her death, Brandy Vela filed police reports about the fake accounts and changed her number after receiving harassing calls, but had little recourse to stop the bullying.

"[The police] couldn't do anything because [the suspects] used an app and it wasn't traceable, and they couldn't do something until something happened, like they fight," her sister Jackie Vela told CNN.

She said the family knew something was wrong on Nov. 29 when her sister sent them a concerning message.

They rushed home to find Brandy Vela alive, with a gun pressed to her chest, but were unable to convince her put the firearm down.

The teen's parents and grandparents were home during her final moments, according to reports.

Her father remains determined to find the bullies who tormented his daughter.

"I want justice," Raul Vela said. "And I will for years. We'll never, we'll never stop."
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bully victim Brandy Vela is still be trolled online after shooting herself

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
THE family of an 18-year-old girl who committed suicide said the online harassment that tormented her during her life has continued. Last month, Brandy Vela fatally shot herself in front of family at their home in Texas City, Texas. The family insists she took her life after months of relentless cyber-bullying on social media, including fake profiles offering sex.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was "Family: Teen Was Bullied Prior To Committing Suicide" written by Jordan Vandenberge. The article was written on January 05, 2017 from Tristate about a 15 year old boy named Roman Matthew Kellough who was bullied and killed himself with a .38 caliber. He had planned his suicide with 2 magazines, 2 .99 handguns, .38 caliber, a wallet, and a phone all found in a backpack. He was bullied by several classmates and committed his suicide after returning from winter break right outside the school.

After reading i feel indignation and disgusted of how his classmates could bully him and be the cause of his death. I'm done with people trying manipulate and incapacitate the man, like you have nothing better to do...is your life really that boring. Those people that bullied Roman should got to jail and been charged for his cause of suicide.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The former Central High School student who fatally shot himself outside the school on Tuesday had three handguns and dozens of rounds of ammunition, according to reports compiled by Evansville police investigators. School officials said Roman Kellough, 15, withdrew from the school near the end of the fall semester before committing suicide outside the school on the day students returned from winter break. According to some of Kellough's family and classmates, the teen's withdrawal and subsequent suicide is tied to 'crippling' bullying.

According to a police incident report, officers discovered two nine millimeter handguns, a .38 caliber handgun, two magazines and dozens of rounds of ammunition at the scene Tuesday.

According to an Evansville Police Department report, officers discovered two 9 mm handguns and a .38-caliber handgun along with 46 9-mm bullets, two magazines and 13 38-caliber bullets, a backpack, cell phone and wallet. Police are still treating the case as an 'active investigation' as detectives still try to determine how Kellough managed to obtain the weapons and ammunition, according to Sgt. Jason Cullum. Detectives have also interviewed some of Kellough's friends and classmates in addition to his family members, Cullum said.

According to a GoFundMe page posted by a woman who identifies herself as Kellough's aunt, the teen was bullied.

"Roman Matthew Kellough left this world due to the senseless crippling effect of high school bullying," Chasidy Todd said. "Our family is completely devastated."

Central High School junior Cameron Awtry, who is good friends with Kellough's older sister, described the mood at the school on Tuesday as beyond somber.

"It just felt like school was a big funeral. It was a big funeral here at the bear den," Awtry said.

Awtry decided to put his emotions into music, putting together an anti-bullying rap and posting a vide of him performing it on Facebook. As of early Thursday evening, the video has been liked more than one thousand times and has been viewed by tens of thousands of people.

"My sister has been bullied. With Roman [committing suicide] and me seeing the crime scene going into school, it made me really want to use my voice to make a change and try to get the word out that bullying needs to stop," Awtry said. "I think people are relating to it because they know people going through bullying. They may have been bullying. They're feeling it because they have the same input too and they don't like it either."

Matt Hart of the organization 'React to Bullying' has made 90 anti-bullying presentations at area schools so far this school year. He frequently speaks at EVSC schools. Hart said bullying, especially cyber bullying, is far worse than what some people may think.

"Studies show that one in three students -- and that's a large swath all the way from kindergartners to seniors in high school -- will experience bullying in just this school year. To say that it is a big problem I think is underselling it," Hart said. "I don't think it could be overstated that we all deal with at some point. If we can, let's get out there and do something about it.

Hart said some of the obvious signs of bullying include: ripped or torn clothing, missing items, eating and sleeping patterns thrown off and withdrawn behavior. For parents concerned that their child is being bullied, try to find 'natural ways' to bring up the issue in conversation, Hart said.

"Experts say that if someone does talk to you about being bullied, one of the first things that someone being bullied needs to hear is that they're not the cause of this," Hart said.

http://reacttobullying.org/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Family: Teen Was Bullied Prior to Committing Suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The former Central High School student who fatally shot himself outside the school on Tuesday had three handguns and dozens of rounds of ammunition, according to reports compiled by Evansville police investigators. School officials said Roman Kellough, 15, withdrew from the school near the end of the fall semester before committing suicide outside the school on the day students returned from winter break.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was called “we lost one our angel” by Sarah Larimer . This article talks about brandy vela committing suicide she was allegedly cyber bullied and was harassed for some time her name was brandy vela on November day. Her 22 year old sister Jacqueline Vela heard someone crying and ran upstairs. And she found her younger sister. She says “And I looked in her room and she’s against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest and she’s just crying and crying and I’m like, ‘Brandy please don’t, Brandy no,'” Vela says. But brandy vela fatedly shot her. Her family saw her kill herself.

After reading this I felt so sad for brandy and her family who had to witness it her father said “She said she’d come too far to turn back. It was very unfortunate that I had to see that. It’s hard when your daughter tells you to turn around. You feel helpless.”I thought that was so sad nobody should go through life with and type of bully but it happens. She definitely shouldn’t have gone through it alone it is so much stress and I should know I have been bullied before and it was very bad but not near as bad as what she did from being bullied at all. I am deeply sorry for the vela’s families lost.

# data[].attributes.body
This article"County opens cyber-bullying investigation after apparent suicide of female firefighter"by Angela Woolsey is about a 31 year old commenting suicide she was found hanging. There was a piece of evidence found. "Police reported that they found a suicide note by her body, which was discovered more than a mile away from Shenandoah National Park’s White oak Canyon Trail parking lot, where authorities spotted Mittendorff’s car the evening of April 16.(Fair Fax County Times)

When I saw this it was shocking because why would you give up your life over words. But overall I was shocked because a few people caused a grown women kill her self the that bullied her are pathetic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has initiated an internal administrative investigation into the posts on the local web forum, Fairfax Underground, regarding Firefighter-Paramedic Nicole Mittendorff.

The department says the Virginia State Police remains the lead agency investigating Mittendorff's death. The investigation is ongoing, however, the missing person case has concluded.

The department says its preliminary investigation has determined that there was no "departmental knowledge" of any bullying or harassment regarding Firefighter-Paramedic Mittendorff prior to her disappearance.

Working in collaboration with the County's Department of Information and Technology, they say, it has been verified that no county computer was used to access or post on Fairfax Underground.

The web forum is independently maintained and not associated with Fairfax County government.

At this time, the department says it does not know if the posts were authored by any county or Fire and Rescue Department employee, and that investigators are actively continuing with the investigation and using every resource available.

"Fairfax County Fire and Rescue maintains a 'zero tolerance' policy in regards to bullying and harassment of any kind," stated Fire Chief Richard Bowers. "I will hold any county employee or volunteer accountable for these hostile Fairfax Underground postings, which could include termination."

Mittendorff was discovered dead in Shenandoah National Park on April 21st.

Virginia State Police found Mittendorff--who was reported missing on April 15 after she didn't appear for work at Station 32 in Fairfax Station--after a six-day long search conducted by local and state authorities as well as volunteers.

A medical examiner determined on April 22 that the 31-year-old woman had died by hanging. Police reported that they found a suicide note by her body, which was discovered more than a mile away from Shenandoah National Park's Whiteoak Canyon Trail parking lot, where authorities spotted Mittendorff's car the evening of April 16.

No details have been provided on the contents of the note, and there has been no confirmation that the online postings found on the online community forum Fairfax Underground played a role in Miteendorf's suicide.

The commenters on the still-active Fairfax Underground thread claim to be Miteendorf's colleagues, and their posts criticize her body, sex life and death, according to a report by WTOP's Megan Cloherty.

Moving forward, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says it will establish a task force with representatives from the IAFF Local 2068 union, Female Firefighters of Fairfax County, and other employee groups to address any issues that may exist within the department related to discrimination, harassment, and bullying in the workplace. This includes implementing additional "zero tolerance" harassment training. The harassment training and education program will be delivered by senior staff, employee group representatives, and Employee Equal Opportunity staff.

Additionally, Bowers says he will implement a comprehensive suicide education and prevention program throughout the department. The program will include extensive education and training in suicide prevention and mental illness. A continued emphasis will remain on behavioral health education and training with guidance from the International Association of Firefighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs. This includes increased training in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Stress First Aid Course, which is designed to reduce the risk of stress reactions in fire and rescue personnel.

"My department cannot and will not tolerate bullying of any kind," Bowers said in an official statement April 23.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
County opens cyber-bullying investigation after apparent suicide of female firefighter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has initiated an internal administrative investigation into the posts on the local web forum, Fairfax Underground , regarding Firefighter-Paramedic Nicole Mittendorff. The department says the Virginia State Police remains the lead agency investigating Mittendorff's death. The investigation is ongoing, however, the missing person case has concluded.

# data[].attributes.body
The article "Cyberbullying Pushed Texas Teen To Commit Suicide, Family says" by CBSNEWS, is about a Texas teen named brandy Vela who was cyber bullied so much to to where she couldn't handle life any longer. She had many friends at school and everyone else was thought that she was very kind, but she was still being bullied online.  "They would make dating websites of her, and they would put her number and they would put her picture (on the sites), and lie about her age and say she is giving herself up for s*x for free, to call her"(Jacqueline Vela).

To me it is shocking that people would say and do things like they did to a kind girl. Some of the bullies even took time to keep finding her phone number, or even using apps to contact her with untraceable numbers.  I think that many of her peers do not understand what it is like to be made fun of in the way that Brandy Vela was.  People also made accounts of her and put inappropriate and wrong information on them.  Cyber bullying is just not right and I cant see how anyone can live knowing that they were most likely the cause of her death, and possibly others as well.  Everything that those bullies did was wrong and can NOT be justified.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying.

Brandy Vela's family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family's Texas City home as family members watched.

Her father, Raul Vela, said she had been receiving abusive text messages for months from bullies using an untraceable smartphone application. Her father said someone made a fake Facebook page of her, creating another cyberbullying medium.

On Tuesday, Brandy sent an email to her family members telling them she was going to kill herself, CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reports. They rushed home and found her alive.

"We tried to persuade her to put the gun down, but she was determined," Raul Vela told KHOU-TV. "She said she'd come too far to turn back. It was very unfortunate that I had to see that. It's hard when your daughter tells you to turn around. You feel helpless."

"I heard someone crying," Brandy's 22-year-old sister, Jacqueline Vela, told KPRC-TV of Houston, "so I ran upstairs and I looked in her room, and she's against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest and she's just crying and crying and I'm like, 'Brandy, please don't. Brandy, no."

Jacqueline Vela said she went to her parents' room, "and I just heard the shot and my dad just yelled, 'Help me. Help me. Help me.'"

"I was almost certain that I could persuade her to put that gun down. It didn't work. She pulled the trigger," Raul Vela said.

Her final cellphone text to her family was, "I love you so much just remember that please and I'm so sorry for everything."

Her family said the harassment focused mainly on Brandy's weight.

"They would make dating websites of her, and they would put her number and they would put her picture (on the sites), and lie about her age and say she is giving herself up for sex for free, to call her," said Jacqueline Vela.

The family said they reported the bullying to the Texas City school district and several law enforcement agencies.

"School was a safe environment for Brandy," said school district spokeswoman Melissa Tortorici. "She had a lot of friends and was thought of warmly by her peers and teachers. She did bring it to the school's attention before Thanksgiving break that she was getting harassing messages to her cellphone outside of school. Our deputy investigated it, and the app that was being used to send the messages was untraceable. We encouraged her to change her phone number."

Brandy Vela changed her number, but bullies always found her, her family said.

"We have lots of incident reports, and they always say the same thing: They can't do anything about it," Jacqueline Vela said.

A Texas City Police Department statement says it continues to investigate the Velas' complaints. Jacqueline Vela told KPRC that she and her siblings have a good idea who may have been behind some of these attacks and have been assisting in the investigation.

The father said that he hopes for stricter laws against cyberbullying and greater awareness of the problem to give some meaning to his daughter's death.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying pushed Texas teen to commit suicide, family says

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Family members of a Houston-area high school student who killed herself are rallying for tighter laws against cyberbullying. Brandy Vela's family says cyberbullying pushed the 18-year-old over the edge, leading her to shoot herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon at the family's Texas City home as family members watched.

# data[].attributes.body
I read an article about a 18 year old girl who lived in Texas and shot herself in the chest in front of her family and the article was called "Texas Teen Who Was Cyberbullied Kills Herself In Front Of Family" written by CNN Wire. The girl who got cyberbullied name was Brandy Vela. Brandy's sister, Jackie knew something was wrong after she got a text from her saying "I love you so much, please remember that and I'm sorry for everything." Jackie called her family and saw Brandy in her room with a gun they begged her not to shoot herself, but she wouldn't listen.Her sister Jackie said that people have been making fake accounts on Facebook and saying mean things about Brandy, like that she fat, ugly and why is she still here.After reading all of that it made me feel like the people out there are mean and don't even know what they are causing those people they are talking about.They are causing death to those people.

# data[].attributes.body
18 year old teenage girl shoots herself in the chest because of cyber bullying. in Houston Texas, 18 year old normal girl, brandy vela. Who was getting abusive texts about her, and her weight, her father said it was because of someone who made a fake Facebook page of her, creating another cyber bullying medium. When she was finally on edge, she emailed her family members that she was going to kill herself, reported by CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV reports. When her 22 year old sister Jacqueline vela said “I heard someone crying,”, “so I ran upstairs and I looked in her room, and she’s against the wall and she has a gun pointed at her chest and she’s just crying and crying and I’m like, ‘Brandy, please don’t. Brandy, no.” Jacqueline ran to her parents bedroom, until it was too late, she heard a gun shot. when her family came to the room she was found dead. when her family saw her last text message on the phone, it said, “I love you so much just remember that please and I’m so sorry for everything.”. I was speechless.

# data[].attributes.body
18 year old arrested for cyberbulling a 17 year old.This was the" Prairie Grove Women arrested in Cyberbulling case" Accoording to the police the 17 year old called to a home in Prairie Grove where the 17 year old girl was crying hysterically she told the police that Ashtyon Slavens was threatened her online. The police contacted the Father and Slavens had continued bullying her. Now she was sending threats to the parents. "The police obtained copies of the messages, which included threats of death and violence made against the victim." I think this is awful that jail can't stop this lady from hurting people's feelings. This lady needs to be stopped!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An 18-year-old woman has been arrested after a police investigation revealed bullying and threats made to a 17-year-old girl, according to a police incident report and arrest warrant.

Ashtyon Slavens was booked and released from the Washington County jail on Tuesday. She is charged with terroristic threatening, according to the warrant.

According to a police incident report, on February 2nd an officer was called to a home in Prairie Grove where a 17-year-old girl was crying "hysterically." She told the officer that Slavens threatened her online. She was taken to a local hospital.

The officer contacted Slavens, who said the girl had slept with Slavens' boyfriend. The officer told Slavens that she would be issued a citation and allowed to leave, if she came to the police department. The report states that she did not come to the station.

On February 12th and 14th, the victim's father contacted police to report that Slavens had continued to message the victim, and was now making threats against both parents.

Police obtained copies of the messages, which included threats of death and violence made against the victim.

On March 1st, a warrant for arrest on charges of terroristic threatening was issued by the Prairie Grove District Court. Slavens was arrested later that morning.

Early in February, multiple dogs were seized from Slavens' home after one reportedly attacked a bicyclist. The incident led to Washington County reviewing its vicious animal policy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prairie Grove woman arrested in cyberbullying case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An 18-year-old woman has been arrested after a police investigation revealed bullying and threats made to a 17-year-old girl, according to a police incident report and arrest warrant. Ashtyon Slavens was booked and released from the Washington County jail on Tuesday. She is charged with terroristic threatening, according to the warrant.

# data[].attributes.body
“Danny” Fitzpatrick is only the most recent victim of bullying to take his own life. Last week, one of his sisters found him hanging from the ceiling, a belt wrapped around his neck. He had left behind a letter that was handwritten. The letter told about how he was getting bullied in school. His parents said that the school did not do enough-that their boy SUFFERED. " 'I gave up...' was written on the note he left behind after he died.

The article Bullied In Brooklyn: How We Failed Daniel Fitzpatrick, by Monica Lewinsky made me think this is not how school or technology is supposed to work. Both are for informational and learning purposes and should not be used for damaging emotional and physical states on students. When he said that he had given up made me want to yell at the world because I was so mad.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/08/daniel-fitzpatrick-school-bullies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bullied in Brooklyn: How We Failed Daniel Fitzpatrick

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A New York City youngster, age 13, takes his life after being humiliated. When will it change?

# data[].attributes.body
"university student kills himself after being captured on camera kissing another man " by pix 11 news court tossed around many intimidation charges on dharun ravi because of a new state law witch called for a retrial on several counts the jury said" bias tampered evidence jury's verdict  he gets 30 days in county prison"
I personally think that he deserves more than just 30 days he basically took some ones life he no better than a murderer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey appeals court has thrown out the 15-count conviction of a former Rutgers University student whose roommate killed himself after being captured on a webcam kissing another man.

The court tossed several bias intimidation counts against Dharun Ravi because of a change in state law. It ordered a new trial on the other counts and said the bias evidence tainted the jury's verdict.

The death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi in 2010 started a national conversation about the treatment of young gay people. Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge six years ago after Ravi, who was Clementi's roommate, and other students spied on Clementi.

Ravi was found guilty on all 15 counts in May 2012. He faced up to 10 years in prison, but he was sentenced to only probation plus 30 days in county jail. Ravi was also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service, attend counseling on cyber-bullying and pay an assessment of $10,000 to an organization dedicated to helping victims os bias crimes.

Prosecutors had argued the sentencing judge overstepped his authority by imposing a sentence that was too lenient.

His lawyers asked the court to throw out Ravi's conviction and erase it from his record in February.

"Defendant was not charged with causing or contributing to T.C.'s death. However, the social environment that transformed a private act of sexual intimacy into a grotesque voyeuristic spectacle must be unequivocally condemned in the strongest possible way," Judge Jose Fuentes wrote in his Friday decision. "All of the young men and women who had any association with this tragedy must pause to reflect and assess whether this experience has cast an indelible moral shadow on their character."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Convictions tossed for man whose cyberbullying led to suicide of Rutgers University student

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey appeals court has thrown out the 15-count conviction of a former Rutgers University student whose roommate killed himself after being captured on a webcam kissing another man. The court tossed several bias intimidation counts against Dharun Ravi because of a change in state law.

# data[].attributes.body
I was reading an article called "Teen who was relentlessly bullied kills herself in front of her family" by Carma Hassan. The article talks about a 18 year old girl killing herself in front of her family. In the article it said “Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to” the article told us that she tried different things to stop everyone from cyber bullying her, such as calling her cops and changing her number, and just not responding to people. As things went on she decided to stop everything and kill herself. I honestly think that the other people bullying her should get in some sort of trouble. She has a bunch of people still caring for her. Her room has sticky notes on it and so does a wall in her high-school. They each say really nice things about her which I think is wonderful how people still care for her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Blue hearts, for her "beautiful blue eyes," are taped up and down her high school hallway.

All of them a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short.

Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to. She was 18 years old -- and she had been relentlessly bullied.

Bullied for her weight

Brandy's sister, Jackie, says the teen had always been bullied for her weight, but the cyberbullying ramped up in April.

"People would make up fake Facebook accounts and they would message her and she wouldn't respond and they would still come at her," Jackie said.

"They would say really, really mean things like, 'Why are you still here?' They would call her fat and ugly. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful; the only thing people could find to pick on her was her weight."

Jackie says her sister changed her phone number and reported the bullying to police, but was told they couldn't help her.

"They couldn't do anything because [the suspects] used an app and it wasn't traceable and they couldn't do something until something happened, like they fight," Jackie said.

'I'm sorry for everything'

Jackie said she knew something was wrong when she got a text from Brandy on Tuesday saying "I love you so much, please remember that, and I'm sorry for everything."

Worried, she called her parents and grandparents. They rushed home to their house in Texas City, Texas, where they found Brandy in her room with a gun.

The family pleaded with the teen not to pull the trigger. But Brandy had made up her mind.

A devastated community

Melissa Tortorici, the communications director for the Texas City Independent School District where Brandy was a high school senior, says the community is "devastated."

"Brandy was well-liked and friendly. Texas City High School students really liked her. She has touched many people as evident by the outpouring of love from her schoolmates," Tortorici wrote in an email to CNN.

Texas City police Capt. Joe Stanton told CNN that detectives were interviewing the family and will be contacting people the family believes are suspects. They're also following up on several tips that came in.

In addition, sheriff's deputies will be addressing cyberbullying again with students next week.

"Today's young adults and teenagers have grown up with technology and they have access to it 24/7. Many times they become very bold over technology and text things they would never say directly to someone's face," Tortorici said.

"It's extremely difficult to stop someone from sending messages when apps make it easy to remain anonymous."

Tortorici said students are planning to release blue balloons in Brandy's honor Friday.

A new reality

After she shot herself, Brandy was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her organs, including those eyes, were recovered.

"She had beautiful eyes," Jackie said, adding the family hopes to meet the person who receives them.

For now, Jackie is adjusting to her new reality.

'I'm going to miss having her be here, going into her room and laying with her and talking to her."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
bullied teen kills herself in front of her family - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bullied teen kills herself in front of family

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Blue hearts, for her "beautiful blue eyes," are taped up and down her high school hallway. All of them a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short. Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to.

# data[].attributes.body
This article is about an 11 year old student posting threatening using the handle creepyclown123.this was written by Waukesha patch. Creepyclown123 used the musicl.ly. App to threaten students. This was an 11 year old 4th grader. The police were working to remove musicl.ly. The app from all there devices. Personally I would be scared if a student was threatening me. Because the school had to remove the musicl.ly. App from the devices because that’s how threatening it was. It just like taunting post leads to arrest in Rebecca sedwick bulling death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WAUKESHA -- An apparent cyber bullying case at Hawthorne Elementary School in Waukesha has ended with the arrest of an 11-year-old student after the student reportedly posted threatening messages online using the handle "creepyclown123."

On Friday, Waukesha police identified the source of the "creepyclown123" threats to students through the musical.ly app. Investigators forensically identified an 11-year-old fourth grader, who admitted to posting these threatening messages.

The school issued iPad was seized by the Waukesha Police Department, and police are working with juvenile authorities for resolution of the case involving the 11-year-old. Waukesha police are working with the school district to remove the musical.ly app from all school-owned devices after the incident at Hawthorne School.

The musical.ly app has a messaging feature that allows students to send video messages to each other anonymously. The incident was reported to police, that this app was being used to bully or frighten other students.

According to a letter sent home to parents after the incident earlier this month, Duy Nguyen, Principal Hawthorne STEM Elementary School said that several students received a message that mentioned threats to Hawthorne students.

One parent alerted building administration who then alerted district administration and the Waukesha Police. Police responded immediately, conducted an investigation and determined that the threat was not credible.

The Waukesha Police Department and School District IT Department worked together to identify the source of these messages.

District officials as well as police want to stress that these devices, while they are powerful tools for learning, also require monitoring by parents when the devices come home every evening.

According to the letter from Principal Nguyen, if at any point school staff or the Waukesha Police Department felt that there was a credible threat, the school would have immediately followed district and building protocol and safety plans and sent a message home to parents.

-------------

image via shutterstock

Subscribe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
11-Year-Old Arrested in Waukesha Creepy Clown Cyber Bullying Case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WAUKESHA -- An apparent cyber bullying case at Hawthorne Elementary School in Waukesha has ended with the arrest of an 11-year-old student after the student reportedly posted threatening messages online using the handle "creepyclown123." On Friday, Waukesha police identified the source of the "creepyclown123" threats to students through the musical.ly app.

# data[].attributes.body
some of the many people to kill there selves have been bullied online and one of these people are Brandy Vela" She fatally shot herself in front of her family  in her home of Texas city, Texas." She took her life in the month of November after constantly being bullied online. There were people who set up fake profiles offering sexual favors. There were photos of her face with guns and people putting things relating her to a pig. Before killing herself she did everything in her power to stop the bullies from changing her number to filing police reports sadly they could not find any suspects because of an app that keeps the person no trace. The most horrific part was on November 29, 2016 Brandys family walked in on her with a gun to her chest unable to stop her Brandy took her life. Her parents still to this day try to find the bullies that pushed the little girl to ending a beautiful life. The message i want to put out is that if you or someone else is bulling someone no matter online or in person think about what you are doing to that person and there family. If you make a life harder you can end up taking it to.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The family of an 18-year-old girl who committed suicide said the online harassment that tormented her during her life has continued.

Last month, Brandy Vela fatally shot herself in front of her family at their home in Texas City, Texas. The family insists she took her life after months of relentless cyber-bullying on social media, including fake profiles offering sex. But as they grieve their loss, they say bogus Facebook accounts of the high school senior continue to crop up online.

One of the profiles showed guns on a photo of her, while another had a picture of the teen, who was bullied for her weight, as a pig.

"I know what she was going through now. It's not that easy just to shut it off and let it go," her father, Raul Vela, told news station KHOU on Tuesday.

He said the pages harassing their daughter are making it difficult for the family to grieve.

"I thought all this was behind us, but it's not over," he said.

The pages were removed after the family complained to Facebook, but authorities have not been able to determine who was behind the bullying. Police are still investigating the death as a cyber-bullying crime.

Before her death, Brandy Vela filed police reports about the fake accounts and changed her number after receiving harassing calls, but had little recourse to stop the bullying.

"[The police] couldn't do anything because [the suspects] used an app and it wasn't traceable, and they couldn't do something until something happened, like they fight," her sister Jackie Vela told CNN.

She said the family knew something was wrong on Nov. 29 when her sister sent them a worrisome message. They rushed home to find Brandy Vela alive, with a gun pressed to her chest, but were unable to convince her to put the firearm down.

The teen's parents and grandparents were home during her final moments, according to reports.

Her father remains determined to find the bullies who tormented his daughter.

"I want justice," Raul Vela said. "And I will for years. We'll never, we'll never stop."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teen who killed herself in front of family is still being bullied online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The family of an 18-year-old girl who committed suicide said the online harassment that tormented her during her life has continued. Last month, Brandy Vela fatally shot herself in front of her family at their home in Texas City, Texas. The family insists she took her life after months of relentless cyber-bullying on social media, including fake profiles offering sex.

# data[].attributes.body
unknown author A girl named Brandy killed herself because some kids made fun of her weight. Some kids would make fake Facebook accounts and make fun of her calling her fat and ugly.so after a while  she sent this text to her sister she got a text from Brandy on Tuesday saying "I love you so much, please remember that, and I'm sorry for everything."Her sister called her parents and they all went home and found her with a gun to her head they tried to talk to her but she made up her mind and shot herself in the head. And how i think of that as just awful why would they make fun of her because of her weight.some much so she killed herself let alone in front of her parents and sister.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Blue hearts, for her "beautiful blue eyes," are taped up and down her high school hallway.

All of them a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short.

Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to. She was 18 years old -- and she had been relentlessly bullied.

Bullied for her weight

Brandy's sister, Jackie, says the teen had always been bullied for her weight, but the cyberbullying ramped up in April.

"People would make up fake Facebook accounts and they would message her and she wouldn't respond and they would still come at her," Jackie said.

"They would say really, really mean things like, 'Why are you still here?' They would call her fat and ugly. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful; the only thing people could find to pick on her was her weight."

Jackie says her sister changed her phone number and reported the bullying to police, but was told they couldn't help her.

"They couldn't do anything because [the suspects] used an app and it wasn't traceable and they couldn't do something until something happened, like they fight," Jackie said.

'I'm sorry for everything'

Jackie said she knew something was wrong when she got a text from Brandy on Tuesday saying "I love you so much, please remember that, and I'm sorry for everything."

Worried, she called her parents and grandparents. They rushed home to their house in Texas City, Texas, where they found Brandy in her room with a gun.

The family pleaded with the teen not to pull the trigger. But Brandy had made up her mind.

A devastated community

Melissa Tortorici, the communications director for the Texas City Independent School District where Brandy was a high school senior, says the community is "devastated."

"Brandy was well-liked and friendly. Texas City High School students really liked her. She has touched many people as evident by the outpouring of love from her schoolmates," Tortorici wrote in an email to CNN.

Texas City police Capt. Joe Stanton told CNN that detectives were interviewing the family and will be contacting people the family believes are suspects. They're also following up on several tips that came in.

In addition, sheriff's deputies will be addressing cyberbullying again with students next week.

"Today's young adults and teenagers have grown up with technology and they have access to it 24/7. Many times they become very bold over technology and text things they would never say directly to someone's face," Tortorici said.

"It's extremely difficult to stop someone from sending messages when apps make it easy to remain anonymous."

Tortorici said students are planning to release blue balloons in Brandy's honor Friday.

A new reality

After she shot herself, Brandy was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her organs, including those eyes, were recovered.

"She had beautiful eyes," Jackie said, adding the family hopes to meet the person who receives them.

For now, Jackie is adjusting to her new reality.

'I'm going to miss having her be here, going into her room and laying with her and talking to her."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
bullied teen kills herself in front of her family - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bullied teen kills herself in front of family

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Blue hearts, for her "beautiful blue eyes," are taped up and down her high school hallway. All of them a heartbreaking reminder of a life cut short. Vela killed herself this week, putting a gun to her chest while her family begged her not to.

# data[].attributes.body
"A teen Bullied because of her weight and killed herself in front of parents." By:CNN WIRE .Brandy Vela was an 18 year old girl who got bullied for her weight and looks, they would say and call her mean things like " why are you still here?" and even call her fat and ugly.Her parents then went to their Texas house only to find their 18 year old daughter with a gun pointing at herself, Her parents begged her not to kill herself but she already made up her mind.The bullying was much to tough for their daughter.At her high school the students taped blue sticky notes representing her blue eyes.

# data[].attributes.body
In this article "11 Year Old Girl Who Survived Brain Cancer Kills Herself over Relentless bullying"  by  CNN Wire, Bethany Thompson, the victim of bullying, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 3. She went through many radiation treatments that caused nerve damage that had a effect on her smile.she was bullied for this. Her mother, Wendy Feucht, said after a particularly tough day with bullies, Bethany told her friend that she was going to take her life. “If this were the last life, that her death could stop it, she would be thrilled,” Feucht said.

This quote had a strong effect on me because what it means is that if she was the last bullied person to die she would be thrilled. I would feel the same because every 1 in 10 kids attempt suicide, but what shocked me the most is that this was a 11 year old girl. She still had a long life to live. She could have had a strong effect on the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The relentless bullying became too much to handle for an 11-year-old girl with a "crooked" smile, her mother said.

At 3 years old Bethany Thompson was diagnosed with a brain tumor and battled through radiation treatments. Though cancer-free since 2008, treatment caused nerve damage that changed Bethany's smile. That, and her curly hair, led to bullying, said Bethany's mother, Wendy Feucht.

Feucht said after a particularly tough Wednesday with bullies, Bethany told her best friend she couldn't take it anymore, and was going to take her own life.

The Cable, Ohio, sixth grader killed herself that afternoon, October 19.

Her friend's father called Bethany's mom, but it was too late. Bethany found one of the two guns kept in the house, and shot herself just minutes after getting home. Her stepfather was asleep in another room.

Feucht said Bethany would have had to go searching for a weapon, as she and her husband never told their children where they were and kept the guns out of sight.

"There's a piece missing, I've had this constant in my life for 12 years and now it's gone," Feucht said. "Nothing's going to be able to fill that hole."

"She was my princess, that's my baby girl. Life revolved around her for me," said Bethany's dad, Paul Thompson.

Her family and friends remember Bethany as generous and loving, and full of life. She loved swimming and animals and listening to music.
School investigated the problem
Triad Middle School was aware of the bullying problem, Feucht said. She had talked to the principal as recently as the Monday before Bethany's death. The principal told her he was investigating, Fuecht said.

"Something has to change, something is broken in the system and there are lots of different ways that this could have been handled," she said.

In hindsight, Fuecht said she didn't get mad enough; to parents she said, "Call them, call them every day if you have to and eventually they'll be tired of hearing from you and actually do something."

Triad School District Superintendent Chris Piper confirmed the school was aware of the bullying.

"Last school year, district officials investigated a complaint raised by the student and appropriately resolved the same. As many school districts across the country are currently doing, the Triad Local School District is undertaking efforts to bolster anti-harassment and bullying training for both students and staff," Piper said in a statement."

Bethany studied in the Triad school system her whole life, so while her family considered transferring Bethany, her mom thought it safer to stay in a school where everyone knew her story.

Bethany saw a counselor to help her find coping mechanisms and deal with her struggles with self-esteem, Fuecht said.

Having the support of friends wasn't enough to keep the bullying away, however, and some boys in her class were known to bully Bethany and others regularly, Feucht said.

Bethany and her friend went to administrators with anti-bullying posters on Bethany's last day at school, and were told they couldn't be used, Feucht said.

They made signs with anti-bullying slogans like "Buddies, not bullies," she said.
A community of support
The community has rallied around Bethany's family.

Nearly 400 people flocked to the North Lewisburg United Methodist Church on Sunday evening for a fundraiser to cover funeral costs. The raffle dinner event raised over $5,500, in addition to $2,000 offered in donations, said Ashley Cozad, a family friend who organized the event.

Donations and messages of condolence have poured in from all over the country and are continuing, Cozad said.

The family plans to use the remaining funds to set up a scholarship fund in Bethany's name and to raise anti-bullying awareness.

As the family tries to move on with a positive memory of Bethany, Feucht wants others to learn from their experience and identify with her daughter's struggles. "I am Bethany. Anyone who's been picked on, they've been Bethany."

They hope to be a part of movement, and that Bethany's memory will live on as a reminder of the importance of kindness and a zero-tolerance for bullying.

"If this were the last life, that her death could stop it, she would be thrilled," Feucht said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
11-Year-Old Ohio Girl Who Survived Brain Cancer Kills Herself Over Relentless Bullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The relentless bullying became too much to handle for an 11-year-old girl with a "crooked" smile, her mother said. At 3 years old Bethany Thompson was diagnosed with a brain tumor and battled through radiation treatments. Though cancer-free since 2008, treatment caused nerve damage that changed Bethany's smile.

# data[].attributes.body
The most discouraging think of cyber bulling I saw 15 year old girl from Florida
named Tovanna got taped by her so called friend while she was in the bath with the door open. After taking the video the friend posted the video on snapchat for everyone to see although your story only stays for 24 hours that does not mean it cannot b copied so when the fiend posted the video other people started screenshot the video  they started posting it on social media. Tavonas last boyfriend saw the video and screen shot the video and posted on twitter,”trying to expose her in a derogatory way”.  Later when Tavona saw the video they could not feel it after getting teased all the time now about her body the committed suicide by taking her moms gun and shooting herself.

This info mating is found from The Root edited by Demetria Lucas D’Oyley and the author Don’t Waste Your Pretty. I feel like this was very mest up from the best friend and from all the others who tried to humiliate this girl.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Florida teenager committed suicide last week because of cyberbullying. Tovanna Holton, 15, was recorded by a "friend" while bathing, according to the Daily Beast. Without Tovanna's permission, the friend uploaded the video to Snapchat, where viewers took screenshots and began to post the images on other social media platforms.

One of the viewers was Tovanna's most recent boyfriend, who posted the video on Twitter after they broke up-also the morning before Tovanna killed herself, according to her friend Christian Coyle-Watts, who spoke to the Daily Beast.

"[He] posted it, trying to expose her in a derogatory way," said Coyle-Watts, who described the intent of the video as "body appreciation." "He did it just because he knew he could, and it would hurt her feelings."

Another friend, Zoe Vereen, said that she saw Tovanna at the beach the week before her death and people were "calling her names."

Tovanna's mother, Levon Holton-Teamer, that her daughter had been bullied before and had hinted that something was wrong leading up to her death.

Holton-Teamer found her daughter on the bathroom floor bleeding from a headshot June 5. Tovanna had used her mother's gun to kill herself. A spokesman for the local sheriff's office said that the events leading up to Tovanna's death are under investigation.

Tovanna's story is an all-too-familiar scenario that we've seen previously in the high-profile stories of teenagers such as Tyler Clementi, Jessica Logan and Amanda Todd who committed suicide after being harassed online by their peers. According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, nearly 20 percent of high school students have experienced cyberbullying. And 90 percent of students who have been cyberbullied have also been bullied offline.

Where Holton's story becomes unique is the aspect of revenge porn-that is, the posting of nude images or video of someone without their consent. The vast majority of revenge-porn victims are assaulted by an ex-boyfriend, which Tovanna experienced. But the initial poster appears to have been a so-called friend, which happens in just 7 percent of revenge-porn incidents, according to the website End Revenge Porn Now (pdf).

Bullying is nothing new, especially for teenagers, and though it's always been devastating for the victims, it takes a new dimension each time technology springs forward. What's meant to be (yet) another way to connect and share also becomes another way to torture and shame. The easy connections mean that stories come and go quickly, since there's always something new to talk about. But it also means that incidents are spread further and faster than ever before.

We're long past the era of "telephone," the old game in which one person passed a message along from ear to ear. It's a wild new world, where images and video can be disseminated to hundreds, if not thousands, with the click of a "send" button and reshared outside the initial social network just as fast. Incidents that would once have circulated only around a schoolyard can now circulate around the world. And that range means a whole lot of strangers have the opportunity to comment and pounce on a single person at once.

It's devastating to be the target of hundreds, if not thousands, of people using varying words to send the same message: "You ain't s-t." I've been on the receiving end of it. I've had to shut down social accounts and lock others before I went to sleep at night so that I didn't wake up to an onslaught of people telling me how much they hated me and how worthless I was or how I should die. Have you any idea what it's like to be afraid to turn on your phone or open your computer? And this is coming from a moderately level-headed adult. What kept me from going crazy was remembering something that my deceased grandmother used to say: "Just keep living."

I can't even imagine how a teenager deals. To see your nude image spread around as if it's a trading card, for strangers to critique your body? To be called all types of names by your peers and strangers alike? And knowing that all of it sticks around on the internet forever, in some form or another?

It's hell. But eventually the noise dies down; eventually you graduate from high school, and college; and God willing, your chances of facing it as an adult become much less (unless you do something crazy like sign up for a reality-TV show). We have to remind kids that high school is a phase in their lives, that it's OK to ask for help and tell an adult when they're feeling overwhelmed, and that as bad as it seems, as the anti-bullying slogan goes, "It gets better." Eventually.

Demetria Lucas D'Oyley is a contributing editor at The Root, a and the author of Don't Waste Your Pretty: The Go-to Guide for Making Smarter Decisions in Life & Love as well as A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life. She is also a blogger at , where she covers pop culture and travel. Follow her on and .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Nude Snapchat Video and Cyberbullying Lead to Teen's Suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Florida teenager committed suicide last week because of cyberbullying. Tovanna Holton, 15, was recorded by a "friend" while bathing, according to the Daily Beast. Without Tovanna's permission, the friend uploaded the video to Snapchat, where viewers took screenshots and began to post the images on other social media...

# data[].attributes.body
The story of Tyler Clementi, an 18 year old freshman college kid who had a vengance for violin and was getting his gay identity straight, starts off with his first semester to be a "living hell". Clementi was a shy guy who had a hard time getting along with his roommate, Dhauren Ravi, when one day, Clementi asked if he could have some privacy as a male guest was coming over, and so Ravi decided to go across the hall the his friend, Molly Wei's room. And when Clementi didn't relise it, Ravi and Wei lived streamed Clementi making out with his male guest using Ravi's hidden webcam. And then, stuff started to get real the moment Ravi tweeted this to friends and other college students. Then the same night, Clementi asked the school admin if he could have a single room telling them that his roomate used a webcam to spy on him, he ended up not getting that room. So the next day, Clementi told Ravi that he would have a male guest over again, and this time, Ravi tweeted that he would be "streaming the sexual tryst live" and that everyone was welcome to join, yet, nobody came to watch it. The following day, everyone woke up to the news that Clementi jumped off a bridge into the Hudson River, and hours later, finding his dead body allthewhile seeing that his last communication to the world was that he was going to jump off a bridge and that he was sorry.

OK, so lets all be honest here, we all think Ravi should have gone to jail and had charges pressed on him, and he did! He was sentenced to "30 days in jail by the New Jersey Judge for spying on Clementi" and sentenced to "3 years probation." He took that L alright, a big one too. So with all said, you should always take matter into your hands before its too late. You should always be able to tell someone if your peers are getting bullied, never be a bystander, or an L is coming your way

To see the article yourself, click here
https://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-stories/

# data[].attributes.body
This article,"Megan's Story" by an unkown author is about Megan Meier and her friend, Josh, using Myspace. Megan was cyberbulled and commited suicide when Josh send her a mean message.  When Megan nearly turn fourteen, Megan opened her MySpace account but her mom and dad is monitoring it. One day, Megan was in her account. Megan read many horrible messages that the kids sent to her. Megan was very upset by this but her mom, Tina, seem to not care and tells her to sign off MySpace. Megan left the computer and ran to Ron. Twenty minutes later, Tina got a bad feeling that her daughter have hung herself in the closet."I had this God-awful feeling and I ran up into her room and she had hung herself in the closet." (Megan's Story). The next day, Megan died before she was fourteen. Her dad opened up MySpace and see a messege form josh."Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a s***y rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you." (Megan's Story). The Meiers were horrified by this and were sad.

This
http://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/megans-story.html

# data[].attributes.body
This article,"Local Family Cyberbullying Fight One Step Further" was written  by Erin Nichols and its about a teenage boy named, David Molak who had comitted suicide because he was being cyberbullied online.Also,his parents started a foundation called the Davids Legacy.His parents are,"... already working to pass a law in Texas against cyberbullying, but as they're now hoping to help more families too"(Fox, San Antonio).

Know that I have read the article,I think it is terrible that people not only cyber bully but just bully period and to the point of death.But I think its great that the parents are putting there foot down and doing something about it and that they are trying to help other victims who have been bullied.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SAN ANTONIO -- A local family working to stop cyberbullying in the name of their son is going one step further.

It's been seven months since 16-year-old David Molak committed suicide.

His family claims he was cyberbullied in the months leading up to his death.

They're already working to pass a law in Texas against cyberbullying, but as they're now hoping to help more families too.

For the Molak family, carrying on their son David's legacy starts with telling his story.

"It tells a little bit about what happened to him, but mostly its pictures of him growing up," said David's mom, Maurine Molak. "It's an opportunity for people who didn't know David to get to know him."

They began David's Legacy Foundation shortly after David died in January to raise awareness about bullying and cyberbullying.

David took his own life after he was cyberbullied.

"I lived it with him every day when he was going through it and it was a terrible time," said Maurine. "The only way I can describe it is hell on earth."

With the launch of www.davidslegacy.org, families now have a place they can go if they have a bullying problem.

"We are not experts on bullying," said Maurine. "There's been a lot of people who have reached out to us who are having issues and if we can direct them to the website where people can get help that would make us proud."

There's also information about David's Law.

Named in honor of David, the proposed legislation would make cyberbullying a punishable offense in Texas.

"What needs to happen is we need to spread this awareness statewide and to let these elected officials know what's going on," said David's dad Matt Molak. "We can make sure or try to ensure that nobody has to go through something we've went through."

On Tuesday the Molaks will be in Austin testifying about David's Law before the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.

It will not be at all easy to tell the painful story of what happened in the months leading up to David's death, but they're doing it to help inform lawmakers about cyberbullying.

State Senator Jose Menendez has promised to file the bill in January.

"What can we do to create a deterrent, so law enforcement has a way to find who these aggressors are? And in many cases get help for not only the victim, but the aggressors as well," said Menendez.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Local Family Taking Cyberbullying Fight One Step Further

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
SAN ANTONIO -- A local family working to stop cyberbullying in the name of their son is going one step further.It's been seven months since 16-year-old David Molak committed suicide.His family claims he was cyberbullied in the months leading up to his deat

# data[].attributes.body
The article that I have found it the “sad story of pheobe prince” so there was this happy go lucky girl named pheobe. She moved from Ireland to America. She thought that her school would be a walk in a park but oh was she wrong.  Her year started off with a group of “mean girls” the harassed her and bothered her for months.  They would mostly bully her on social media. One day her class was in the library getting books.  One of the “mean girls” too a soda can and threw it at her” then someone remarked a comment saying “ why don’t you go just kill yourself?” that afternoon she went home and hung herself on the stairwell.

My impact on reading this was horrible. How could another human being do that human being? Do those girls have anything better to do? To be honest, I am glad that the girl who threw  the soda can and said “ why don’t you just kill yourself”  had charges pressed on her because  that is horrible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
South Hadley, Massachusetts, will never be the same again after nine teens were indicted for pushing a 15 year old girl, Pheobe Prince, into suicide with acts of stalking, bullying and cyber bullying.
A fresh arrival from Ireland, Pheobe Prince was a bright, happy and always smiling girl who was willing to be friends with everyone and still tried to find ways to cope with the American way of living.

But arriving at South Hadley High School, Pheobe Prince realized that life may not be that easy and happy for her after all, targeted by what the media dubbed "Mean Girls", she was intolerably ridiculed, mocked and bullied by the group of girls both in person and via social networks such as Twitter, Craigslist, Facebook and Formspring. She was called "Irish Slut" and "Whore" several times, her books were knocked out of her hands, food and other items were thrown at her and she received threatening and degrading text messages and IMs on her phone.

One winter day, Pheobe Prince was harassed at the school library and in the hallway and a soda can was thrown on her and the last words she heard at school were "why don't you go kill yourself?" , that afternoon, Pheobe walked to her house and hung herself in the stairwell.

Before the police started their investigation, the cruel taunting did not stop, her tormentors posted very vicious comments on her Facebook memorial page, a page created by her friends and loved ones in prayer and grief.

While the authorities took their time to find the truth behind Pheobe's bullying, they found little or no cooperation from internet and phone service providers as well as social network administrators.

Seven of the nine teens indicted were girls charged with a range of crimes, from criminal harassment to stalking to civil rights violations. A juvenile girl was charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon - the soda can.

The two males, 17 and 18, were charged with statutory rape.

Unveiling the indictments, the authorities learned that numerous faculty members, staff members and administrators at South Hadley High School were aware of the bullying - some even witnessed physical abuse - and did nothing.

"The real problem now is the texting stuff and the CyberBullying," South Hadley School Superintendent Gus A. Sayer said."Some kids can be very mean towards one another using that medium."

The sad fact remains, that while schools may work hard on ending premises on their premises, cyber bullying is an ongoing problem that follows each and every victim everywhere they go. We suggest you print out a list of sad bullying quotes and show them around the bullies around your school, these sad bullying quotes might give them a sense of what a bullying victim feels like.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Sad Story of Pheobe Prince - NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
South Hadley, Massachusetts, will never be the same again after nine teens were indicted for pushing a 15 year old girl, Pheobe Prince, into suicide with acts of stalking, bullying and cyber bullying.

# data[].attributes.body
This article, “How Would Texas' Cyberbullying Law Navigate the Murky Waters of Free Speech?” by Mark Reagan is about a Senator named José Menéndez who created a law on cyberbullying after a 16 year old boy named David Molak who killed himself on January 4 because of a barrage of cyberbullying. José Menéndez wanted to make a law that makes anyone who bullies someone under the age of 18 will go to jail. A man named Taylor Bell who posted a rap video on shooting two school officials, his friends, and he was accused of sexual harassment and posted it social media. According to his rap lyrics it stated “You f… with the wrong one / Gonna get a pistol down your mouth."

This article made me feel terrible because many people post stupid things that cause young teens to commit suicide all because of what they posted. Many people can post something that was really mean and say that they were joking but it makes the person feel like someone really hates them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
click to enlarge

Senator José Menéndez will have to bridge a tough line in his proposal to make cyberbullying a crime - one that balances the First Amendment rights of students with his attempt to crack down on online harassment.

The proposed legislation is called "David's Law." It's named after 16-year-old David Molak, an Alamo Heights resident who killed himself on January 4 after a barrage of online bullying. The law would make electronically harassing or bullying anyone under the age of 18 through text messages, social media, websites or apps a misdemeanor.

Menéndez tells us that this is a minor part of his proposed legislation, which mainly aims to bolster cyberbullying prevention efforts in schools. However, making cyberbullying a crime seems like a big deal because students, regardless of how vile their speech can be, as it was in Molak's case, still have a First Amendment right to free speech, especially when it's done off-campus and not during school hours.

However, Menéndez believes criminalizing cyberbullying won't infringe on free speech. "The Supreme Court has ruled our right to free speech is regulated by boundaries. You can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater is a classic example. You also can't make threats against someone's life and defend it as free speech," he said.

He acknowledged that his proposed legislation aims to set a new such "boundary." "Our goal with David's Law is to establish a boundary that you can't prey on children and coerce them or suggest to them they should commit suicide," Menéndez told the Current.

In the United States, there are 17 states that have criminalized cyberbullying, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center. Menéndez's proposal is modeled after Grace's Law, which was passed by Maryland lawmakers in 2013. That law is named after Grace McComas, a 15-year-old girl who killed herself after being bullied by anonymous individuals online. It made cyberbullying a misdemeanor punishable with a $500 fine and up to a year in jail. At the time, ACLU attorney Sara Love told the Baltimore Sun that a portion of the bill that said using a computer in "a course of conduct that inflicts serious emotional distress" is unconstitutional because it's too broad and could restrain a wide range of language. That law is currently being challenged in court.

In June, a cyberbullying law in North Carolina that made it a criminal act to post sexual information about a minor online in order to torment that minor was ruled unconstitutional. The state's Supreme Court ruled that the language in the law was a restriction of free speech because it was far too broad. That's also why a cyberbullying law was struck down by the New York's high court. In 2011, New York's Albany County passed a law that made it a crime to "harass, annoy, threaten...or otherwise inflict significant emotional harm on another person" through social media or text messaging.

There's also the thorny issue of how much of this ugly speech happens off campus. Case law protecting this kind of speech can be traced to the Vietnam War, when a 13-year-old student named Mary Beth Tinker and a couple friends wore black armbands to school protesting the war. They were sent home and a lawsuit was filed. Her case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that student's don't shed free speech when they go to school. More importantly, for cyberbullying laws, the Supreme Court in that case ruled that Tinker's display was not disruptive to school. Since then, the courts have used what's called a "disruption test" to consider whether school officials that have punished student's for off-campus speech have violated their First Amendment rights.

Consider these two recent cases: a minor named R.L., who made a dumb joke on Facebook during a bomb threat at his school, and 18-year-old Taylor Bell, who made a rap video about shooting two school officials his friends had accused of sexual harassment and posted it social media. In R.L.'s case, he was suspended from school for 23 days after a bomb threat shut the school down. When officials sent everyone home, R.L. made this post on Facebook: "Plot twist, bomb isn't found and it goes off tomorrow." The courts ruled that R.L.'s post was disruptive since it was made during a bomb threat and that his punishment was constitutional. In Taylor's case, he made the video on his own time, without school resources at his house. The courts ruled in Taylor's favor, saying he did not substantially disrupt school by creating the rap video. The lyrics included: "You fucking with the wrong one / Gonna get a pistol down your mouth."

Basically, these laws are new and the courts are still figuring out where the lines are. If the legislation's too broad, free speech advocates and students who are arrested and charged would probably just argue that their actions didn't disrupt a school's educational mission. Nobody seems to have agreed yet on where the lines should be drawn when crafting a cyberbully law, in part because the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to see such a challenge and rule on it.

All of which means the line Menéndez will have to walk his bill this upcoming session is a complicated one.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Would Texas' Cyberbullying Law Navigate the Murky Waters of Free Speech?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
click to enlarge Senator José Menéndez will have to bridge a tough line in his proposal to make cyberbullying a crime - one that balances the First Amendment rights of students with his attempt to crack down on online harassment. The proposed legislation is called "David's Law."

# data[].attributes.body
This Article, "New Jersey man will be re-tried over cyberbullying that spurred roommate’s suicide" by Gina Cherelus and Joseph Ax; Editing by Andrew Hay is about how a man will be re-tried for posting a video of his gay roommate that lead to their death. Dharun Ravi used a webcam to to record his roommate Tyler Clementi kissing another man. Then broadcasted them online which soon lead to Clementi age 18 to jump off the George Washington Bridge, which lead to his death. "Dharun Ravi was convicted in 2012 on 15 charges, including several bias intimidation counts, after he allegedly led a group of students to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi in 2010" (Rawstory). "Last year, the state’s Supreme Court struck down part of the law under which Ravi was charged as unconstitutionally vague" (Rawstory). He was later tried a second time. "Ravi, who was found guilty on all counts, faced up to 10 years in prison, but a trial judge eventually sentenced him to 30 days.His sentence also included three years of probation, 300 hours of community service, cyber-bullying counseling and a $10,000 contribution to an organization dedicated to helping victims of bias crimes" (Rawstory).

I believe that this man should have been tried a second time because he lead to this 18 year old to kill himself for being gay. That is discrimination to the LGBT community at its finest. I feel like the man should have been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for the case of murder. It is just disgusting that people will push other to kill themselves. A joke to them might mean life to another person.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A New Jersey appeals court on Friday threw out the conviction of a former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to record his roommate kissing another man, leading the roommate to commit suicide.

Dharun Ravi was convicted in 2012 on 15 charges, including several bias intimidation counts, after he allegedly led a group of students to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi in 2010.

Clementi, 18, jumped off the George Washington Bridge a week later and died from his injuries after Ravi broadcast images of Clementi and the man online. His death sparked a national debate over cyberbullying and gay discrimination.

Under Friday's ruling, Ravi will face a new trial on some of the original charges, but not all of them, due to a change in state law since his 2012 trial. Ravi's attorney and a representative for the Clementi family did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Last year, the state's Supreme Court struck down part of the law under which Ravi was charged as unconstitutionally vague. As a result, prosecutors conceded that Ravi's guilty verdict on those counts should be vacated but argued that his conviction for other crimes, like invasion of privacy and witness tampering, should stand.

But the Appellate Division of the Superior Court concluded that none of the convictions could remain in place because the bias allegations loomed over the entire case.

"It is clear that the evidence the State presented to prove the bias intimidation charges... permeated the entire case against defendant, rendering any attempt to salvage the convictions under the remaining charges futile," wrote Judge Jose Fuentes for the court in a 61-page opinion. "It is unreasonable to expect a rational juror to remain unaffected by this evidence."

The court threw out four bias intimidation counts, as well as one unrelated charge for lack of evidence, and ordered a new trial on the other counts.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's office has several options, including appealing to the state Supreme Court, retrying Ravi or dropping the case entirely. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ravi, who was found guilty on all counts, faced up to 10 years in prison, but a trial judge eventually sentenced him to 30 days.

His sentence also included three years of probation, 300 hours of community service, cyber-bullying counseling and a $10,000 contribution to an organization dedicated to helping victims of bias crimes.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus and Joseph Ax; Editing by Andrew Hay)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Jersey man will be re-tried over cyberbullying that spurred roommate's suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A New Jersey appeals court on Friday threw out the conviction of a former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to record his roommate kissing another man, leading the roommate to commit suicide. Dharun Ravi was convicted in 2012 on 15 charges, including several bias intimidation counts, after he allegedly led a group of students to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi in 2010.

# data[].attributes.body
This article,"School bullying: A Matter of Life and Death" was writen by Vincent J. Bove.This article is about multiple cases of bad and grusiem  bullying and cyber bullying in South Hadley High School. A qwote from this text is," 13-year-old from Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardienne Prairie, Missouri. Megan Meir committed suicide by hanging herself, three weeks before her 14th birthday. The suicide was attributed to a cyber-bullying hoax."(Vincent J. Bove)
This qwote shows that when cyber bullying is comited it harms other people and it harms the people that it is beeing done to. When people do this it makes me ask why they did it Sometimes the cyber bullying causes people to reach their breaking point. Most of the time when they hit that point they commit suicide. This nonsence needs to stop. So watch what you post

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the 2016-2017 school year begins, I am reminded of many tragic suicides of students, including 15-year-old Phoebe Prince from South Hadley High School in Massachusetts.

Phoebe was mercilessly bullied for months before taking her own life, a reminder to all that bullying can have deadly consequences.

Bullying is cruel, destructive, and as tragically realized with Phoebe Prince, it can be lethal.

The tragedy of Phoebe must not be in vain, but serve as a clarion call to educators, parents, students, and law enforcement to intensify bullying awareness and prevention.

Aside from Phoebe, other youngsters have committed suicide as a result of the torment caused by bullying, including the following:

Jessica Logan-18-year-old Sycamore High School senior who sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. According to a published report, the photo was sent to hundreds of teenagers in at least seven Cincinnati-area high schools after the couple broke up. Jessica hanged herself after attending the funeral of another boy who had committed suicide.

Jon Carmichael Loflin- 13-year-old from Loflin Middle School in Joshua, Texas. As an eighth grader, Jon deserved to be excited about his upcoming high school days. Instead, acts of bullying by students who tormented him for being short led to his suicide.

Eric Mohat- 17-year-old from Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio. The excruciating bullying was so explicit that a bully in class dared him, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will ever miss you." Tragically, Eric did just that.

Megan Meir- 13-year-old from Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardienne Prairie, Missouri. Megan Meir committed suicide by hanging herself, three weeks before her 14th birthday. The suicide was attributed to a cyber-bullying hoax.

Bullying: A Communal Failure

The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center estimates that nearly 30 percent of American youth are either a bully or a target of bullying.

Bullying takes place not only in face-to-face encounters, but through cell phones, social media websites, and other online methods that are contributing to an alarming number of cyberbullying cases leading to suicide.

All elements of the community; including educators, counselors, parents, students, law enforcement, and community leaders, must rise to the occasion and with dedicate themselves with full forceto bullying awareness and prevention initiatives.

For educators and counselors, who have a uniquely critical role with bullying awareness and prevention, I would encourage their enhanced understanding and implementing of bullying awareness and prevention initiatives.

This enhanced understanding is also critical for education leadership, in order for to be better able to cultivate a bullying prevention culture in classrooms, schools, and districts.

Once excellent source to begin with is the StopBullying.gov website, which includes the following tips for educators:

* Learn what bullying is and what it is not. Many behaviors that look like bullying may be just as serious, but may require different response strategies. You can also learn about what to look for as warning signs that some of your students might be involved in bullying and who might be at more risk for being involved. Know about special considerations for specific groups.
* Establish a safe school climate. Often the first step to preventing bullying is making sure the students, teachers, and administrators alike are educated about bullying. Tools like the online videos School Bus Drivers Training and Classroom Teacher Training can help. For kids, tools like these webisodes can help them learn about bullying.
* Learn how to engage parents and youth in the building a positive school climate. Learning how to talk about bullying with youth is a critical step.
* Know about your obligations under your state's anti-bullying law. Learn also about federal laws that require schools to address harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disabilities. Work to establish rules and policies to help let the entire school community know the expectations around bullying and procedures for reporting and investigating when something happens.
* Assess bullying in your school and understand how your school compares to national rates of bullying.
* Respond when bullying happens. Learn how to stop it on the spot, find out what happened, and support all students involved.
* Avoid misdirections in bullying prevention and response strategies.
* Utilize free Federal and Non-Federal Resources on bullying.

The Preventive System of Education

Finally, educators must familiarize themselves with the preventive system of education.

In my presentations on school violence prevention throughout the nation, as well as in numerous published works, I emphasize the importance of implementing this pedagogical system which includes the following:

* Educators are admired in their dedication to the youth entrusted to their care
* Educators are respected as individuals with character
* Character is the edifice of the preventive system
* Vigilance is exercised to prevent inappropriate behavior
* Improvements in behavior are motivated
* Speedy measured intervention in response to warning signs takes place due to vigilance and awareness
* Educators earn the admiration of youth
* Discipline can be as effective as an expression of disappointment or a reproachful look because there is loyalty from the young people to the educator who cares for them

Final Reflections

In essence, the preventive system of education is a natural complement to character education which is a matter of the heart from an educator who truly cares.

Character education and bullying prevention are inseparable and must be inspired by America's educators.

This culture in American schools will only be authentic and bring results if the students know that educators are sincerely concerned for them.

America's youth must experience this genuine care, concern, and compassion from their teachers.

If the students experience a caring community, they will be inspired to attain great heights of character, and deficiencies of character, including bullying, will be prevented.
Vincent J. Bove, CPP, is a national speaker and author on issues critical to America. Bove is a recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for combating crime and violence and is a former confidant of the New York Yankees. His newest book is "Listen To Their Cries." For more information, see www.vincentbove.com Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
School Bullying: A Matter of Life and Death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the 2016-2017 school year begins, I am reminded of many tragic suicides of students, including 15-year-old Phoebe Prince from South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. Phoebe was mercilessly bullied for months before taking her own life, a reminder to all that bullying can have deadly consequences.

# data[].attributes.body
How Would Texas' Cyberbullying Law Navigate the Murky Waters of Free Speech? This article " by Mark Reagan is about a girl who took her life after she had been bullied online, and they are trying to make a law after her name.
I read this article and it is sad but them trying to make a law after her name it is kind of awesome.it is sick that people are doing this to each other and it is not OK. "That law is named after Grace McComas, a 15-year-old girl who killed herself after being bullied by anonymous individuals online." This is bad and its good that the are trying to stop them. "It made cyberbullying a misdemeanor punishable with a $500 fine and up to a year in jail." This is good that strong people are making jail as there consequense

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
click to enlarge

Senator José Menéndez will have to bridge a tough line in his proposal to make cyberbullying a crime - one that balances the First Amendment rights of students with his attempt to crack down on online harassment.

The proposed legislation is called "David's Law." It's named after 16-year-old David Molak, an Alamo Heights resident who killed himself on January 4 after a barrage of online bullying. The law would make electronically harassing or bullying anyone under the age of 18 through text messages, social media, websites or apps a misdemeanor.

Menéndez tells us that this is a minor part of his proposed legislation, which mainly aims to bolster cyberbullying prevention efforts in schools. However, making cyberbullying a crime seems like a big deal because students, regardless of how vile their speech can be, as it was in Molak's case, still have a First Amendment right to free speech, especially when it's done off-campus and not during school hours.

However, Menéndez believes criminalizing cyberbullying won't infringe on free speech. "The Supreme Court has ruled our right to free speech is regulated by boundaries. You can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater is a classic example. You also can't make threats against someone's life and defend it as free speech," he said.

He acknowledged that his proposed legislation aims to set a new such "boundary." "Our goal with David's Law is to establish a boundary that you can't prey on children and coerce them or suggest to them they should commit suicide," Menéndez told the Current.

In the United States, there are 17 states that have criminalized cyberbullying, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center. Menéndez's proposal is modeled after Grace's Law, which was passed by Maryland lawmakers in 2013. That law is named after Grace McComas, a 15-year-old girl who killed herself after being bullied by anonymous individuals online. It made cyberbullying a misdemeanor punishable with a $500 fine and up to a year in jail. At the time, ACLU attorney Sara Love told the Baltimore Sun that a portion of the bill that said using a computer in "a course of conduct that inflicts serious emotional distress" is unconstitutional because it's too broad and could restrain a wide range of language. That law is currently being challenged in court.

In June, a cyberbullying law in North Carolina that made it a criminal act to post sexual information about a minor online in order to torment that minor was ruled unconstitutional. The state's Supreme Court ruled that the language in the law was a restriction of free speech because it was far too broad. That's also why a cyberbullying law was struck down by the New York's high court. In 2011, New York's Albany County passed a law that made it a crime to "harass, annoy, threaten...or otherwise inflict significant emotional harm on another person" through social media or text messaging.

There's also the thorny issue of how much of this ugly speech happens off campus. Case law protecting this kind of speech can be traced to the Vietnam War, when a 13-year-old student named Mary Beth Tinker and a couple friends wore black armbands to school protesting the war. They were sent home and a lawsuit was filed. Her case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that student's don't shed free speech when they go to school. More importantly, for cyberbullying laws, the Supreme Court in that case ruled that Tinker's display was not disruptive to school. Since then, the courts have used what's called a "disruption test" to consider whether school officials that have punished student's for off-campus speech have violated their First Amendment rights.

Consider these two recent cases: a minor named R.L., who made a dumb joke on Facebook during a bomb threat at his school, and 18-year-old Taylor Bell, who made a rap video about shooting two school officials his friends had accused of sexual harassment and posted it social media. In R.L.'s case, he was suspended from school for 23 days after a bomb threat shut the school down. When officials sent everyone home, R.L. made this post on Facebook: "Plot twist, bomb isn't found and it goes off tomorrow." The courts ruled that R.L.'s post was disruptive since it was made during a bomb threat and that his punishment was constitutional. In Taylor's case, he made the video on his own time, without school resources at his house. The courts ruled in Taylor's favor, saying he did not substantially disrupt school by creating the rap video. The lyrics included: "You fucking with the wrong one / Gonna get a pistol down your mouth."

Basically, these laws are new and the courts are still figuring out where the lines are. If the legislation's too broad, free speech advocates and students who are arrested and charged would probably just argue that their actions didn't disrupt a school's educational mission. Nobody seems to have agreed yet on where the lines should be drawn when crafting a cyberbully law, in part because the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to see such a challenge and rule on it.

All of which means the line Menéndez will have to walk his bill this upcoming session is a complicated one.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Would Texas' Cyberbullying Law Navigate the Murky Waters of Free Speech?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
click to enlarge Senator José Menéndez will have to bridge a tough line in his proposal to make cyberbullying a crime - one that balances the First Amendment rights of students with his attempt to crack down on online harassment. The proposed legislation is called "David's Law."

# data[].attributes.body
The article "Teen attempts suicide amid relentless cyberbullying"by Brittany Decker is about how a young girl name Tiffany Bolinger whos is 15 years old and she was getting cyberbulling by on of her class mates. The girl had been  getting bulled for almost a year now untill she got tired of it and she tryed to kill herself by takeing 40 asprins at the same time. The text she had gotten said"Go kill yourself, everyone is waiting"(wvtm 13).After reading is I felt realy bad for the family of this young girl because this girl wasnt doing anything to anyone and everyone at her school waas treating her so badly. I think someone should have did something to make sure it didnt happen agin. Like if one of the student at the school tried to take there life becuse another student teasead them just imagin how many other student are going throuh the same thing as Tiffany and her family. Just imagin how her mother must feel knowing that thiss all cold have been avoided if only she had told her and that she knew student where bulling her by then Tiffanys mom could have have did something to stop it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Pinson mom says relentless bullying landed her child on suicide watch at Children's Hospital.

Tiffany Bolinger spent her day by her daughter's side at the hospital after the 15-year-old took 40 300mg aspirin tablets after receiving a disturbing message from a classmate.

"My daughter received a message, before leaving school grounds, from one girl particularly that stated "Go kill yourself, everybody is waiting,'" Bolinger said.

She said the bullying has gone on for a year and a half.

This teen's bullying started at school through Snapchat, according to her mother. But other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can lead to cyberbullying, as well.

"There's lots of ways to cyberbully which is why it can be so damaging emotionally because it's not just words exchanged and physical violence," psychologist Dr. Josh Klapow said.

For parents, Klapow said it's important to monitor what your children do online.

"(Conduct) random checks of all passwords, know where electronics are, and where they are interacting on social media," he said.

Capture and do not erase any post that may be threatening.

"Kids need to understand what they say you don't know what that person is going through. you don't know what that person is struggling with," Bolinger said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teen attempts suicide amid relentless cyberbullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Pinson mom says relentless bullying landed her child on suicide watch at Children's Hospital. Tiffany Bolinger spent her day by her daughter's side at the hospital after the 15-year-old took 40 300mg aspirin tablets after receiving a disturbing message from a classmate.

# data[].attributes.body
This article "Vacaville Middle School Students Get Lesson In Stopping Cyberbullying". The articel had hard learned tough lessons about cyber-bulling. Abby Malone, 12, is all too familiar with bullying. "I felt sad, I felt betrayed but I got over it and I'll never do that to anybody because I know how that feels".

After reading this article Abby Malone and hundreds of her classmates attended an assembly challenging students across California to delete any negativity or hurtful messages from their social media. I for example agree with the assemply challenging to erase negitive post on social media.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
VACAVILLE (CBS13) - Middle-school students learned tough lessons about the dangers of negativity on social media.

Students at Vaca Pena Middle School in Vacaville are now being challenged to stop the bullying on their devices.

Abby Malone, 12, is all too familiar with bullying. It can be devastating for a young eighth grader.

"I felt sad, I felt betrayed but I got over it and I'll never do that to anybody because I know how that feels," she said.

She and hundreds of her classmates attended an assembly geared toward challenging students across California to delete any negativity or hurtful messages from their social media.

Noah Loehr hopes his classmates embrace this anti-bullying message.

"They were calling me names and making fun of me," he said. "It could really hurt someone."

StopBullying.gov estimates about 28 percent of all middle school and high school students have experienced bullying while 70 percent have witnessed it.

School officials say smart choices to stop bullying begin with education through assemblies like this one. Administrators also believe parents can play a greater role at home if they ask their kids for help.

"They're vulnerable also and say 'I don't understand this can you please help explain this to me so I can support you in using these new technologies and new apps,' said Principal Ramon Cusi.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Vacaville Middle School Students Get Lesson In Stopping Cyberbullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
VACAVILLE (CBS13) - Middle-school students learned tough lessons about the dangers of negativity on social media. Students at Vaca Pena Middle School in Vacaville are now being challenged to stop the bullying on their devices. Abby Malone, 12, is all too familiar with bullying. It can be devastating for a young eighth grader.

# data[].attributes.body
Mylia Vidtor 8th grade
The article''man charges in netherlands in Amanda Todds case''  came from BBC News. This article is about a young girl named Amanda Todd who commited suicide due to cyberbulling fom a 35 year old man. She sent a picture to him on Facebook, he then sent it to people at her school.'' cried every night, lost all my friends and respect". Amanda was torchered by her school friends and the man who seduced her, Amanda then killed herself. Amanda tried to kill herself by drinking bleachon the other hand she did not die. She then hanged herself on October 10, 2012.

I dont uderstand how people in this world can be so crucial to one another to the point to where he/she kils themselves. I wonder what incoureges them to do this to hurt one another despite on how they feel about it. They bullied her so much to the point she thought she was a joke in this world. when i first read this article i was peevish i started to cry, made me so emotinal like why would he do this to her Amand Todd was too young.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 35-year-old man has been charged in the Netherlands in connection with the suicide in 2012 of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, who was bullied online.

The unnamed suspect was charged with extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and child pornography, Canadian police say.

Suspected of numerous other abuse cases, he has entered no plea.

Ms Todd posted a video before her death where she told how she was blackmailed into exposing herself online.

After pictures were posted on Facebook, an online bullying campaign began and the 15-year-old from British Columbia eventually killed herself.

Her story made headlines worldwide and her video, which contains images of self-harm some readers may find distressing, has been watched millions of time.

On the basis of materials seized, the detainee is also suspected of dozens of cases of online abuse in the Netherlands, the UK and the US, t he Dutch newspaper Omroep Brabant reports.

Carol Todd, Amanda's mother, thanked police at news of the arrest, saying: "This is truly a day we have been waiting for."

'More than one'

The suspect, who was arrested in January, made his first court appearance in Amsterdam on Wednesday, at which his detention was reportedly extended for three months.

"Today marks a major milestone in our investigation," said Inspector Paulette Friel of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "A suspect has been identified, he has been arrested and he has been charged."

He seems like a decent person, a young good-looking man who is easy to speak to
Christian van Dijk, Lawyer for arrested man

The suspect is said to have been living alone in a holiday home in the Netherlands town of Oisterwijk.

"The suspicions against the man are that he approached underage girls via the internet and then seduced them into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam,'' Dutch prosecutors said in a statement, quoted by AP.

"He is suspected of subsequently pressurising them to participate in making new material."

Suspected targets include men who were allegedly convinced the man was an underage boy and were persuaded into performing sexual acts on camera.

His lawyer, Christian van Dijk, said: "Prosecutors seem to think they have a big fish here, but if I see the evidence, it's not much. Lots of references to IP addresses and such."

He added: "He seems like a decent person, a young good-looking man who is easy to speak to."

Carol Todd told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper she believed others were involved in the abuse too.

"I don't want everyone to get so hyped up that this is it, that this is the end," she said. "I don't think in my heart that this is the end. It's the start of it. There's more than one person in those chat rooms. There are more people responsible for extorting [Amanda]."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A 35-year-old man has been charged in the Netherlands in connection with the suicide in 2012 of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, who was bullied online. The unnamed suspect was charged with extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and child pornography, Canadian police say. Suspected of numerous other abuse cases, he has entered no plea.

# data[].attributes.body
This article by Demetria Lucas D'Oyley titled "A Nude Snap chat Video and Cyber bullying Lead to Teen's Suicide" was about a 15 year old girl named, Tovanna Holton. Tovanna Holton was bathing in a bathroom and her so called “friend” took a video on snap chat without her permission.  Multiple other viewers screenshot the post and reposted it on other social media accounts. One of the viewers was Tovanna ex boyfriend and he posted it on twitter. The next morning Tovanna’s friend says “[He] posted it, trying to expose her in a derogatory way, He did it just because he knew he could, and it would hurt her feelings.”

When I read this is I was very surprised that her “friend” recorded it and posted it without her person. That goes to show you not to trust everyone. I was also shocked that her ex boyfriend would go and repost it on twitter and do it just to hurt her feelings. I hope that people learned from this article and wouldn’t do anything like this to their friend, ex, or anyone at all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Florida teenager committed suicide last week because of cyberbullying. Tovanna Holton, 15, was recorded by a "friend" while bathing, according to the Daily Beast. Without Tovanna's permission, the friend uploaded the video to Snapchat, where viewers took screenshots and began to post the images on other social media platforms.

One of the viewers was Tovanna's most recent boyfriend, who posted the video on Twitter after they broke up-also the morning before Tovanna killed herself, according to her friend Christian Coyle-Watts, who spoke to the Daily Beast.

"[He] posted it, trying to expose her in a derogatory way," said Coyle-Watts, who described the intent of the video as "body appreciation." "He did it just because he knew he could, and it would hurt her feelings."

Another friend, Zoe Vereen, said that she saw Tovanna at the beach the week before her death and people were "calling her names."

Tovanna's mother, Levon Holton-Teamer, told WFLA that her daughter had been bullied before and had hinted that something was wrong leading up to her death.

Holton-Teamer found her daughter on the bathroom floor bleeding from a headshot June 5. Tovanna had used her mother's gun to kill herself. A spokesman for the local sheriff's office said that the events leading up to Tovanna's death are under investigation.

Tovanna's story is an all-too-familiar scenario that we've seen previously in the high-profile stories of teenagers such as Tyler Clementi, Jessica Logan and Amanda Todd who committed suicide after being harassed online by their peers. According to the National Bullying Prevention Center, nearly 20 percent of high school students have experienced cyberbullying. And 90 percent of students who have been cyberbullied have also been bullied offline.

Where Holton's story becomes unique is the aspect of revenge porn-that is, the posting of nude images or video of someone without their consent. The vast majority of revenge-porn victims are assaulted by an ex-boyfriend, which Tovanna experienced. But the initial poster appears to have been a so-called friend, which happens in just 7 percent of revenge-porn incidents, according to the website End Revenge Porn Now (pdf).

Bullying is nothing new, especially for teenagers, and though it's always been devastating for the victims, it takes a new dimension each time technology springs forward. What's meant to be (yet) another way to connect and share also becomes another way to torture and shame. The easy connections mean that stories come and go quickly, since there's always something new to talk about. But it also means that incidents are spread further and faster than ever before.

We're long past the era of "telephone," the old game in which one person passed a message along from ear to ear. It's a wild new world, where images and video can be disseminated to hundreds, if not thousands, with the click of a "send" button and reshared outside the initial social network just as fast. Incidents that would once have circulated only around a schoolyard can now circulate around the world. And that range means a whole lot of strangers have the opportunity to comment and pounce on a single person at once.

It's devastating to be the target of hundreds, if not thousands, of people using varying words to send the same message: "You ain't s-t." I've been on the receiving end of it. I've had to shut down social accounts and lock others before I went to sleep at night so that I didn't wake up to an onslaught of people telling me how much they hated me and how worthless I was or how I should die. Have you any idea what it's like to be afraid to turn on your phone or open your computer? And this is coming from a moderately level-headed adult. What kept me from going crazy was remembering something that my deceased grandmother used to say: "Just keep living."

I can't even imagine how a teenager deals. To see your nude image spread around as if it's a trading card, for strangers to critique your body? To be called all types of names by your peers and strangers alike? And knowing that all of it sticks around on the internet forever, in some form or another?

It's hell. But eventually the noise dies down; eventually you graduate from high school, and college; and God willing, your chances of facing it as an adult become much less (unless you do something crazy like sign up for a reality-TV show). We have to remind kids that high school is a phase in their lives, that it's OK to ask for help and tell an adult when they're feeling overwhelmed, and that as bad as it seems, as the anti-bullying slogan goes, "It gets better." Eventually.

Demetria Lucas D'Oyley is a contributing editor at The Root, a and the author of Don't Waste Your Pretty: The Go-to Guide for Making Smarter Decisions in Life & Love as well as A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life. She is also a blogger at SeeSomeWorld.com, where she covers pop culture and travel. Follow her on and Instagram.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Nude Snapchat Video and Cyberbullying Lead to Teen's Suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Florida teenager committed suicide last week because of cyberbullying. Tovanna Holton, 15, was recorded by a "friend" while bathing, according to the Daily Beast. Without Tovanna's permission, the friend uploaded the video to Snapchat, where viewers took screenshots and began to post the images on other social media platforms.

# data[].attributes.body
The Article,"13-year-old girl hospitalized after vicious cyber bullying," by Kirsty Johnston is about a 13 year old girl harming herself because of relentless cyber bullying. She was released in good health but her parents were about other people going through the same things. "At first, the mother said she didn't want anyone to know about the incident, but another family member had posted about it online and received huge support. "'That showed it's not just us. I want to make it known that this is a problem.'" (nzherald.com)

When I first read this article I was stunned because knowing that people are so cruel to bully so many people that when some says something about helping cyber bullying it gets so much support. But, knowing that you aren't alone in a time like this means the world to some people. I believe that cyber bulling should be stopped and articles like this should be promoted.

# data[].attributes.body
This article "Mom:Cyber bullying killed my daughter" is by Josh sidroswicz from FOX17 explains the death of Zoe Abbott 13 years old of how she lost her breaking point.She has been being bullied for over 2 years and has minor depression.Zoe's mom said “These kids, I don’t think they realize how mean they’re being to each other." I totally agree on how some people really don't know what they are even saying at some point. It really is depressing how kids can be so brutal too one another, one of the bullies even said this on Facebook "good ur gone".

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WYOMING, Mich. -- Words hurt.

It's the message Rebecca Abbott is hoping resonates with other parents and teens after her daughter committed suicide in early July. Abbott said she believes cyber bullying lead to her daughter's death.

Zoe Johnson was 13 years old when she died July 6. She was a member of the cheer team and had just finished the seventh grade at Kenowa Hills Middle School.

Abbott said her daughter was tough, but believed she'd finally reached her breaking point.

"These kids, I don't think they realize how mean they're being to each other," Abbott said.

"I don't know, I think it was just a cry for help, but I don't think she realized the finality of what she was doing."

Zoe had dealt with bullying for years and suffered minor depression, according to Abbott. But toward the end of the school year the taunting became worse, her mother told FOX 17.

One post Abbott provided to FOX 17 from Facebook, dated the day before Zoe's death, was a picture reading "tag a b***h you don't like" with Zoe's name attached by others.

Abbott said people continued to post to Zoe's Facebook after her death, with one person even writing "good ur gone."

Some recent studies suggest as many as one in every four teens has been bullied at some point online, and in many of those cases it's likely happened more than once. According to the American Association of Suicidology, rates for suicide among 10 to 14 year-old teens has grown 50% in the past three decades

"Kids don't know how to confront it. They don't know who to turn to," said Nicole Dombrowski, Zoe's longtime competitive cheer coach.

Working with young students daily, Dombrowski said she knows many of them choose to not report the bullying.

"We have to make sure they realize they can talk to us. They don't," she said. "They keep everything inside, they don't want to tell their parents what's happening on social media."

Police told FOX 17 the evidence investigators were able to review from text messages and social media posts did not indicate bullying or any criminal wrongdoing.

Abbott said she's hopeful her tragedy will teach other parents and teens to watch their kids more closely.

"They have to be careful with what they say to each other. I want parents to be more aware, I should've been more on Zoe's Facebook and we should be more aware of what our kids are doing and what they're saying..."

Michigan is one of 34 states with laws criminalizing cyber bullying.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WYOMING, Mich. -- Words hurt. It's the message Rebecca Abbott is hoping resonates with other parents and teens after her daughter committed suicide in early July. Abbott said she believes cyber bullying lead to her daughter's death. Zoe Johnson was 13 years old when she died July 6.

# data[].attributes.body
This article, "Cyberbullting victim leaves legacy behind" written By Steve Spriester is about how a young teenage boy was cyberbullied. A boy named David was a regular teenager . When people bullied him it hurt him alot. He tried moving schools but it diodnt help."David was brutally cyberbullied. It got so bad he switched schools, but the bullying followed him, until he took his life in January".I was shocked from hearing this story becausase there are so many good people in the world and they dont deserve to be gone. I really think that these cold hearted people that are not being stopped and there should be more precausions and more consequences to this crime.

"The fog has cleared, but reality has kicked in, and the reality is pretty grim. We're going to go the rest of our lives without David," Maureen said. The people that cause deaths so often dont even realise what they are doing and it really makes me sick that people could be so mean as to make somne kill themselfs. This quot is very disturbing beacuse i know thst if my parents lost my brother or anyone else lost there child they would be very ddeppressed and i just cant belive that people could get this mean.

Life is beautiful and if these people dont understand that things need to be done so they understand bevcause you shouldnt be hurtting someone so much that they harm themselfs. There should be more laws for cyberbullying.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
KSAT Weather: Windy Saturday, chilly Sunday morning

Suspect admits to killing 43-year-old man, stuffing him in 55-gallon drum, affidavit says

2 downtown streets to become two-ways after decades of being one-ways

What arming staff at Texas schools really means

Toilet room near kitchen with no door leads to failed inspection at East Side pizzeria

Campaign addressing paid sick time for all comes to San Antonio

St. Luke's Episcopal School coach accused of sexually assaulting student

Weekly Nightbeat in Review

City of San Marcos warns about possible mountain lion in area

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying victim leaves legacy behind

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The room went quiet as Maureen Molak placed her son's picture on a podium. She and her husband, Matt, traveled to Austin to take a stand against cyberbullying and the kind of abuse that led their son to take his life.

# data[].attributes.headline
Torin Duronslet 6th grade cyber bullying.

# data[].attributes.subject
Torin Duronslet 6th grade cyber bullying.

# data[].attributes.body
This is what my thoughts are about the video the girl that was texting her was saying to not go to the dance with the weird kid. But the girl really liked him. “I think he is cute.” Is what the girl stated in one of the text messages. The girl was being mean to the one that liked Danny some of the texts that she texted her friend were, “ Your really going to go out with the weirdest kid in school?” So then they kept texting then the boy texted . Then the boy (Danny) asked the girl (that liked him) to go to the dance with him. Then the girl told her friend “OMG!! He just asked me to go to the dance with him.” Then the mean girl responded “You know what happens if you go to the dance with him right? You become the weirdest kid just like Danny.” So the girl told Danny no. So Danny asked why. Then the girl said because you don’t have any friends. And she said I don’t want to be with a loser like you. And I thought that wasn’t fair. So that was my opinion about that.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is my complete story. I have seen these videos all over the internet and decided to make my own. I thought it would be nice to share my story with others and maybe it might touch or inspire them in some way.

# data[].attributes.body
Dorothy Miller 6th grade

This article “A Matter of Life or Death” by: Vencent j. Bove ,this is about a 18 year old girl who has been bullied and she hung herself .This girl was 18 and this boy in her school took a nude picture of her and gave it to her boyfriend. Soon later her boyfriend broke up with her. And one day she broke she could not take it so after she went to a funeral of another boy who committed suicide she hung herself. PEOPLE WERE CALLING HER A S*** AND A W****.

This is so shocking that someone would hurt someone like this. And to think this is a 18 year old you must have done a lot more then heard to get a 18 year old hurt till death. I thinkthis should not be tolerated anymore. This is awful even in a kids mind.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the 2016-2017 school year begins, I am reminded of many tragic suicides of students, including 15-year-old Phoebe Prince from South Hadley High School in Massachusetts.

Phoebe was mercilessly bullied for months before taking her own life, a reminder to all that bullying can have deadly consequences.

Bullying is cruel, destructive, and as tragically realized with Phoebe Prince, it can be lethal.

The tragedy of Phoebe must not be in vain, but serve as a clarion call to educators, parents, students, and law enforcement to intensify bullying awareness and prevention.

Aside from Phoebe, other youngsters have committed suicide as a result of the torment caused by bullying, including the following:

Jessica Logan-18-year-old Sycamore High School senior who sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. According to a published report, the photo was sent to hundreds of teenagers in at least seven Cincinnati-area high schools after the couple broke up. Jessica hanged herself after attending the funeral of another boy who had committed suicide.

Jon Carmichael Loflin- 13-year-old from Loflin Middle School in Joshua, Texas. As an eighth grader, Jon deserved to be excited about his upcoming high school days. Instead, acts of bullying by students who tormented him for being short led to his suicide.

Eric Mohat- 17-year-old from Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio. The excruciating bullying was so explicit that a bully in class dared him, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will ever miss you." Tragically, Eric did just that.

Megan Meir- 13-year-old from Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Dardienne Prairie, Missouri. Megan Meir committed suicide by hanging herself, three weeks before her 14th birthday. The suicide was attributed to a cyber-bullying hoax.

Bullying: A Communal Failure

The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center estimates that nearly 30 percent of American youth are either a bully or a target of bullying.

Bullying takes place not only in face-to-face encounters, but through cell phones, social media websites, and other online methods that are contributing to an alarming number of cyberbullying cases leading to suicide.

All elements of the community; including educators, counselors, parents, students, law enforcement, and community leaders, must rise to the occasion and with dedicate themselves with full forceto bullying awareness and prevention initiatives.

For educators and counselors, who have a uniquely critical role with bullying awareness and prevention, I would encourage their enhanced understanding and implementing of bullying awareness and prevention initiatives.

This enhanced understanding is also critical for education leadership, in order for to be better able to cultivate a bullying prevention culture in classrooms, schools, and districts.

Once excellent source to begin with is the StopBullying.gov website, which includes the following tips for educators:

* Learn what bullying is and what it is not. Many behaviors that look like bullying may be just as serious, but may require different response strategies. You can also learn about what to look for as warning signs that some of your students might be involved in bullying and who might be at more risk for being involved. Know about special considerations for specific groups.
* Establish a safe school climate. Often the first step to preventing bullying is making sure the students, teachers, and administrators alike are educated about bullying. Tools like the online videos School Bus Drivers Training and Classroom Teacher Training can help. For kids, tools like these webisodes can help them learn about bullying.
* Learn how to engage parents and youth in the building a positive school climate. Learning how to talk about bullying with youth is a critical step.
* Know about your obligations under your state's anti-bullying law. Learn also about federal laws that require schools to address harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disabilities. Work to establish rules and policies to help let the entire school community know the expectations around bullying and procedures for reporting and investigating when something happens.
* Assess bullying in your school and understand how your school compares to national rates of bullying.
* Respond when bullying happens. Learn how to stop it on the spot, find out what happened, and support all students involved.
* Avoid misdirections in bullying prevention and response strategies.
* Utilize free Federal and Non-Federal Resources on bullying.

The Preventive System of Education

Finally, educators must familiarize themselves with the preventive system of education.

In my presentations on school violence prevention throughout the nation, as well as in numerous published works, I emphasize the importance of implementing this pedagogical system which includes the following:

* Educators are admired in their dedication to the youth entrusted to their care
* Educators are respected as individuals with character
* Character is the edifice of the preventive system
* Vigilance is exercised to prevent inappropriate behavior
* Improvements in behavior are motivated
* Speedy measured intervention in response to warning signs takes place due to vigilance and awareness
* Educators earn the admiration of youth
* Discipline can be as effective as an expression of disappointment or a reproachful look because there is loyalty from the young people to the educator who cares for them

Final Reflections

In essence, the preventive system of education is a natural complement to character education which is a matter of the heart from an educator who truly cares.

Character education and bullying prevention are inseparable and must be inspired by America's educators.

This culture in American schools will only be authentic and bring results if the students know that educators are sincerely concerned for them.

America's youth must experience this genuine care, concern, and compassion from their teachers.

If the students experience a caring community, they will be inspired to attain great heights of character, and deficiencies of character, including bullying, will be prevented.
Vincent J. Bove, CPP, is a national speaker and author on issues critical to America. Bove is a recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for combating crime and violence and is a former confidant of the New York Yankees. His newest book is "Listen To Their Cries." For more information, see www.vincentbove.com Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
School Bullying: A Matter of Life and Death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the 2016-2017 school year begins, I am reminded of many tragic suicides of students, including 15-year-old Phoebe Prince from South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. Phoebe was mercilessly bullied for months before taking her own life, a reminder to all that bullying can have deadly consequences.

# data[].attributes.body
The article I read was “The Tragic Megan Meier Story’’ by an Anonymous user on nobullying.com. This article is about a 13 year old girl who hung herself because of a guy named Josh who Megan liked then said horrible things to Megan. Megan had ADD and ran home and asked her mom if she could accept a guy named Josh’s friend request, her mom had to go through a lot of thinking but said yes, but this is when things start to go wrong when Josh started to say horrible things to Megan and about he didn’t want to be friends anymore. Megan went wild when she heard this, the next day she hung herself as said in https://www.google.com/search?q=how+megan+meir+died&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7RVEB_enUS645&safe=strict&gws_rd=ssl at the top Josh said “Everybody in O’Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a s***** rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.” At this point I thought to myself this is going too far you don’t even know her in real life and this is beyond cyber bulling, and the truth was Josh wasn’t a real person it could’ve been anyone even a friend. In conclusion cyber bullying should be taken seriously and if you see it happen report it to a teacher and don’t be the bully.

# data[].attributes.body
Torin Duronslet 6th grade