# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parents Says Cyber Bullying is Too Much at Cabot School District

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A group of parents say bullying and even racism is too much at Cabot School District.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One in four high school students said they have been bullied in the past year and about one in five said they've bullied other students in answers given on the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

The survey, administered every other year since 1995 to a sample of Wyoming students in sixth through 12th grades, asks students to self-report activity related to drugs and alcohol, diet and exercise, suicide and other health-related behaviors. Results are used by schools, school districts and social service groups to plan prevention programming and interventions.

Two bullying questions were added to the 2009 survey and students were asked in 2011 if they had ever bullied another student. About 54 percent of middle school students said they had been bullied at school and about 28 percent said they bullied another student in the past year.

More female high school students (28 percent) said they were bullied in the past year compared to male students (22 percent.)

One in three Hispanic high school students said they were bullied. Hispanic and American Indian students said they bullied other students at a higher rate - 28 percent of each group compared to 18 percent for all students.

Although more male students said they had been bullied than female students in middle and high school, the percent of female students who said they had been electronically bullied was double the percent of male students.

The electronic bullying question was added because of high rates and stories of cyber bullying being reported nationwide, said Meaghan McClellan, prevention education consultant for the Wyoming Department of Education. McClellan, who works on programs to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, said she's most surprised by the high rate of students who reported physical abuse by a girlfriend or boyfriend - between 13 to 15 percent since 2005.

The percentage of middle school students who said they learned about HIV or AIDS has dropped steadily since 2003 - only 53 percent said they learned about the diseases in school in 2011 compared to 75 percent in 2003.

McClellan said the department offers training sessions across the state, but sex education is left to individual districts and schools.

Reach education reporter Jackie Borchardt at 307-266-0593 or at jackie.borchardt@trib.com. Read her education blog at trib.com/reportcard and follow her on Twitter @JMBorchardt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
JACKIE BORCHARDT Star-Tribune staff writer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Wyoming students report increases in bullying, being bullied

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One in four high school students said they have been bullied in the past year and about one in five said they've bullied other students in answers given on the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
(AP) A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the suspension of a West Virginia student who created a web page suggesting another student had a sexually transmitted disease and invited classmates to comment.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously refused to reinstate Kara Kowalski's lawsuit against school officials in Berkeley County. She claimed her five-day suspension from Musselman High School in 2005 violated her free speech and due process rights, and that school officials lacked authority to punish her because she created the web page at home.

The appeals court said the web page was created primarily for Kowalski's classmates, so the school had the right to discipline her for disrupting the learning environment.

Kowalski was a senior at Musselman when she created a MySpace page called "S.A.S.H." She claimed it was an acronym for "Students Against Sluts Herpes."

But a classmate said it stood for "Students Against Shay's Herpes" and referred to a student who was the main subject of discussion on the page. The first of about two dozen students who joined the discussion group posted photos of the student, including one with red dots drawn over her face to simulate herpes.

Other students posted messages commenting on the photos and ridiculing the student, whose parents complained to school officials the next day. Officials concluded Kowalski had created a "hate website" in violation of the school's anti-bullying policy.

Along with being suspended, Kowalski was prevented from crowning her successor as "Queen of Charm" in the school's annual Charm Review and was kicked off the cheerleading squad. She claimed her punishment left her isolated and depressed, but she got no sympathy from the appeals court.

"Kowalski's role in the 'S.A.S.H.' webpage, which was used to ridicule and demean a fellow student, was particularly mean-spirited and hateful," Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote.

"Regretfully, she yet fails to see that such harassment and bullying is inappropriate and hurtful and that it must be taken seriously by school administrators," he wrote.

Messages left for Kowalski's attorney, Nancy A. Dalby, were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Although the ruling in the Kowalski case was unanimous, University of Arizona cyberbullying expert Sheri Bauman said such cases present "a real conundrum" for courts trying to balance students' First Amendment rights against the need to maintain order in schools.

"This is all quite new. That's what makes it so difficult for schools to decide when and where they have the option to intervene," said Bauman, director of the university's school counseling program and author of the book "Cyberbullying: What Counselors Need to Know."

She said one of the issues that needs clarification is the definition of "substantial disruption" of the learning environment. She predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court eventually will be asked for guidance on this and other issues involving school cyberbullying.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Court backs W.Va. school in online bullying case - USATODAY.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
(AP) A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the suspension of a West Virginia student who created a web page suggesting another student had a sexually transmitted disease and invited classmates to comment. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously refused to reinstate Kara Kowalski's lawsuit against school officials in Berkeley County.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Twenty-eight students at McClure Middle School in Seattle have been suspended for allegedly bullying a classmate over the Internet.

Share story

Twenty-eight students at McClure Middle School in Seattle have been suspended for allegedly bullying a classmate on the Internet.

School administrators learned Tuesday evening about a Facebook page targeting the victim and investigated Wednesday, said Seattle Public Schools spokeswoman Patti Spencer.

The students were suspended for two to eight days, depending on their alleged level of involvement, Spencer said.

Spencer said there were no threats involved, but if there had been, the district would have contacted Seattle police. She said she didn't know how much, or what exactly, was written about the targeted student.

In addition to suspending the 28 students, school staff talked with them and their parents, and the principal plans to hold assemblies for students and meetings for parents to discuss appropriate and safe Internet use.

Lisa Fitch, a co-president of the school's PTSA, said her understanding was the incident involved a Facebook page that students were asked to sign up for if they didn't like the victim. She said she doesn't think the page was up for more than 24 hours.

Fitch and John Loacker, the other co-president, both supported Principal Sarah Pritchett's decision to suspend the students. "In middle school, they're very young and they're going to make mistakes, and I commend the school for dealing with it," Fitch said.

Still, Loacker said it pains him that McClure, one of nine middle schools in Seattle, is getting singled out for something negative when so much good happens there.

"We've created a very positive environment for our children at McClure," he said of the Queen Anne school.

The school has an anti-bullying program and a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, Spencer said. And even though the bullying didn't occur on school grounds, she said, the district has a responsibility to get involved when an incident creates significant disruption or concern at school.

Bullying, including cyberbullying, may be on the rise across the state. A recent study in a large school district by the national Cyberbullying Research Center said 9 percent of a representative sample of middle schoolers said they had been a victim of cyberbullying in the past month. Eight percent said they'd been a cyberbully.

Adie Simmons, director of Washington's Office of Education Ombudsman, said 32 percent of the cases her office handled in the 2008-09 school year involved bullying - up from about 28 percent the year before.

School districts don't keep data on bullying incidents, she said, so there's little information about how big a problem it is and who it affects the most. The ombudsman's office supports legislation now under consideration that would require Washington's districts to collect data on incidents.

Cyberbullying is in a gray area that schools and parents find difficult to handle or control, Simmons said. "It definitely falls into uncharted territory for all of us."
Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying leads to suspension of 28 middle-schoolers at McClure

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Twenty-eight students at McClure Middle School in Seattle have been suspended for allegedly bullying a classmate over the Internet. Share story Twenty-eight students at McClure Middle School in Seattle have been suspended for allegedly bullying a classmate on the Internet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 16-year-old female student at Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Va., is accused in a police affidavit of creating a Facebook page called "Stonewall hoes" and posting pictures of nine other students at the school with lewd captions beneath each.

Student Monica Escobar said one of her close friends was a victim and is hurt by what was said about her.

"She's hurt that they would say that about her, but she is not going to pay any attention to that because she knows she is not doing anything wrong," Monica said.

Prince William County police executing a search warrant seized the computer the 16-year-old suspect allegedly used to create the malicious Facebook page and filed a misdemeanor charge of harassment by computer against her. The charge carries a possible sentence of one year in prison and fine of up to $2,500.

Prince William County Public Schools has a code of conduct which takes bullying very seriously.

"Cyber bullying and any kind of bullying is not tolerated," said Dr. Doreen Dauer, of Prince William County Public Schools. "It goes against the whole climate of the community."

"It's sad and upsetting," said Maria Wright, the parent of a Stonewall student.

"They should take action, because if it was one of my daughters, I would want action taken right away," said Elva Aviles, another Stonewall parent.

The Facebook page has been taken down. Disciplinary measures could include the expulsion of the 16-year-old suspect.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Charged in Facebook Cyber Bullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A 16-year-old female student at Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Va., is accused in a police affidavit of creating a Facebook page called "Stonewall hoes" and posting pictures of nine other students at the school with lewd captions beneath each.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
VERMONT - Four in five teenaged girls in Vermont have experienced some form of bullying, and four in 10 admit to having done it themselves. About one in four have skipped school - or at least wanted to - because of bullying or harassment from their peers. Typically, this persecution targets some aspect of the girls' appearance, such as their hair, glasses or clothing, rather than characteristics such as race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

These are among the findings of a first-ever statewide survey called "What Teen Girls Say About Bullying and Harassment." More than 200 girls aged 11 to 17 were queried during the three-month study, which was sponsored by the Girl Scout Council of Vermont and the Vermont Commission on Women. The survey also examined girls' use of text messaging, email and personal Internet sites, and the role of those technologies in bullying. The results, due to be presented to the legislature on March 14, provide an intriguing glimpse into the often secret lives of the state's teenagers.

"We know that girl-on-girl social aggression is vastly different than boy-on-girl harassment, or even boy-on-boy harassment," says Sharon Baade, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of Vermont and a commissioner with the Vermont Commission on Women. "Girls go underground. They do it by text messaging and on the Internet. They can be incredibly hard on each other and do it in ways that adults don't see."

According to the survey, bullying and harassment among girls peak in middle school; 65 percent of eighth-grade girls say they've been the target of some form of social aggression, from name-calling to physical intimidation to sexual groping. By the 12th grade, the number drops to 37 percent.

The trend among girls is reflected in the total teenage population. Official tallies of bullying in public schools found that incidents rose from 558 in 2004-05 - the first year schools were required to report these figures - to 660 last year. Fifty-three schools in Vermont, including some middle schools, reported no incidents of bullying or harassment whatsoever.

However, survey results suggest that this may be because some girls are reluctant to report incidents. About 30 percent of those queried said they thought it was hard to report bullying in their schools or were afraid doing so would exacerbate the problem. And one in four of those who'd been bullied didn't tell anyone, even close friends.

According to Baade, cyberbullying - harassing through email, Instant Messaging and personal websites such as MySpace and Facebook - is another cause for concern. The survey found that, by high school, the vast majority of teen girls have web pages on sites such as MySpace and Facebook. However, the study also showed that many parents are unaware of the extent to which they use these technologies - or how early they start. While 30 percent of eighth-grade girls reported having personal websites, 66 percent of them said their parents had never seen them.

Baade suggests that such unsupervised web activity poses troubling questions for parents, especially in light of another finding. Forty-four percent of 12th-grade girls said they had been approached online by someone they didn't know.

"That's huge!" Baade says. "What I suspect is, this is happening to a lot of girls."

The bullying survey is the second statewide study of girls co-commissioned by the Girl Scouts and the Vermont Commission on Women. Last year's study looked at growing up in Vermont. Next year's topic is yet to be determined.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"Cyber-Bullying" Common Among VT Teen Girls

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
VERMONT - Four in five teenaged girls in Vermont have experienced some form of bullying, and four in 10 admit to having done it themselves. About one in four have skipped school - or at least wanted to - because of bullying or harassment from their peers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ROOSEVELT, Utah - Fifty football players on a Roosevelt high school team are trying to earn back their jerseys after their coaches suspended them for misbehaving and getting bad grades.

KTVU-TV reported, head coach Matt Labrum, along with other staff and administrators, asked all upperclassmen on the team to hand over their uniforms after losing a game on Friday so that they could focus on "building character," just a week before an important homecoming game.

"We hate to lose," Labrum said, "but we all felt that the biggest lessons that we learned through football were about how to be good men."

Instead of practice, Labrum had the boys do community service, cleaning up the grounds of the junior high school and volunteering their time at local senior centers. They also have to spend study periods actually studying.

"Being pulled off the team was a horrible feeling for all of us," said team co-captain Jordan Gurr, who was upset at first, but now fully supports the coach's' call. "Absolutely one of the best decisions that could've been made."

A guidance counselor informed the athletic department that football players were believed to be cyber bullying another student. Jordan's co-captain, Gavin Nielsen, a running back on the team, said he heard that the kids used an anonymous user name online to tell another boy to kill himself. Nielsen, the school principal's son, agreed with Coach Labrum's call.

"Getting my jersey taken away. That kind of sucks. You're like, 'What are we going to do without football?" Nielsen said of his disappointment, despite understanding the need to focus on what's important. "I wake up because I want to go to football."

Some players were skipping class, performing poorly on tests and disrespecting teachers and classmates, Labrum said. Although most of the students perform well and have no behavioral issues, the actions of just a few reflect on the entire team and require everyone's attention, Ross explained of the staff's reasoning for suspending all of them rather than individuals. Freshmen, however, were still allowed to practice.

In the small town of about 6,000 residents, football is huge, and canceling practice ahead of Friday's homecoming game against Emery High School was tough, especially since the team needs to win to have a good shot at the playoffs.

"The football game on Friday is the only thing in town," said school athletic director Mike Ross.

But the feedback from players, parents and even other school districts has been overwhelmingly positive.

"The entire community has responded well," Labrum said. "It's been a very humbling lesson for all of us."

If the players carry out all their responsibilities, memorize a statement about character and perform a service project for their families, they can get their jerseys back. They also need to keep up good grades to stay active on the team.

Practice for those who earn their spot back on the team begins on Thursday morning. So far, the players are doing well, and the coaches are encouraged, but they are looking well past Friday's end zone.

"We're building character to make these young men, men so that they can give back to their families and their society," Ross said of building positive futures for the players.
™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Utah high school football coach suspends entire team for cyberbullying incident

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ROOSEVELT, Utah -- Fifty football players on a Roosevelt high school team are trying to earn back their jerseys after their coaches suspended them for misbehaving and getting bad grades.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jenelle Potter was a sheltered young woman.

Potter lived most of her adult life on social media. But when an online feud erupted, two of her former friends were found murdered in their home while their baby survived.

In a mystery that involved a supposed CIA agent, cyber bullying and a small Tennessee town, read below to see what led to the coldblooded murders.

Jenelle and Her Family Adjust to Life in Mountain City

Jenelle Potter, pictured above, said she had trouble making friends when she moved to Mountain City, Tennessee, in 2005.

"'Cause I wasn't born and raised here. I didn't grow up here," Potter, 34, told "20/20." "People here do not like outsiders."

Because of health problems, including Type 1 diabetes, Potter spent most of her time living at home with her parents, who cared for her every day. She didn't have a job or drive a car.

Potter's mother Barbara Potter had a job with Hewlett-Packard, and her father Marvin Potter, known as Buddy, was a former marine who served in Vietnam. His wife told "20/20" he later worked with the CIA.

Jenelle's sister Christie Groover, who's been estranged from the family for a decade, said Jenelle struggled to make friends growing up.

"Instead of being herself, my parents tried to make her fit in. They also, in the same breath, would say how different she was, and then [she] became unable to make friends normally," Groover told "20/20." Social media became Jenelle's life support, though she said her parents monitored her Facebook page.

Jenelle Makes Friends in Mountain City

One day while picking up prescriptions, Jenelle befriended pharmacy clerk Tracy Greenwell.

"We felt sorry for Jenelle because she was sheltered and sick and stuff," Greenwell told "20/20."

Jenelle spent time with Greenwell and her friends, including Greenwell's brother Billy Payne.

"Everybody says she fell in love with Bill, but I still don't see that," said Greenwell.

Greenwell introduced Jenelle to her cousin Jamie Curd, who is handy with computers. The two became an item, with Jenelle hiding her relationship from her strict parents.

From time to time, Curd would visit the Potter house to fix the family computer. But behind her parents' backs, Jenelle and Curd would secretly spend time together.

Jenelle Receives Anonymous Threats

While it seemed that Jenelle's social life was finally blooming, she was being relentlessly bullied online with anonymous comments appearing on her Facebook page.

"I was a bad person. I was horrible. [They] threatened to get [me] raped," Jenelle said.

"I remember I wrote, 'Please do not write on Jenelle's Facebook.' I begged them. 'Please don't do this,'" Jenelle's mom Barbara said.

Jenelle said one of her Facebook friends, Billie Jean Hayworth, was the one behind the attacks because Hayworth was jealous of her looks.

Hayworth was dating Billy Payne, and the couple lived together with their infant son.

A feud erupted on social media with Curd, Payne's cousin, taking Jenelle's side.

"[Jenelle said] she wished that Bill and Billie Jean and that damn baby would die. When I read this, I was devastated," Lindsay Thomas, a friend of Hayworth and Payne, told "20/20."

"[Jenelle] was always saying that somebody was mad at her. Somebody hated her. Somebody wanted to kill her," Greenwell said. "She was paranoid about it."

But Jenelle said there were real threats of violence against her. In one incident, police photographed a rock, pictured above, that was found in the Potters' front yard with the names Billy Payne and Billie Jean written on it.

Eventually both sides deleted each other as friends on Facebook.

"I think that we did it to each other. I unfriended them. They unfriended me," Jenelle said. "I did Bill first and then I think Billie did me. And I unfriended her."

Jenelle's Former Friends Are Found Murdered

On Jan. 31, 2012, a friend of Payne and Hayworth found them dead by single gunshots to their faces.

Payne's throat had also been slashed as he lay in bed, and Billie Jean had been cradling their baby in her arms when she died. The 7-month-old boy survived unharmed.

"It takes a cold-blooded person to shoot someone holding a baby," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Scott Lott told "20/20."

The day after the murders, Chief Deputy Joe Woodard of the Johnson County Sheriff's Department, talked to Jenelle, Barbara and Marvin at their home, which they recorded.

"Because we knew that they had trouble with [Hayworth and Payne]," Woodard told "20/20."

During the interview, Jenelle appeared to be hiding her romantic relationship with Curd from her parents. Later that week, authorities brought Curd in and asked him to take a polygraph test, which indicated he lied about knowing the identity of Payne and Hayworth's killer.

"Jamie in the interview had said something to the effect of, 'Is the CIA here?' That was a very strange question to me," Lott said.

In a major breakthrough, Curd told detectives he'd been texting with a man named Chris who told him he was in the CIA and that it was his job to protect Jenelle at all costs.

Jenelle's Dad Admits to Being Involved in Murders

After being at the interrogation for nearly six hours, Curd told police Jenelle's dad Marvin killed Hayworth and Payne.

"I didn't truly believe that Buddy Potter was capable of doing this," Lott said. "Because Buddy did have some health issues."

Detectives had Curd call Marvin to get a confession on tape. Police later moved in and arrested Marvin in a pre-dawn raid in February 2012.

While being questioned by detectives, Marvin said, "Ever since all this crap started, I've had my life threatened. My wife has been threatened. They've threatened to take Jenelle, cut her head off."

Agent Lott then arranged for Marvin to call his wife Barbara. "He told Barbara, 'I did it.' That's as close to a confession as we got from him," said Lott.

But Barbara, pictured above with Marvin, didn't accept her husband's supposed confession of guilt.

"When they took him, they took no oxygen. They took no medication. And they interviewed him for hours," Barbara told "20/20." "When his oxygen gets low, he says things that don't make sense or are incorrect."

Jenelle and Her Family Are Investigated for the Murders

While Marvin was being questioned, police executed a search warrant on the Potter house.

Chief Deputy Woodard said investigators found an "arsenal" of weapons around the home though none matched the murder weapon. They also discovered printed photos of the victim and her friends in the living room. At one point, Barbara ripped the photos that were found in what seemed to be an attempt to hide them from police.

Authorities seized 51 items from the house, including their family computer. When they impounded Marvin's truck, they found bags of shredded documents, pictured above.

An agent meticulously reconstructed more than 100 pages of what appeared to be thousands of emails sent to the Potter family.

"After combing through them, it appeared there was some type of conspiracy here. They kept referring to a guy Chris that's supposedly a CIA operative or something," special agent Lott said.

The CIA agent "Chris" had apparently been corresponding with Barbara and warning her about threats to her daughter's life.

"He was watching these people that he said were harassing her on the computer and calling her. And when she would go out with her dad, he said they were watching them together," Barbara said. "He said he couldn't use his real name, his real identity."

Police also honed in on Jenelle and Curd's text messages with each other the morning of the murders.

"[The text messages were] very telling about Jenelle being involved in the preparation for the killing," prosecutor Dennis Brooks told "20/20."

And on the Potters' computer, police analysis found that hundreds of emails sent from the CIA agent Chris all came from the same IP address as the home where the Potters lived. Brooks believes Jenelle was pretending to be Chris.

"Social media allowed Jenelle Potter to be someone that she wasn't ... She invented Chris. She could assume a different identity and be as hateful as she wanted to be," Brooks said.

Prosecutors believe Jenelle used the false identity to fool her parents and to goad Marvin into the killing.

"She was feeding Barbara's delusions, so Barbara ignores the signs that something is amiss here."

Jenelle and Her Mom Go on Trial for the Murders

In August 2013, authorities arrested Jenelle and Barbara for the murders of Payne and Hayworth.

A few months later, in October 2013, Marvin was found guilty for the murders and is currently serving two life sentences. Curd agreed to a plea deal of 25 years in prison.

In May 2015, three and a half years after the shootings, Jenelle and Barbara finally went on trial.

"I think they would be called masterminds," said Lott. "Janelle kind of spurred it. Barbara got it to happen."

Prosecutor Brooks told the jury that Jenelle authored all the emails from Chris by pointing out the childish writing and misspellings matched her pattern of speech.

"My client is not guilty for having an overprotective father," Jenelle's attorney Cameron Hyder told "20/20." "She is not capable of directing anyone to commit murder. It's just not in her."

After seven days of testimony, the jury found both Jenelle and Barbara guilty of first degree murder, and they were both sentenced to life in prison in July.

"I don't want anybody murdered. I did not do that," Barbara said.

"I didn't murder anyone," Jenelle, pictured in jail above, told "20/20."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How a Social Media Feud Led to the Murder of a Young Couple

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jenelle Potter was a sheltered young woman. Potter lived most of her adult life on social media. But when an online feud erupted, two of her former friends were found murdered in their home while their baby survived.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Many public schools are still hostile environments for LGBT students, an international human rights organization concluded in a report released Wednesday.

The lengthy report from Human Rights Watch was based on interviews primarily with current and former high school students, parents, administrators and teachers in Alabama, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Utah. It documented several challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students face, including in-person and online bullying, limits on LGBT student groups, exclusion of some topics from curricula and discrimination by classmates and school personnel.

"In every state we visited, we heard stories of students who were insulted, cyber-bullied or attacked, and teachers who allowed discrimination and harassment because they see it as normal behavior," said Ryan Thoreson, a fellow in the nonprofit's LGBT Rights Program.

Thoreson said the five states provided a regionally representative and legally diverse sample.

Thirty-one states, including the five in the report, have not enacted laws to specifically protect against bullying on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the report. While some districts and schools in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah have worked on comprehensive bullying policies, administrators in South Dakota cannot because of a state law that prohibits school districts from naming any protected classes of students in such policies.

"This makes it much more difficult for teachers to know how to intervene when they see that bullying happening, (and) for students to know that's off-limits, that's not OK," Thoreson said. "Only South Dakota and Missouri have laws ... that prohibit school districts from putting their own protections."

The report includes policy recommendations at the state level to make schools more inclusive, but the proposals will almost certainly face resistance from Republican-controlled legislatures in states like Texas and South Dakota, which have approved measures that allow discrimination against transgender students.

"I do not accept the bifurcation of gender and sex," said Jim Bolin, a Republican state representative in South Dakota who worked as a teacher for 32 years and voted in favor of a failed bill to require transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their sex at birth. "The notion that gender is different than sex I believe that's a false belief."

One of the report's legislative recommendations calls for sexual education "that is medically and scientifically accurate, is inclusive of LGBT youth, and covers same-sex activity on equal footing with other sexual activity." Proposals to state and federal departments of education, school administrators and Congress are also included.

Human Rights Watch interviewed almost 360 current and former students from rural and urban districts, as well as more than 140 parents, teachers and administrators.

The students, whose names were changed for their protection, offered stories of physical violence, verbal harassment, cyberbullying and exclusion from events, classes and extracurricular activities. In many cases, they said, teachers did not intervene and sometimes participated in the harassment.

"My biology teacher my freshman year would bring in kids who were wearing short shorts or weird sweaters and say, 'You'd better take that off, you're going to look gay,'" a 16-year-old bisexual girl in Alabama said, according to the report. "But she'd say it in front of the whole class."

The organization also found school policies and practices have made teachers fearful of negative consequences for identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or for supporting LGBT students.

"There are certainly conservative leaders who have stood up for LGBT students, and our hope is that as we look at this from a purely pragmatic point of view, keeping LGBT kids safe, and keeping all students safe, shouldn't be a partisan issue," Thoreson said.

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed the bill supported by Bolin earlier this year, but supporters of the measure are hoping to get it before voters in 2018. It's likely to be reintroduced during the 2017 session.

Some Republican lawmakers in Texas - a state that's already led a lawsuit resulting in the temporarily blocking President Barack Obama's directive allowing transgender students to use the public school bathrooms of their choice - are backing proposals banning transgender people from doing the same in all Texas bathrooms.

___

Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Report: LGBT students still face discrimination at school

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Many public schools are still hostile environments for LGBT students, an international human rights organization concluded in a report released Wednesday. The lengthy report from Human Rights Watch was based on interviews primarily with current and former high school students, parents, administrators and teachers in Alabama, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying: Teen accused of aiding in suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Bossier City judge met with both sides of a cyberbullying incident that may have led to a 15-year-old's suicide in May of last year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 15 year old sophomore at Smithfield High School in Rhode Island created a phony Facebook page in November, 2010. Her target was a freshman girl who was born with a deformed foot. The profile was titled "Halfafoot" and included the freshman's last name, birthdate and a picture of a severed, bloody foot.

When friends saw the page, they told her to take it down. She refused, telling them she wanted to see the responses she would get from her invite requests. Instead, she's been referred to Family Court for cyberstalking, which is also known as cyberbullying or cyber harassment, and using false information in creating the fake profile.

Rhode Island law* prohibits electronic communication for the sole purpose of harassing someone. A first offense is a misdemeanor where offenders face up to a $500 fine and one year in prison. A second offense is a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison, $6000 in fines or both.

Legislative efforts are underway to assist law enforcement in these cases. This incident took six search warrants to track the computer addresses. Three computers were seized from the sophomore student's home. Proposed legislation in 2011 may grant someone other than a judge authority to issue administrative warrants in these cases (possible a police official).

*Rhode Island Statute 16-21-21 (2008)

Related Posts via Taxonomies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rhode Island teen accused of cyberbullying classmate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A 15 year old sophomore at Smithfield High School in Rhode Island created a phony Facebook page in November, 2010. Her target was a freshman girl who was born with a deformed foot. The profile was titled "Halfafoot" and included the freshman's last name, birthdate and

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Limerick police are investigating the death of a 9th grade girl from Spring-Ford High School. They say bullying may have pushed her to suicide.

A member of her church said, "It is a tragedy that has rocked our community."

Grief counselors were on hand at Spring-Ford High School where the student attended.

Action News was told that, as the news of her death spread, many left school early.

Hundreds gathered to grieve at a nearby church where ministry leaders say the girl volunteered every Sunday to help younger church members.

Melissa Flora of Christ's Church of the Valley said, "It says how big of a heart she had and how special she is serving God and people around her."

Police are investigating whether cyber bullying may have driven the girl to take her life.

The victim apparently received this text from a fellow student. It's so vulgar we can only show one part which reads "no one care about you."

It's unclear what relationship the two had or how long any harassment had been happening.

Jess Fenchel of Montgomery County's Mobile Crisis Service says cyber bullying is a common thread in a lot of teen suicides.

She encourages parents to be alert and involved.

"Developmentally, our kids are not prepared or ready to respond or manage the stress cyber bullying brings," Fenchel said.
The Spring-Ford School District issued this statement: "Our thoughts are with the family as they struggle to make sense of this tragedy. We encourage our school community to care for one another as we cope with this loss of a young life."
Church leaders are also offering help.

"This Sunday we will have another vigil for her to honor her and share stories. We just want to continue to be a support and we want everyone here to know we are here, people are here to listen," said Flora.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
cyber bullying man be to blame for teen's death in montgomery county

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyber-bullying may be to blame for Pa. teen's death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Limerick police are investigating the death of a 9th grade girl from Spring-Ford High School. They say bullying may have pushed her to suicide. A member of her church said, "It is a tragedy that has rocked our community." Grief counselors were on hand at Spring-Ford High School where the student attended.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Portland Public Schools leaders spent a week trying to convince social-media giant Instagram to take down anonymous threatening posts with "graphic, physical and sexual violence" directed at a da Vinci Middle School student.

Portland schools administrators say the situation highlights not only the rise of cyberbullying, but also a growing frustration educators feel toward social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, which they say should put more resources into preventing and dealing with bullying.

The case, which was reported to the Portland Police Bureau on Oct. 2, has been forwarded to the district attorney's office for review, according to PPB spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.

District officials still have not discovered who created the anonymous accounts, which they say included "threats of graphic, physical and sexual violence" and encouraged specific students to commit suicide.

Jollee Patterson, the district's general counsel, said she was stunned at the effort necessary to get a response from Instagram to take down all of the posts.

"These for-profit, extremely profitable companies are creating a forum for this kind of speech and bullying," Patterson said. "There are a lot of good things that happen on social media, but my takeaway from this experience is that they're not putting nearly enough resources in managing these kinds of threats."

A spokeswoman for Facebook, the company that owns Instagram, noted that the accounts are not currently active on the popular photo- and video-sharing site.

Cyberbullying has become increasingly troublesome for schools across the country. The Oregon legislature passed a 2007 state law addressing electronic harassment, and the Portland metro area has seen its effect: In 2012, three Lake Oswego High School students were suspended in connection with anonymous Twitter accounts that posted racist and disparaging comments about another student.

The ubiquity of social media in today's world is also a challenge for parents, who may have trouble keeping track of the latest medium for online communication. Instagram requires users to be at least 13, but the website also encourages parents to report their underage children to Instagram administrators if they discover an account.

Fred Locke, principal of da Vinci Middle School, said he was approached in late September by a student concerned about threatening posts from an anonymous account on Instagram, which was acquired by Facebook earlier this year.

The account, under the user name "ILovemybabe_lyric," targeted one particular student with graphic, inappropriate and threatening language in comments under innocuous, nonthreatening photographs. The second account, which included an expletive in its user name, also posted other similar threats. In all, six students were named in various posts, according to the district.

While PPS officials worked with Portland police to address the issue, parents also reported the posts to Instagram, according to the district. Only some of the posts were removed, officials said.

The lack of response led district leaders to send a message to the company's e-mail address reserved for media inquiries. Finding a phone number on Instagram's website is not easy.

"Parents and school officials are extremely frustrated with Instagram's lack of prompt, thorough and supportive response," district spokesman Robb Cowie wrote in the Oct. 20 e-mail to press@instagram.com and press@fb.com.

The next day, Patterson sent a letter via overnight delivery to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive officer; Sheryl Sandberg, the company's chief operating officer; and Colin Stretch, the company's general counsel. She wrote that companies such as Facebook and Instagram are responsible for "continuing to host these criminal threats against young students."

"It is appalling that your company has failed to take these horrifically threatening posts down," she wrote. "We have repeatedly reported these threats to Instagram. We have notified FaceBook pursuant to the process you provide. Nonetheless, the posts remain."

The company responded seven days later in an e-mail signed by "Lydia," who works in "User Operations." The message said the initial account had already been taken down, and that the company was removing the second account. The e-mail also included a link to a bullying prevention page on Instagram's website.

Instagram, which has more than 150 million monthly active users, allows people to flag inappropriate photographs or accounts, or report abusive behavior. Its terms of use indicate users cannot use the program to "defame, stalk, bully, abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate" people.

George Weatheroy, Portland Public's head of security, said schools are facing a new frontier with social media sites giving rise to cyber-bullying. District officials have learned to take such threats seriously, he said.

"We never just say, 'That's just kids being kids,'" he said. "We definitely want to take it seriously and find out who it is and have the appropriate consequence."

Patterson said the ability to create anonymous accounts has fueled a, "higher level of cruelty."

District officials say the da Vinci case spotlights the need for more awareness and engagement from parents. Locke sent three e-mails on the incident throughout the month, updating da Vinci community members on the investigation and telling them not to engage with the anonymous account. Just last week, parents packed the library to have a "cyber safety" discussion, Locke said.

Parents, companies and community members need to be more vigilant, officials said.

"Social media is not going away," Weatheroy said. "We might as well figure out ways to figure out prevention."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
da Vinci Middle School cyberbullying incident prompts officials to contact Instagram to take down posts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Portland schools administrators say a recent situation at da Vinci Middle School highlights not only the rise of cyberbullying, but also a growing frustration educators feel toward social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, which they say should put more resources into preventing and dealing with bullying.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A grandmother in Logan County is afraid for her life after someone posted a photo and ad of her on Craigslist. As a warning, some of the content is graphic.

Shirley Lyons was in tears during her interview with News 9. She said her phone was on the table when it was ringing off the hook. She went to pick it up and discovered it was a response to a false sex ad on Craigslist.

The ad was labeled "w4mm" which stands for "women for multiple men".

Lyons said, "No. I am not one of those kinds of people." She said she did not make the post, but believes it's someone who knows her that did it. "There was a map to my home here with directions."

The content on the ad was inappropriate and racist. Shirley's phone number was also written on the ad; the entire thing has since been taken down but she says her phone is still buzzing. There are dozens of text messages and voicemails on her phone.

She is afraid every time she sees it ring. She is afraid of every text message, call, and voicemail. She's also afraid someone is going to show up at her front door.

The photo taken was originally of her with her granddaughter, but it was cropped and filtered for Craigslist. "They marred a memory that was such a good memory that day," said Lyons.

She says this is an extreme level of cyberbullying that is horrifying to her.

"I want to run," said Lyons.

Shirley has reported the incident to the Logan County Sheriff's Office and she hopes the detectives can find whoever is responsible.

Logan County Sheriff's Office has not responded to our phone calls.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Only On 9: Logan Co. Grandmother Victim Of Cyberbullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A grandmother in Logan County is afraid for her life after someone posted a photo and ad of her on Craigslist. As a warning, some of the content is graphic. Shirley Lyons was in tears during her interview with News 9. She said her phone was on the table when it was ringing off the hook.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) - A cyber bullying incident is currently being investigated inside the Valley City School District.

Parent Arbura Alcox posted a video on Facebook, airing her concerns with an incident involving her child. She says the video showed her son being bullied in a bathroom at the Valley City Junior High School.

http://www.newsdakota.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Aubura.mp3

The incident happened on September 7th and a video was posted by Aurbura on September 10th where she aired her concerns with the situation and bullying at the school. The video has since gone viral with over 8,000 views and more than 300 shares.

http://www.newsdakota.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Aubura1.mp3

Aurbura pointed out that the video involving her son was deleted, but it was later discovered on Snapchat. She stated that she has met with school personnel and Superintendent Josh Johnson concerning the incident.

Superintendent Josh Johnson stated that he has met with Aubura and is aware of the situation.

He told NewsDakota.com "We take bullying very seriously here. I've met with her and it was a great conversation," Johnson stated. "We'll use this to take steps to help fight bullying going forward."

http://www.newsdakota.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Aubura.mp3

Aubura says she wants to create a group of local parents to help address some of the concerns that she and others have with school policy and hope to continue the fight against bullying.

Comment Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the comments section of NewsDakota.com are solely those of the comment author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by NewsDakota.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Valley City School District Addressing Cyber Bullying Incident | NewsDakota

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) - A cyber bullying incident is currently being investigated inside the Valley City School District. Parent Arbura Alcox posted a video on Facebook, airing her concerns with an incident involving her child. She says the video showed her son being bullied in a bathroom at the Valley City Junior High School.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Police are investigating whether cyberbullies contributed to the suicide of a teen in the Long Island, N.Y. town of West Islip. The nasty messages continued to show up online even after her death, reports CBS News Correspondent Jeff Glor.

Soccer star Alexis Pilkington, 17, took her own life March 21 following vicious taunts on social networking sites -- which persisted postmortem on Internet tribute pages, worsening the grief of her family and friends.

Alexis' parents downplayed the role the Internet played in her suicide, saying their daughter was in counseling before she ever signed up with FormSpringMe.com, a new social networking site, where many of the attacks appeared.

However, Glor points out, the incident underscores the growing trend of cyberbullying.

A bill aimed at preventing it is now being considered in Washington, D.C. It would make electronic communication intended to coerce, intimidate or harass a federal crime.

Fifteen states have such laws, and Massachusetts is considering one.

Among kids, Glor notes, a whopping 42 percent say they've been bullied online.

And the relentless taunting has helped push several of them over the edge.

One of the highest profile cases of cyberbullying was that a Missouri teen, Megan Meier who, authorities charged, was driven to suicide after taunts from her classmate's mother.

After years of bullying, Vermont eighth-grader Ryan Halligan took his own life in 2003 when a rumor about him spread across the Web.

His father, John Halligan, says it was "like a feeding frenzy. Kids who normally didn't bully got in on the fun, both at school and online."

In Massachusetts, fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince and eleven-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover took their own lives after unrelenting bullying pushed them over the edge.

Teenage bullying has taken center stage in the Massachusetts state house, where lawmakers are considering tough anti-bullying legislation that would require publicly-funded school administrators to take action against bullies. The legislation takes particular aim at cyberbullying over cell phones and the Internet.

Krysten Moore is a 20-year-old former Miss Teen New Jersey who knows first-hand the toll that cyber-bullying can take. She endured merciless harassment for much of her teen years and is now speaking out, trying to empower other young people. Ross Ellis is the founder of Love Our Children USA, an organization committed to ending violence against children and helping parents protect their children from bullying. On "The Early Show" Monday, they discussed increasing efforts to crack down on cyberbullying and make teens aware of it:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyberbullying Continued After Teen's Death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Police are investigating whether cyberbullies contributed to the suicide of a teen in the Long Island, N.Y. town of West Islip. The nasty messages continued to show up online even after her death, reports CBS News Correspondent Jeff Glor.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A former high school cheerleader is suing the Albuquerque school district in federal court over nude images of her posted by teammates on social media.

The lawsuit was moved to U.S. District Court in Albuquerque last week. It alleges teammates at West Mesa High School used a coach's smartphone to capture photos and video of the 15-year-old taking a shower during a 2015 cheerleading camp in Phoenix.

Court documents say the teammates then made fun of the girl's body and posted a video on Snapchat.

According to the lawsuit, the cheerleading coach told the girl to apologize for overreacting to a joke.

Albuquerque Public School spokeswoman Monica Armenta says the district couldn't comment on pending litigation but the coach is no longer employed at the school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Mexico cheerleader moves cyberbullying suit to fed court

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A former high school cheerleader is suing the Albuquerque school district in federal court over nude images of her posted by teammates on social media. The lawsuit was moved to U.S. District Court in Albuquerque last week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TRENTON >> NJ Weedman resorted to slut-shaming Mercer County prosecutors after he was indicted for calling a Trenton Police officer a "pedophile" in a tense encounter caught on tape earlier this year.

"What if I called [Prosecutor} Stephanie Katz a slut?" marijuana activist Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion said when he learned from a Trentonian reporter he was indicted for cyber-harassment. "If I called Stephanie Katz a slut, her husband would have every right to come beat me up. But they couldn't indict me or arrest me for it, legally. But that's what they just did with me calling Officer [Herbert] Flowers a pedophile. And I double down. Pedophile. P-E-D-O-P-H-I-L-E."

Forchion was indicted this month on a single count of fourth-degree cyber-harassment over the May 10 incident with Flowers, which was captured on film and later posted online.

The charge carries up to 18 months in prison for Forchion, who is already facing seven years in the slammer in his drug case.

A grand jury foreperson signed the true bill Sept. 15, according to records obtained by The Trentonian.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, perhaps looking to avoid further embarrassment after free speech advocates from around the county blasted the charge as unconstitutional, did not announce the cyber-harassment indictment.

The prosecutor's office PR flacks, however, put out a news release when Forchion was indicted on 11 drug-related charges stemming from an April raid of his downtown restaurant, smoke shop and cannabis church.

An attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey had previously said the offensive language charge in the state's disorderly conduct statute was ruled unconstitutional by the appellate courts three decades ago.

"It wasn't ruled unconstitutional last week or last month; it was ruled unconstitutional in 1985," staff attorney Alex Shalom told The Trentonian in May.

Echoing legal experts, Forchion slammed the indictment.

"It appears the prosecutor's office and the grand jury foreperson did not attend fourth-grade social studies class," Forchion said. "If they had, they would have realized this is free speech I was exercising. The judge should immediately dismiss this garbage, this legal harassment."

All-out offensive

Edward Heyburn, Forchion's lawyer, said he plans to prove what his client said about the bike cop is true.

He alleged that while Flowers worked the beat a public housing complex in Trenton he exchanged gifts for sex with an underage girl.

The girl, now a woman, plans to come forward, Heyburn said.

After the pedophile allegations surfaced, Flowers allegedly contacted the woman and urged her to keep quiet about it, Heyburn said.

Forchion's defense team intends to obtain a sworn statement from the woman accusing Flowers of sexual misconduct.

And when that happens, they want the Attorney General to investigate.

Heyburn predicted the resurfacing of the "troubled cop's" alleged past will lead to his firing or forced resignation.

"I think this is the beginning of the end of Flowers," he said. "This is a case where they threw one punch to take 10."

The encounter with Flowers started after someone called Trenton dispatch to report Forchion for holding up a "We R Open. F--- the Police" sign outside of his East State Street business.

The Trentonian obtained the 911 tape in which the man says he was with his 3-year-old son and was offended by the language Forchion directed at Flowers.

"It looks like there's about to be a riot up in here," the man said. "The police only do the job they're paid to do. Kids are walking by. They don't need to hear that foul language."

Police responded in force.

According to police reports, officers asked Forchion to move his protest from the street to the sidewalk but he refused and continued cursing them out.

Butthurt cop

The exchange between Forchion and Flowers was caught on tape and relayed, from the bike cop's perspective, in the report.

Flowers said the marijuana activist shouted at him: "Hey Flowers, why don't you enforce child motherf----ing molestation charges. ... A big boy f---- with little girls. How come you don't enforce pedophiles? Because you are one."

Flowers responded, "Where did you get that ideal [sic] from? The puffs/clouds of smoke you blow when your [sic] smoking weed. Go smoke some more weed."

Forchion upped the ante.

"Did you use a rubber on that little girl? I'm not from this town and the whole town knows you're a pedophile."

Forchion dared the bike cop to sue him.

Instead Flowers complained to cop buddies.

He went to known Forchion foe, Trenton Police Capt. Eldemiro Gonzalez, who urged him to "be patient and he would get back to me about the legal and right way to handle this incident."

"Emotionally, I am having a hard time staying focused," Flowers said, according to the police report. "All I could see is my family's name being tarnished by a lie. All these posts and the only person that's [sic] going to feel the backlash and experience stress in there [sic] life is me. Once it's out there in social media, these statements can never be removed or corrected. I'm stressed over any fallout my friends or family may feel because of these lies being spreaded [sic] with venomous intentions."

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, who anchors the Washington Post's Volokh Conspiracy blog, dissected the cyber harassment charge - which was intended to protect New Jersey children from online bullying - in a lengthy post in May.

He concluded the police officer "could sue Forchion for such speech. But he can't lawfully have him prosecuted for it."

Heyburn said the acting prosecutor is beholden to the city police director.

He pointed to a Trentonian story revealing that top prosecutor Angelo Onofri picked up a political endorsement from city police director Ernest Parrey in his bid to permanently land the county's chief law enforcement job.

"It's so absurd that they should be embarrassed," Heyburn said. "I would think other prosecutor offices and other police departments are going to think Mercer County and Trenton Police are fools."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
NJ Weedman indicted on cyber-bullying charge

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TRENTON >> NJ Weedman resorted to slut-shaming Mercer County prosecutors after he was indicted for calling a Trenton Police officer a "pedophile" in a tense encounter caught on tape earlier this year. "What if I called [Prosecutor} Stephanie Katz a slut?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MANCHESTER - A Memorial High School student has drawn the wrath of Internet trolls after she launched an online effort to raise money to pay off a $250 parking ticket.

Facebook posters have used profanities and vulgarities in deriding Ashley Mathieu-LaFrance, 16, as stupid, lazy, spoiled and trash.

One person suggested she create a porn video to raise money, another that she try amateur night at a gentleman's club.

A website has called her a "rich Manchester chick," and said her parents have failed her.

"It's crazy that people judge me. They don't know who I am or my situation. They assume I'm spoiled," said LaFrance, a junior who plays varsity basketball.

She received the ticket for parking in a space she said she did not realize was designated as handicapped.

In her GoFundMe photo, she is standing next to her Lexus, a fact that has drawn a lot of ire.

("If she can afford to drive a Lexus, she can pay her own ticket!," railed Wayne Smitty Smith, a former Boston EMT, according to his Facebook page.)

Christine stresses it's a 1999 Lexus with a banged-up hood and nearly 200,000 miles on the odometer.

Her Memorial basketball coach, who contributed $30 to the effort, said the GoFundMe page started as a way to collect money from her friends.

"She's a great kid. She works hard, she comes to practice, she does exactly what's asked of her, even more," said Greg Cotreau, who said he is dumbfounded by the online remarks.

Memorial Principal Arthur Adamakos said he will let the school resource officer know of the potential cyberbullying to see if a crime has taken place.

"We don't want people involved in situations where they feel bullied," he said.

It might be challenging for Manchester police to do much about the posts. One persistent troll hails from upstate New York, and has continued his attacks after Ashley's supporters posted his criminal record.

Others come from Texas, Seattle and Novgorod, Russia. Many are from Massachusetts.

Ashley's initial Facebook post drew 179 comments, as of Thursday afternoon. The tally does not include lengthy spats on reply strings, or the comments generated when 78 people shared her original post.

Her GoFundMe page, with 4,500 shares, had raised $225 as of Thursday evening.

Her mother, Christine LaFrance, said she's amazed what adults will say to a child.

Christine said she is a single mom on food stamps who earns about $25,000 a year working at a Londonderry shipping company. The family includes Ashley's cousin, whom Christine adopted when her brother couldn't care for the child. Although a lot of the family money goes toward the 5-year-old, Ashley never complains, Christine said.

"She is a selfless child," Christine said.

David Finkelhor, a professor of sociology at University of New Hampshire and director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, said there's no hard-and-fast rule on how people should handle online attacks.

People may decide to delete posts and turn off their computer. Others might reply.

"It's important for adults to tell their kids if you put yourself out on a public forum, there is the possibility of a negative outcome," Finkelhor said.

mhayward@unionleader.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MANCHESTER - A Memorial High School student has drawn the wrath of Internet trolls after she launched an online effort to raise money to pay off a $250 parking ticket. Facebook posters have used profanities and vulgarities in deriding Ashley Mathieu-LaFrance, 16, as stupid, lazy, spoiled and trash.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Another recorded bullying incident shared online

Another recorded bullying incident shared online

Posted: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 11:37 PM EST Updated: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 10:46 AM EST

Posted by: Jenn Hatcher
jhatcher@klkntv.com

Disclaimer: The video can be hard to watch, we only show a small piece.

Another bullying incident in hits social media and a local lawyer says it's one more case to help get bills against cyber bullying passed. "It's become an issue that has changed the way we need to approach these types of actions," says Thomas Inkelaar, who's representing Jared Williamson.

According to police, Jared was attacked after school Thursday, just a short distance from high property.After the beating, which gave him a mild concussion, the video was posted to Facebook."At first I wanted to throw up," explains Jared's mother, Kami Krogh, who saw the video online before Jared did.Jared says, "Kids think it's funny, but if it happened to you, you wouldn't think it was funny."

This is the third student attack in this year, shot on a cell phone and posted.Inkelaar says this new case will help him push lawmakers to approve stricter anti-bullying laws in .Currently there are no laws mentioning cyber bullying as an offense."They're (teens) using this as a way of getting attention or sharing something that is harmful and probably embarrassing for somebody else and painful," adds Inkelaar.

Freida's Bill, which is named after a girl involved in a brawl earlier this year, will be presented to the legislature in the upcoming session. Inkelaar is talking with some senators who says they'll support the bill, however he asks the public to show their support by signing a Change.org petition.
https://www.change.org/p/fight4fridaslaw-make-anti-bullying-laws-in-ne-stronger-sign-the-petition-now

Jared's attacker was cited, but Jared says he wishes the person who posted the video would face some form of punishment. Returning to Lincoln High is not an option for the freshman. We reached out to the school district but they chose not to comment because the incident was off school property.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Another recorded bullying incident shared online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Another recorded bullying incident shared online Posted: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 11:37 PM EST Updated: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 10:46 AM EST Posted by: Jenn Hatcher jhatcher@klkntv.com Disclaimer: The video can be hard to watch, we only show a small piece.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over the past year, we have seen a number of social media related cases end the career of firefighters. However, this case out of Frenchtown Rural Fire Department in Montana is different from the others we have seen.

In Frenchtown, Fire Chief John Bibler is accused of using two fictitious Facebook identities to threaten a female firefighter. In fact he is alleged to have threatened to kill her, her dog and her children. What tied him to the Facebook account? He had asked a deputy chief to set up the fictitious accounts for him!

The victim, volunteer firefighter Jenny Ross, went to court to obtain a protective order against the chief. Judge Karen Orzech denied the request concluding that the threats were not credible enough to warrant a restraining order, but that they did occur. Judge Orzech referred to Bibler's actions as being "plainly stupid" and in the nature of a sixth grade bully.

The chief, who has been on administrative leave over the incident, resigned last week.

Here is more on the story.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Media Case of Cyber Bullying and Harassment: Frenchtown, Montana - Fire Law Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over the past year, we have seen a number of social media related cases end the career of firefighters. However, this case out of Frenchtown Rural Fire Department in Montana is different from the others we have seen. In Frenchtown, Fire Chief John Bibler is accused of using two fictitious Facebook identities to threaten a ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Nude pictures of a 13-year-old girl in Waveland are at the center of a cyberbullying case. Another teen is accused of sending the explicit photos to dozens of people, mostly other teenagers.

The case is part of what police call a growing and disturbing problem, of which parents may not even be aware.

"Sexting is a lot bigger problem than people think. It's becoming, unfortunately, almost acceptable in the teenage culture. And once those pictures are out there, they are out there. A lot of boys and girls are trading these pictures like baseball cards," said Waveland Police Chief David Allen.

It's a dangerous and damaging practice that Waveland Police Chief David Allen said needs to stop. He showed WLOX News page after page of illicit messages investigators uncovered while looking into a cyberbullying case involving a 13-year-old victim.

"The bullying had gone on to a point to where the victim was getting to a very low point emotionally and we absolutely had to step in and start taking care of this," Allen said.

He said the victim was coerced into sending nude photos of herself and then threatened.

"Going back to the origin of the pictures, we eventually figured out she was actually extorted of these pictures, a phenomenon known as sextortion. With sextortion the person turns around and says, 'Now that I have these pictures of you, you will send me more or I will send these out to everyone you know,'" explained the chief.

Police used a high tech device to trace where the indecent photos went. They found the pics went to dozens of other phones, mostly to other teens. The phone tracer also led investigators to a 13-year-old girl, who police believe is the cyberbully. She was arrested Tuesday and so was her mother.

"Going through the evidence, we found out that the mother of the 13-year-old suspect had knowledge of what was happening to a certain extent and there was a huge failure for her to be a responsible adult in this case," according to Allen.

He said the sad thing is it could have all been avoided.

"I'm very frustrated by the fact that a lot of people, including adults, knew about this months ago. Nobody called us, no one asked us to step in and protect this girl."

The Waveland Police Department is part of several Cyber Crime Task Forces. It plans to educate parents about what to look for on their teens' cell phones. The police also plan to educate students about the dangers of sexting and sextortion.
Copyright 2013 WLOX. All rights reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Waveland teen arrested for cyberbullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nude pictures of a 13-year-old girl in Waveland are at the center of a cyberbullying case. Another teen is accused of sending the explicit photos to dozens of people, mostly other teenagers. The case is part of what police call a growing and disturbing problem, of which parents may not even be aware.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The family of the Prior Lake father who is accused of retaliating in the wake of his kids' alleged cyber bullying has responded to the national attention the incident has attracted.

Recently, Brad Knudson posted a video on YouTube to show people how his 14-year-old daughter was being bullied via Snapchat, a social media app that sends pictures and video that are only available for a short time before being deleted.

Two kids sent Knudson's daughter a video calling her nasty names and using racial slurs. However, it was a voicemail message from the father of those kids that got the social media network's attention.

On Friday, the family of Deron Puro, the man who left the voicemail, issued a statement, saying that there is "no excuse" for how he acted, and "nothing can take back the words he said to Brad Knudson."

The family explained that Puro is currently in detox, and will soon be heading to rehab to deal with "his addiction with alcohol and prescription pills."

They added that, due to the threats his children have received, they have been relocated out of state with family until further notice.

The Puro family also said that they have apologized to Knudson's daughter and she has accepted their apology.

What follows is the entire statement issued by the Puro family:

---
In regards to the recent occurrences between the Knudson and Puro families, we, the family of Deron Puro, would like to offer our deepest apologies. The Puro family is not racist, nor do we use the "N" word lightly in our household. What happened was very unfortunate for both families, and we hope each family can heal and move on from this. There is no excuse for how Deron Puro acted, and nothing can take back the words he said to Brad Knudson. Deron's currently in detox, and on his way to rehab to address his addiction with alcohol and prescription pills. When Deron left voicemails on Brad's phone he was under the influence. Deron has been battling severe depression and was prescribed pills in hopes that they would help him. We are now aware that he has been abusing them. Because of him being under the influence he was speaking irrational and does not remember leaving any voicemails on Brads Knudson's phone. This, of course, is no excuse for what he said to Brad. The Puro family is sincerely sorry for Deron's actions and does not condone this type of behavior. Alcohol addiction is a real disease and we are glad he is seeking help. Deron has recently become aware of his actions and is sincerely sorry for how he acted. He understands that what he did was uncalled for and is unforgivable. He just hopes that the Knudson family can heal and be able to move on from the hurtful things he said and the pain he has caused. Due to terroristic threats the children have been relocated out of state with family, until further notice. They express their sincere apologies to everyone involved; especially Brads daughter. The children have sent messages apologizing to her, and she stated "what happens in 2014, stays in 2014," and accepted their apology. We believe that the children should no longer be a part of this and that they should be able to try to start to put their lives back together. All kids make mistakes. The Puro family is doing everything in its power to get Deron the help he needs. Thank you to all of our family and friends who are aware of Deron's addiction. We appreciate all of your support and prayers.
---

WCCO talked with the Knudson family Friday about the aftermath of their viral video, and its effect on the Puro family.

"It is the most upsetting thing to our entire family," Brad Knudson said. "That wasn't our intentions. We didn't think any of that would happen."

Knudson says the bullying of the Puro family goes against everything for which they stand.

"We are trying to prevent bullying and racism and people are trying to defend us by using bullying, and it is just a perpetual cycle and it has to stop," he said.

The Knudsons say they want to start a non-profit to help deal with issues around bullying.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Family Accused Of Cyber Bullying Apologizes For Dad's Reaction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The family of the Prior Lake father who is accused of retaliating in the wake of his kids' alleged cyber bullying has responded to the national attention the incident has attracted. Recently, Brad Knudson posted a video on YouTube to show people how his 14-year-old daughter was being bullied via Snapchat.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Two Massachusetts high school students have been suspended following the suicide of a teen girl who was allegedly bullied at school and online, the BostonHerald.com reported.

Friends and school officials told MyFoxBoston.com that Phoebe Prince, 15, had been picked on since moving to Massachusetts from Ireland last fall. School bullies reportedly taunted the teen through text messages, Facebook and other social networking sites.

South Hadley High School superintendent Gus Sayer said there have been students "disciplined already in connection with the incident," BostonHerald.com reported.

"There's still an investigation going on, which may lead to disciplinary action against other students," said Sayer.

South Hadley High Principal Daniel Smith sent out a letter to parents of students at the high school. In the letter, he called Prince "smart, charming, and as is the case with many teenagers, complicated ... We will never know the specific reasons why she chose to take her life," Boston.com reported.

Smith said the bullying often surrounded arguments about teen dating, Boston.com reported.

In the letter to parents, dated Jan. 20, Smith addressed the disagreements: "These disagreements centered on relationship/dating issues. School personnel immediately intervened ... and both counseled and provided consequences as the situations required. It is what happened after those incidents were over that is cause for significant concern.''

Even after her death, bullies posted disparaging messages on her Facebook memorial page. The comments had to be removed from the page.

Local police and the Northwestern District Attorney are investigating. First Assistant District Attorney would not comment on whether any criminal charges would be brought against any students, the paper reported.
Click here for more from the Boston Herald. Click here for more from MyFoxBoston.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Two Massachusetts Teens Suspended in Cyber Bullying Suicide Case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two Massachusetts high school students have been suspended following the suicide of a teen girl who was allegedly bullied at school and online, the BostonHerald.com reported. Friends and school officials told MyFoxBoston.com that Phoebe Prince, 15, had been picked on since moving to Massachusetts from Ireland last fall.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Maryland teenager who identified herself only as Sarah was so frustrated with what she said was her high school's nonchalant attitude towards her reports of bullying that she went online and threatened suicide if the school didn't do something about it.

Arundel High School administrators are working this week to quell the firestorm that her note has started.

Her post on reddit asked, "The cyber bullying has gotten to the point where the school will not take any action unless I kill myself. reddit- how do I get my story out and make this stop?"

The message, posted last Wednesday, was from a second semester senior who described a world in which her bully, someone who she describes as well-known and liked, would say, "Go kill yourself. No one would care if you died. Why aren't you dead yet?"

The girl was given that message repeatedly online and in-person since the beginning of the school year, she wrote on reddit.

Sarah said in her note that she had contacted school officials several times, each time to no avail.

"As a teenager dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts, I could not laugh this off. I went straight to the office and demanded to see a vice principal. I was sobbing uncontrollably and visibly a danger to myself, but they just sat me down and had me fill out a form. I called my Dad, who cancelled his flight out-of-town to come be with me. He was furious that he was not called in a situation like this. We had a conference with the vice principal, and we were told there would be consequences if it happened again," the note said.

Anne Arundel County School District spokesman Bob Mosier would neither confirm nor deny whether or not Sarah had gone to officials before.

Administrators say that they were first notified of Sarah's note early Wednesday morning, around 1:30 a.m. after the r
reddit note had gone viral. Mosier says that officials received a slew of emails notifying them of the incident.

"It was a bit of an early morning mystery," Mosier said. He said that he received emails from all across the country as well as from locations in Canada.

"When you were growing up, your circle of friends is right around the block. Now that includes Canada and Germany and Australia. It [the suicide note] certainly gets a very large audience very quickly," he said.

Mosier, along with other officials, sifted through the thousands of comments to garner clues on who Sarah may be. After hours of sleuthing, they determined that she attended Arundel High School. The next morning, police officers and administrators met with several possible girls until they found the right one.

Sarah retold her account of the incident in an edit to her original reddit post.

"I get off my bus this morning, and I see an unusual amount of cops around the school. I find the group who was going with me into the office, and we sat in guidance, waiting for the counselor to see us all (There were about six of us). Next thing I know, someone asks me if I'm Sarah. They had been looking for this "Sarah" all morning, and had even called down another girl by the same name. I get taken into one of the counselor's rooms, and a BOOK of these comments is placed in front of me. She tells me that she has gotten a ton of emails, and that the page has been forwarded to several teachers and the principal. I was shocked," she said.

Mosier said that disciplinary action was taken against her bully and that the school is still counseling Sarah.

Teen's Reddit Suicide Threat Over Cyber Bullying

Reports of teenagers being cyber-bullied and taking their angst to the internet are becoming ever more common in headlines.

Mosier said that part of the difficulty in handling situations like this comes from the ambiguity of social interaction.

"The larger issue here is of social media and the challenges that it presents are huge. Across the country kids are in school for 25 percent of their school day. If somebody threatens somebody at home on Facebook, is that a school issue directly?" Mosier asked.

Lawmakers in five states -- Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine and New York -- are trying to stiffen their cyberbullying legislation, making it, in some cases, a felony for anyone who engages in electronic harassment. Many states are already taking such measures. Indiana, for instance, has a proposed bill that would give districts more authority to address cyberbullying that takes place off of campus.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teen Implies Suicide if Bullying Ignored

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Maryland teenager who identified herself only as Sarah was so frustrated with what she said was her high school's nonchalant attitude towards her reports of bullying that she went online and threatened suicide if the school didn't do something about it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BANGOR, Maine - A 17-year-old former Orono High School student was sentenced in court Tuesday for terrorizing a girl she thought was flirting with her boyfriend.

May Callahan, who now lives in Scarborough, pleaded guilty to one count each of felony terrorizing and misdemeanor terrorizing during the juvenile justice proceeding at the Penobscot Judicial Center, according to Assistant District Attorney James Aucoin. One of the terrorizing charges was elevated to felony status because some of the threats prompted the victim and her family to evacuate their home, he said.

The Bangor Daily News is naming Callahan because she pleaded guilty to a felony.

Callahan received a suspended sentence but no jail time or fines.

The charges stem from dozens of threatening, anonymous messages that Callahan posted last fall on the Internet directed at 16-year-old Lexi Henkel, a former schoolmate who since has transferred to Old Town High School. The Bangor Daily News is naming Henkel because she and her parents have spoken publicly about the case.

Following are some of the offensive posts:

* "Ready for tomorrow night? I'd learn to sleep with your eyes open if I were you. I'm dulling my knife right now so when I stab you in the face, gut and legs it'll be painful as possible."

* "You know how all these environmental friendly groups say that waste should be properly disposed of? Well, come on Lexi, do the world a favor, and properly dispose of your [expletive deleted] self!"

* "Your face is like a baby seal. Fat, furry and just asking to be clubbed to death."

Callahan was arrested and charged with terrorizing and harassment by electronic communication on Nov. 1 of last year by Veazie police Sgt. Keith Emery. At that time, she was released to her mother on the conditions that she have no contact with her victim, attend school and obey the rules of her home. The harassment charge was dropped in the plea negotiation.

In addition, Callahan was prohibited from using the Internet except for school purposes and was required to be supervised while doing so.

In December, however, the Penobscot County district atorney's office issued a warrant after Callahan violated the terms of her release by making contact with Henkel via Instagram, a program and social network that allows users to share photos on a variety of other networking services, including Twitter and Facebook.

During the sentencing, Lexi Henkel and her parents - as well as Callahan - each spoke of how the cyberbullying incident affected them.

"This changed my life a lot," Lexi Henkel said, noting that because of the threats she missed school and social activities, including homecoming.

"I had to transfer schools because people were giving me a hard time about everything and posting things and saying things," she said. "It's just [that] I don't understand why she did this to me."

Her parents, Judy and Norbert Henkel, alternated between tears and anger during their remarks.

"May Callahan, never in my life did I ever think I would come across a person as vile and disgusting as you are," Judy Henkel said. "The things you wrote to my daughter were unbelievable. ... How you come up with those things is beyond me.

"This was a young girl who did nothing to you. She couldn't escape you. Every turn she took, you were there," she said. "My daughter thought of taking her own life and I thank God every day for the relationship that I have with my daughter. For days and weeks I slept with my daughter in my arms to make sure that she was breathing.

"All over jealousy over nothing, you destroyed her life, you destroyed her high school years and you're a coward. You couldn't even post in your own name. You had to post anonymously," she said.

Norbert Henkel spoke of the fear Callahan caused the family.

"Alexis lost her innocence. She, along with the rest of the family, is paying the price for your depraved behavior," he said, noting that because his daughter did not immediately know who was behind the threats they feared for her life.

"For all we knew, it could have been anybody. ... It was hard for me to believe a young girl could spew such mean and vile things like you did. What you wrote made me, as an adult, blush. You wrote things no young person - or anybody, for that matter - should know about.

"The sick ways you imagined killing my daughter still send chills down my back. ... I'm glad you could be stopped before you could actually have Alexis," he said, adding, "I do believe you and some of your friends would have done that.

"We don't know how long her nightmares will continue. Nobody's going be able to give my daughter her innocence back. Nobody is going to make her whole again anytime soon. Nobody is going to give the innocent times back that we should have had with our children," he said.

"I'm disappointed to see how easy you will be getting off," he said. "Alexis has - and will - suffer a lot more than you will, and she is the victim. Her life has forever changed."

And although she stood just a few yards away from the Henkels, Callahan did not once make eye contact with any of them during Tuesday's proceedings.

"This has impacted many people, mostly the victim," Callahan said tearfully. "It has also impacted me. I admit to what I've done.

"To be honest, I just would like my life back," she said, sobbing. "I've been doing everything I'm supposed to do. I'm doing very well in school. I am playing sports, I'm trying my best to be social and I just - I'm really sorry for what I've done.

Under the terms of her deferred disposition, Callahan is allowed to use her cellphone for talking and texting but remains barred from using social media until her caseworker deems it appropriate. She also must continue to undergo counseling, live with her parents, abide by a curfew and have no contact with the Henkels.

Judge Bruce Jordan took the time to explain to the Henkels why Callahan's sentence wasn't harsher.

Under state juvenile justice laws, the court is not supposed to put juveniles in an institution or incarcerate them as a first step except in cases of extreme misconduct.

"It's quite clear that this is not a case that supports immediate incarceration and the reason for that is that the juvenile system is intended to be remedial and rehabilitative," he said. Rather, he said, the idea "is to fix a problem before it becomes a problem later down the road.

"Ms. Callahan, there really is no excuse for your conduct or an explanation. Your remarks are disturbingly graphic and need to be addressed," he said. He told Callahan that the restrictions imposed on her represent an "opportunity to demonstrate that this isn't just talk, that, in fact, you get the point and that you're sorry for what you did."

The case has been continued for disposition until December, Aucoin said. If Callahan, who remains free, abides by the terms accepted by Judge Jordan, the felony terrorizing charge will be withdrawn but the misdemeanor charge will stand, and she will remain on probation until her 18th birthday next March, Aucoin said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
teen cyberbully pleads guilty to terrorizing former orono schoolmate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teen cyberbully pleads guilty to terrorizing former Orono schoolmate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BANGOR, Maine - A 17-year-old former Orono High School student was sentenced in court Tuesday for terrorizing a girl she thought was flirting with her boyfriend. May Callahan, who now lives in Scarborough, pleaded guilty to one count each of felony terrorizing and misdemeanor terrorizing during the juvenile justice proceeding [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We all know about high school bullying but have you heard of cyber-bullying? It's real and three Loranger High School students have been arrested for it. As WAFB's Marie Centanni reports, student bullying may have gone too far.

Investigators with the Attorney General's High-Tech Crimes Unit say the situation started when a 15-year-old female student created a website called "Loranger's biggest queer.com." The website featured pictures of a 14-year-old male student. He responded with his own web site, which investigators say included a list of students he called "The Preps," and poems so graphically violent, investigators say "they crossed the line."

Kris Wartelle with the Attorney General's Office said, "It sort of was like bullying on the Internet that got even worse, and we're lucky it didn't escalate to something even worse."

After seeing the boy's website, a concerned parent alerted the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. The Attorney General's High Tech Crime Unit was contacted and began an immediate investigation. Authorities confiscated the student's computers.

Both students were arrested, as well as 18-year old Joseph Sanchez, who was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Authorities say Sanchez helped the younger male set up and maintain his website. The pair called themselves the "8-Ballas," and targeted students they called "The Preps."

"When you have students making threats to other students or groups of students on the Internet, talking about killing someone or blowing up the school or shooting a certain group of people, when there's a feud like that and certain words are used," explains Wartelle, "That's when you worry about something escalating or becoming the next Columbine and these days you have to take threats seriously."

The school system is taking it seriously as well, and will decide Friday whether to expel the three students for the remainder of the school year. All of the students involved are honor students.

Cyber-stalking is a relative felony, which means a judge can decide if it is a misdemeanor of the more serious felony crime. It's punishable with a $2,000 fine or one year imprisonment.

For more information on cyber-bullying, clink on the link below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We all know about high school bullying but have you heard of cyber-bullying? It's real and three Loranger High School students have been arrested for it. As WAFB's Marie Centanni reports, student bullying may have gone too far. Investigators with the Attorney General's High-Tech Crimes Unit say the situation started when a 15-year-old female student created a website called "Loranger's biggest queer.com."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
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.

"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 drives teen to shoot herself as her family watched in horror

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
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.attachment_link.readable_text
The suicide of a 14-year-old Primghar boy who endured weeks of bullying in school and on the Internet after he told his classmates he was gay has elevated public discussion of cyber-bullying.

The boy, Kenneth James Weishuhn, reportedly hanged himself in his family's garage last weekend.

A candle light vigil for Weishuhn and to bring awareness to similar acts of bullying has been planned for tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. on the University of Iowa Pentacrest. Details about the event can be found here. Here is the description from the event:

The GLBTAU, Studio13 and other community leaders in the LGBT Community will be hosting a candlelight vigil to bring awareness to the recent teen suicide in Iowa. Kenneth Weishuhn was a gay teen who took his own life due to bullying last weekend. The media is not paying attention to this issue and nothing is being done about. We will gather on the Pentacrest around 7:45pm on Friday to bring attention and pay tribute to Kenneth. Please bring your own candles, lighters, signs and rainbow flags. Invite everyone you can. Kenneth deserves to be heard.

Des Moines Register columnist Kyle Munson has been following the story, and has a report from the community.

Weishuhn, who before he came out had been a popular teen at South O'Brien Community School in Paullina, was taunted in the hallways, was vilified on Facebook and received threatening messages on his cell phone, said his family.

His school's administrators confirmed one incident, but said they weren't aware the bullying continued and Weishuhn never filed complaints. School Superintendent Dan Moore told Munson, "The biggest battle we fight is with cyber-bullying."

What can/should schools do to combat cyber-bullying?

Weishuhn's death comes at a time when the documentary "Bully" is showing in Iowa theaters. The film tells several stories of bullying victims, including a 12-year-old boy who lived in Sioux City at the time the movie was filmed.

You can read a compilations of videos and reactions to Weishuhn's death here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gay Iowa Teen's Suicide Spurs Cyberbullying Discussion; Iowa City Vigil Planned for Friday

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The suicide of a 14-year-old Primghar boy who endured weeks of bullying in school and on the Internet after he told his classmates he was gay has elevated public discussion of cyber-bullying. The boy, Kenneth James Weishuhn, reportedly hanged himself in his family's garage last weekend.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
click to enlarge

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has been called in to assist eastern Idaho law enforcement investigating the suicide of a high-school student who reportedly killed herself after being cyberbullied.

The Idaho State Journal reports West Side High School student Cassandra Porter, 17, killed herself in February. Her father said a short time later he was convinced his daughter had been the target of bullying via Facebook.

Craig Porter told the Journal his daughter tried to take her own life once before, after being targeted with what the paper described as "awful, graphic things." The girl's parents, who live in the Franklin County community of Dayton, said they limited their daughter's phone time and Facebook usage and got her into counseling. Still, on Feb. 22, she took her own life.

Feds and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office are asking for the public's help in the investigation. Anyone with information is invited to call 208-852-1234.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Feds Join Eastern Idaho Investigation Into Cyberbully Incident

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
click to enlarge The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has been called in to assist eastern Idaho law enforcement investigating the suicide of a high-school student who reportedly killed herself after being cyberbullied. The Idaho State Journal reports West Side High School student Cassandra Porter, 17, killed herself in February.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Jim Mendoza - bio | email

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - "Megan, you're a tramp. Your makeup makes you look like a clown." The dialogue in an Ad Council public service announcement encourages teenagers to think before they type and hit send.

But too often these days teens take the low road and rip others on-line.

The anonymous attacks are called cyber bullying.

"They were supposedly one of my friends. And they just started anonymously posting things," Valery Ishimoto said.

Someone infiltrated her social network. For weeks she was harassed and humiliated. She withdrew from friends and skipped school. Valery suspected everyone.

"I was afraid that I would get dirty looks, people would be calling me names," she said.

Research shows that in Hawaii more than 50 percent of teenagers have been cyber bullied either on the Internet or on their cell phones via text messaging.

Antonia Alvarez of Mental Health America of Hawaii talks to teenagers about the dangers associated with cyber bullying. She urges cyber bullies to stop.

"The level of shame and embarrassment and stigma for the targets, the kids who are being bullied, can be really devastating," she said.

It's devastating and deadly.

In 2006 Megan Meier of Missouri killed herself after being harassed on a MySpace site. In January, Phoebe Prince of Massachusetts committed suicide after being mistreated online. And in September, Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi took his life after a roommate posted unflattering videos of him on the Internet.

"People are talking about it now. People are becoming more aware of it because of these national stories. And I think we'll get an upswing of reports being made," said Christopher Young, chief of the Attorney General's Criminal Justice Department.

In Hawaii, cyber bullying could be prosecuted under the harassment law. The attorney general's office has the methods and machinery to investigate computer and cell phone related crimes.

Soon law enforcers will have a training manual specifically for cyber bullying.

In classrooms across the state, peer educators are getting students to discuss cyber bullying and to talk about how to handle it.

"Let your parents know. They are the people that are in your life to protect you and support you and love you," Kaimuki High School peer educator Kaleo Akim said.

"They really are emphasizing Internet safety in many of the schools, which means not sharing your password with your boyfriend or girlfriend and hot sharing your password with your friends -- really trying to minimize the risks," Alvarez said.

The AG's office encourages people being targeted by cyber bullies to document attacks by capturing screen shots and printing the messages.

Valery never found out who was bullying her but she closed her MySpace page and restricts access to her other sites.

Now some of her friends are being cyber bullied.

"They come to me and they ask me, 'Why me? And what should I do?' because they know that I've been cyber bullied," she said.

Cyber bullied victims know words can hurt. So watch what you say in cyberspace.

To learn more about cyber bullying and how to deal with it, go to ncpc.org/cyberbullying.
Copyright 2010 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cyber bullying affects 1 in 2 Hawaii teens

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Jim Mendoza - bio | email HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - "Megan, you're a tramp. Your makeup makes you look like a clown." The dialogue in an Ad Council public service announcement encourages teenagers to think before they type and hit send. But too often these days teens take the low road and rip others on-line.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Georgia teenager is suing two of her classmates for creating a cruel Facebook page in her name after school officials and authorities said the matter was out of their control.

Alex Boston, 14, of Acworth, Ga., was enjoying her school's Field Day celebration for the end of the school year in May 2011 when annoyed classmates began to approach her.

"A little bit into the morning, her friends started coming up to her and saying, 'Why are you saying nasty things on Facebook about me?'" Alex's father Chris Boston told ABCNews.com.

"She took off to the bathroom and hid," Boston said. "When she got home, she was crying."

Alex told her parents what had happened and they sat down at their home computers to find the page. When they did, they were horrified by what they saw.

Next to a distorted photo of Alex, it said that the languages she speaks were English and "Retardish." There were posts about false sexual exploits, links to racist videos on YouTube and implications of drug use. And the creators of the page were using the account to post insults on the pages of other friends.

The "About Alex" section said, "I don't have many friends because I'm annoying and I poke people on my way to lunch so I get beat up a lot."

"It made me feel horrible because I didn't think it would happen to me," Alex Boston told ABC News' Atlanta affiliate WSBTV.

Alex had never been the victim of bullying before, and her family immediately took action. Their first stop was Alex's school, Palmer Middle School. Chris Boston said school officials spoke to the two teens that made the page and they admitted to making it, but the school could take no further action since the cyber bullying was done off school property, from the students' home computers.

Meanwhile, they were repeatedly using Facebook's "report story or spam" function to try to get the page taken down, but it remained up.

"For the first several months, she kind of went into a shell," Chris Boston said of his daughter.

The family then went to the Cobb County Police Department to file an incident report.

Police notes on the report said: "Boston was advised to notify "Facebook" and request that the web page be shut down. Report was requested and generated for documentation purposes only. No further action required."

Most states, including Georgia, have laws against cyberbullying, but most of these laws do not cover bullying that occurs off of the school's campus.

"[We were] ticked off," Chris Boston said. "It was very frustrating to sit there and see your kid go through this and you can't get it to stop."

After all of the dead ends, the family sought legal help. Numerous lawyers turned down the case before Georgia attorneys Natalie Woodward and Corey Stern decided to meet with the family to hear their story.

"It was impressive to me that [Alex] very much knew what the point of this was that it should not happen to any other kids," Woodward told ABCNews.com. "This is not the kind of case you retire on or get to go to college on. You're suing people who just have normal personal assets. She understood that and felt that it was important and worth doing."

Woodward and Stern said that though the case did not have great financial benefit for anyone, they did not have the heart to turn Alex away after she and her parents had done everything right.

"That would send the wrong message to hear and that would impact her forever," Woodward said.

The Boston family filed a lawsuit against the two teenagers who created the page as well as their parents, who provided their Internet service and computers. When the school would not give the Boston family or their attorneys the parents' name or addresses of the defendants, the students had to be served the lawsuit at school.

Woodward and Stern asked that the defendants not be named because they are under the age of 16 and have not yet responded to the lawsuit. They were served in April and have one month to respond to the suit. Woodward has not heard from the defendants' parents or any attorneys that may be representing them.

The lawsuit claims that the defendant's actions were "intentional and malicious and were done for the purpose of causing Plaintiff to suffer humiliation, mental anguish, embarrassment and emotional and physical distress."

It claims defamation and libel for the false statements and use of Alex's identity for the page. The Boston family is seeking a jury trial and punitive damages. In Georgia, plaintiffs do not determine the amount of monetary damages. That is determined by the court.

"I was protective of Alex because I didn't want her entire eighth grade year to be spent in litigation with two of her classmates," Woodward said. "She really felt like it was something that they had a moral obligation to address and if it brought attention to the issue and kept some other kids from being upset, hurt or even committing suicide, then it was a moral obligation on their part to do it."

The phoney page stayed up for nearly a year. It was not until after a television appearance by the Boston family last week that Facebook removed the page from the social media network.

Though Boston said it took his daughter a long time to feel comfortable at school again, she is now doing much better and nearly back to her old self.

"She's upbeat, having a good time and looking forward to summertime," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Georgia teenager is suing two of her classmates for creating a cruel Facebook page in her name after school officials and authorities said the matter was out of their control. Alex Boston, 14, of Acworth, Ga., was enjoying her school's Field Day celebration for the end of the school year in May 2011 when annoyed classmates began to approach her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Everyone has a concept of bullying, but definitions may vary. Here's how the Delaware Department of Education defines it:

Bullying is any intentional written, electronic, verbal or physical act or actions against another student, school volunteer or school employee that a reasonable person under the circumstances should know will have the effect of:

* Placing a student, school volunteer or school employee in reasonable fear of substantial harm to his or her emotional or physical well-being or substantial damages to his or her property; or

* Creating a hostile, threatening, humiliating or abusive educational environment due to the pervasiveness or persistence of actions or due to a power differential between the bully and the target; or

* Interfering with a student having a safe school environment that is necessary to facilitate educational performance, opportunities or benefits; or

* Perpetuating bullying by inciting, soliciting or coercing an individual or group to demean, dehumanize, embarrass or cause emotional, psychological or physical harm to another student, school volunteer or school employee.

With this definition in mind, the Department of Education (DOE) requires each school district to report any bullying incidents, whether "alleged" or "substantiated," to the state within five business days.

It also requires districts to report the reason for the bullying incident by tallying it in one of 17 categories that include race, gender, hate crime and peer attention.

The DOE has been collecting that data since the 2011-2012 school year. With the latest report, the state has a five-year picture of bullying as reported by Delaware's public school districts and charter schools. In 2015-2016, 1,971 incidents of bullying were reported during the school year. Of those alleged incidents, 514 were substantiated to include 629 offenses.

Each year, Delaware schools are audited randomly to evaluate district and charter adherence to bullying prevention law and cyberbullying regulation. For the recent report, 12 schools in the state were audited, and all complied with the requirements with the following four exceptions:

* 77.8 percent reported "alleged" bullying incidents to the DOE within five working days

* 78.3 percent reported "substantiated" bullying incidents to the DOE within five working days

* 91.7 percent included in their bullying prevention policy a requirement to notify the parent, guardian and/or relative caregiver of any target of bullying or person who bullies another

* 77.8 percent reported that parents, guardians, relative caregivers and/or legal guardians were contacted whenever notification was required.

"At the district level, we are seeing some increases and some decreases," education department spokeswoman Alison May said last week. (The report is available online through the DOE website at http://www.doe.k12.de.us.)

Capital School District Superintendent Dr. Dan Shelton said the state's data is as accurate as it can be given the definition of bullying and the perception of parents and students.

Bullying requires an imbalance of power between parties: For example, Dr. Shelton said, if a child calls a classmate a "scaredy-cat" and that child responds and then they go their separate ways, that is not a bullying situation.

But, he said, if name calling continues, or "if you get four girls to all call the student a 'scaredy-cat,' that's different."

All the incidents that come to the attention of school officials are investigated, he said. But, given the state education definition, incidents may not be substantiated as bullying offenses, but rather offensive touching or inappropriate conduct. Capital had 28 alleged bullying incidents and 15 substantiated as bullying.

Caesar Rodney School District's Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Tamara Toles Torain echoed that sentiment. Although the disparity between her district's number of alleged (103) and substantiated (27) complaints may seem large, she said investigations often shake loose many incidents that can't really be defined as bullying.

"Sometimes reports are made by parents on a student's behalf and once you complete an investigation, you may find that the incident was mutual rather than one-sided," she said.

"Once you get all sides of the story, it is sometimes the case that the report may not have been as clear as it appeared to be at first."

The DOE report shows statewide that the numbers of alleged bullying incidents are higher than those substantiated.

At Polytech High School in Woodside, principal Ryan Fuller says their procedure for dealing with bullying incidents is to make a report and respond to the situation's merits.

"Any report from staff, students or parents gets forwarded to an administrator and we conduct an investigation to determine the merits of the case and the circumstances," he said.

He added that the school reports to DOE as directed. An investigation may include talking to witnesses and examining cell phone or social media evidence.

"We really don't have a lot of cases," he said.

According to the 2015-2016 report, which lumps data reported by the state's six technical schools together, there were 42 substantiated bullying incidents at those high schools, which include Polytech, Sussex Tech, St. Georges, Howard, Hodgson and Delcastle.

As is standard procedure, Ms. May said the DOE "examines the policies, procedures, and practices of districts and charters through random audit as well as those reporting low numbers of incidents (including no reports) of bullying and sudden changes in data.
Patchwork of programs?
In an attempt at bullying prevention, the Delaware Department of Justice is working to develop a series of best practices for schools to adopt.

Attorney General Matt Denn said he is "concerned that there is a patchwork of uncoordinated anti-bullying programs in the state's hundreds of schools, many which are not based on tested or effective strategies, and our office is starting to put together a model prevention program along with a strategy to encourage the state's schools to adopt that model prevention program."

The state is trying a pilot program, the No Bully System, at four schools, Ms. May said. The program stresses prevention and intervention, and trains "key staff to become solution coaches to help resolve incidents of bullying that occur within the school."

So far, the pilot has been successful at Dover High School, according to Associate Principal Tiff McCullough, who oversees the solution team there. Cape Henlopen School District's Beacon and Mariner middle schools and Milford's Milford Central Academy also are participating.

While extensive bullying can affect a school's climate Ms. May said "most effects are seen at the individual level for the person who is the target of bullying.

"Lower attendance rates and grades as well as increased anxiety are common detrimental effects of bullying."

Added Ms. May, "Our schools must provide safe environments conducive to learning for students to succeed."
Tracking cyber bullying
Social media is creating the biggest issue in combating bullying for educators and justice officials.

As educators explained, bullying isn't the stereotypical behavior of decades ago with bigger kids stealing smaller classmates' lunch money on the playground.

"Bullying is about girls now," said Capital's Dr. Shelton. "It's girls with names on social media that aren't their names and they're posting stuff on people's pages and they're being nasty and it's faceless. I call it faceless because I don't have to look at you and do it."

Online rumors can take a viral path that makes it difficult for school leaders to track and discipline.

Mr. McCullough agreed that it's most often not visible behavior that authorities can step in and stop. Adolescents are behind computers and other devices starting and spreading rumors. He encourages students to take screenshots of potential issues that they see to report them.

In 2012, then-Attorney General Beau Biden and current AG Denn (then lieutenant governor) worked with the General Assembly to enact Senate Bill 193 that mandated that the state Department of Education collaborate with the Delaware Department of Justice to construct a uniform cyberbullying policy, allowing the AG's office to defend schools on related matters afterward.

Given the "explosion of cyberbullying in schools across our state," Mr. Biden said at the time that a statewide policy was "a common-sense tool to help schools and law enforcement better protect kids by recognizing the prevalence of online communication, the damaging effect it has on students who are victimized, and the significant disruption it causes to our schools."

The statewide cyberbullying policy:

* prohibits cyberbullying by students directed at other students and directs districts to treat cyberbullying in the same way they treat bullying incidents;

* defines cyberbullying as electronic communication directed at an identifiable student or group of students that interferes with a student's physical well-being, is threatening or intimidating, or is so severe, persistent or pervasive that it is likely to limit a student's ability to participate in or benefit from the educational programs of the school;

* Clarifies that, for the school, the cyberbullying does not need to originate from a school building or involve the use of school equipment.

In 2013, Mr. Denn, then serving as lieutenant governor, worked with Mr. Biden and the General Assembly to create Senate Bill 268 requiring schools to provide more information about bullying incidents they dealt with.

AG Denn said he believes data compiled since then is beneficial.

"The best source of information about what type of bullying is happening can be gleaned from the annual report that the state is required to issue about bullying, which summarizes these statistics," he said.

The Delaware Department of Justice receives bullying reports criminal in nature from law enforcement and is pushing for parents to become more involved. When parents are notified of bullying reports involving their child, according to state law, schools are required to provide the DOJ hotline number, 800-220-5414.

The AG's office said the hotline on average receives about five calls per week during the school year.

"The cases that DOJ sees are atypical, in that they are either cases where parents are dissatisfied with the way that the school is handling the case, or cases where the bullying is so serious that it has been reported as a criminal offense," AG Denn said.

AG Denn said he's still concerned about the frequency of "cyberbullying, and the targeting of specific vulnerable populations of students (including those with disabilities and LGBT students) as bullying victims."

DOJ Family Division prosecutors are assigned bullying cases that reach criminal offenses status.

The DOJ school ombudsman handles hotline calls and AG Denn said he's "personally notified by the family division director on a weekly basis about each call to the bullying hotline and how it is being handled by the ombudsman, given that this issue is such a high priority."

AG Denn maintains that a student is greatly affected by his or her life at home and believes parents should be "more involved in bullying prevention, because many of our kids' values about tolerance and kindness are shaped at home rather than at school."

The DOJ hopes to continue pushing schools to take bullying more seriously, according to AG Denn, and give "schools the legal tools they needed to address the relatively new phenomenon of cyberbullying.

"We are hopeful that the model prevention program we are working on will further these efforts."
Questions about accuracy
Kevin Ohlandt, an outspoken Dover parent of a disabled child, calls into question the findings of the 2015-2016 annual report.

"I don't trust a lot of these numbers," he said. "I don't believe many of our schools are actually reporting everything to the DOE. Nor do I believe a lot of the substantiated numbers. I will give a margin of error for students filing false claims or parents overreacting, but not that big of a margin."

Mr. Ohlandt unsuccessfully ran for Capital School District Board of Education earlier this year, runs the Exceptional Delaware blog and participates in a stakeholders group mandated by the federal government to help form a plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. He said on top of not having a well-established "mechanism" in Delaware to ensure that all schools report incidents in the same way, he also feels that many reports don't make it to documentation.

"It's all over the map, there is no consistency to how the schools are reporting," he said. "One school might view offensive touching as just that while another sees it as bullying. I know for a fact, because I hear it from teachers all the time, that some administrations know about incidents but blow them off so their numbers don't look bad."

"I actually had that happen with my child when he attended Capitol School District," said Mr. Ohlandt, who now homeschools his son for reasons related to bullying. "When parents get hold of their student's eSchool reports and see that a bullying report where their child was a victim should be on there but it's not - it's a big problem."

Recently in his stakeholder discussion group, which has met five times, the topic on the agenda was bullying and the consensus was that more counselors and mentors would go a long way toward helping the problem.

"There needs to be more wraparound services and more counselors in our schools," he said, noting that the counselor-to-student ratio should be much smaller. "More mentors in school for those kids who come to school through trauma would also be very helpful - someone they can look up to for guidance and support."

Regardless of any new strategies rolled out for schools to combat bullying issues, Mr. Ohlandt feels that streamlining and ensuring accuracy in the reporting and recording of bullying incidents should be the first priority.

"For all the anti-bullying campaigns in schools, if we can't get accuracy in the reporting of it, we won't be able to eradicate bullying unless we truly understand what is going on," he said.

"No school is doing anyone any favors by not reporting what is actually happening. If teachers continue to be ignored by administrators over bullying reporting, that is something legislation should take care of as soon as possible."

School leaders interviewed said they are handling every incident as outlined in the state code, and encouraged parents and students to report incidents.

Caesar Rodney's Mr. Torain said, "An alleged bullying incident will be reported to the DOE within five business days. Then we investigate the claim as soon as possible and if it's substantiated, we report that up and follow up on the case."

Each school in the district has its own design for what that follow-up looks like and it also depends on the severity of the case, but at a minimum there is a conference with parents and the students involved, Ms. Torain said.
Policies in practice
In addition to the state's No Bully pilot program, a number of programs are in place to promote a positive school climate and anti-bullying philosophies, from anonymous boxes where students can submit problems to roundtable discussions to diffuse contention. Capital and Caesar Rodney use "The Leader in Me" curriculum to teach good habits to elementary school students.

Ms. Torain said Postlethwait Middle School had significant success with an effort called the "Care, Kindness and Respect" program. "They were able to reduce suspensions by 75 percent using that Care, Kindness and Respect model," she said. The district also uses "Responsive Classroom", "PBIS" (Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports) and the "Compassionate Schools" initiative.

At Capital, secondary schools are using restorative practices that encourage students to be accountable to their behavior and discuss it with peers and teachers. For instance, Dr. Shelton said if a child had an outburst in a classroom, when they returned to class, the teacher and students would sit in a circle and talk about why it happened and how others were affected.

Mr. Fuller credits Polytech's "low" bullying rates to staff training, counselors, school culture and proactive measures.

"I really have to give credit to our five counselors, they are on the front lines," he said. "We don't have the numbers that other schools do because we have a really solid school culture as well and a lot of the activities we do support students and stem those things."

Although the counselors are broken up into specialized tasks, each has a caseload of roughly 240 students, said Mr. Fuller.

Ms. Torain also points to counselors as the most successful deterrent to bullying in the district. All schools in the district have one or more counselors with the exception of McIlvaine Early Childhood Center, which houses the district's kindergarten students.

"Counselors are the adults in the building students feel most comfortable talking to, so they bring in bullying reports, but can also help mediate a conflict that hasn't yet come to the point of bullying," she said. "The number of counselors at each school are determined by school administration and costs per teacher unit."

At Polytech, teachers and counselors interface with students through their town hall forums and special PASS (Polytech Advisory Support System) meetings that are held several times per year and increase the level of communication between parents, students and staff.

Mr. Fuller said the 30-minute PASS session is an instruction/discussion meeting held by the administration to cover important school policies in a small group setting. The sessions on Dec. 8 dealt with school dress code and bullying policy. Mr. Fuller himself worked with a small group of students and instructed from a PowerPoint.

The presentation covered types of bullying, the definition of bullying, consequences, the distinction of threatening bullying, hateful speech, the importance to reporting incidents and race, gender identity, sexual orientation and religious discrimination.

He told students, "In October 2016, the United States District Court affirmed that schools are permitted to punish students for off-campus statements made on social media if those statements cause a disruption."

After the presentation, students were encouraged to discuss among themselves with the onus on making recommendations and voicing concerns.

Students brought up the idea of posting a bully box where they could have the opportunity to fill out a form and make an anonymous report about bullying.

When asked why students would find a bully box useful rather than just reporting incidents in person to administrators, several said that other students would think they were "snitches" for filing a complaint.

Dover High School has "Stop Bullying" boxes to gather anonymous complaints at various locations on its campus, including the main office and the cafeteria.

Mr. McCullough said the boxes allow students to submit concerns or tips anonymously.

Students also can use their cell phones to send issues to the high school administration and post them online through the school's website.

CR's Ms. Torain said most schools in her district have bully boxes located in the counselor's offices, main office and sometimes nurse's office. She noted that students use them frequently, echoing concerns about student's feeling like "snitches".

"It's unfortunate, but there is a culture in society today as a whole and among a lot of young people that if you make a complaint you're a tattletale or snitch," she said. "We do our best to encourage students to be open and honest about what goes on, but the most important thing is that we show them is that if they bring something to our attention, we'll act on it."

After PASS meetings, Mr. Fuller initiates a call home that informs parents of policy changes - he also loads the Power Point and other pertinent information into a "parent portal" on the school's website.

He said that reaching out to students and parents and keeping an open line of communication helps feed the school's culture and address issues like bullying.

"I'll be bringing the idea of a bully box to our next building leadership meeting - it's a great idea," he said. "I'll have our carpentry department make a box and we'll mount it."
Reach staff writer Craig Anderson at canderson@newszap.com Reach staff writer Ian Gronau at igronau@newszap.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bullying in Delaware's schools: A report - Delaware State News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Everyone has a concept of bullying, but definitions may vary. Here's how the Delaware Department of Education defines it: Bullying is any intentional written, electronic, verbal or physical act or actions against another student, school volunteer or school employee that a reasonable person under the circumstances should know will have the effect of: * ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Manchester High School student has been arrested in connection with a cyber-bullying incident that targeted female students earlier this month, police said.

The 15-year-old student, who has not been identified, is charged with breach of peace and obscenity.

School superintendent Richard Kisiel said the student charged was the mastermind of vulgar posts on Facebook and Twitter about dozens of female classmates. According to Kisiel, three of the student's friends contributed to the cyber-bullying.

All four students have been suspended. Three are being moved to a different school in the district and the fourth could be expelled, according to representatives of the school district. It's not clear if that student was the teen arrested.

"It's just revolting and unacceptable," Kiesiel said. "It affects the climate of a building. That's something the students didn't think about and they didn't think about the feelings of the young women that were impacted."

School board chairman Chris Pattacini said that although the incident happened off campus, the list circulated around the school for weeks, so the district called police.

"Any form of bullying is completely unacceptable," Pattacini said, "and so we need to make sure they understand that."

High school principal Matt Geary addressed the incident in a letter posted to the school's website on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Geary said the students responsible would be held to the same standards as those implicated in any on-campus bullying situation.

In the letter, Geary said school officials learned that a group of students had posed lists on social media containing "names of and derogatory information about some female students who attend the high school."

One of the victims, 17-year-old Sabrina Jennings, said she feels humiliated and wants the students behind the bullying to be punished for their actions.

Jennings said four teenage boys posted a vulgar list on Facebook and Twitter including the names of dozens of girls from the high school, making graphic claims about their sexual activity. Jennings' name is on that list.

"I was pretty infuriated when I saw my name on the list," Jennings said, adding that the claims are false and hurtful. "I had a lot of rumors come up about me after this real quick."

Jennings said she reported the list to Geary and her school guidance councilor.

Administrators are taking the incident very seriously.

"There will be stiff consequences, up to recommended expulsion, for those students who initiated and distributed these lists," Geary said in the letter. "Please note that if the actions taken by a person create a hostile environment at school for another person, that action can be considered bullying, regardless of where it occurs or was initiated."

Geary's letter cited the school bullying policy, which reads, in part:
"In accordance with state law and the Manchester Board of Education's Safe School Climate Plan, the Board expressly prohibits any form of bullying behavior on school grounds; at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, function or program, whether on or off school grounds; at a school bus stop; on a school bus or other vehicle owned, leased or used by a local or regional board of education; or through the use of an electronic device or an electronic mobile device owned, leased or used by Board of Education. The Board also prohibits any form of bullying behavior outside of the school setting if such bullying (i) creates a hostile environment at school for the student against whom such bullying was directed, (ii) infringes on the rights of the student against whom such bullying was directed at school, or (iii) substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Manchester Student Charged in Cyber-Bullying Case

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Manchester High School student has been arrested in connection with a cyber-bullying incident that targeted female students earlier this month, police said. The 15-year-old student, who has not been identified, is charged with breach of peace and obscenity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On Friday, I sent an article regarding the Arizona Illegal Immigration law and how it is a perfect example of how to take back your power and stand up to a bully in your life, especially when you have done everything you were asked or taught to do and nothing changes.

Someone who read my article disagrees.

Normally, I get Nastygrams and I do what I was taught to do; I read them, laugh, celebrate that I am getting criticism and then hit the "delete" key, not bothering to waste my breath on someone who is sending negative energy my way.

However, after getting this email below, I decided to make an exception for two reasons: the first reason is that this situation is a perfect example of how to deal with cyberbullying, and I wanted to "lead by example" and demonstrate how I handle things like this.

The second reason is that the below type of e-mail is a perfect example of how someone can get upset over when you stand up for yourself and take a position and, rather than use an intelligent argument, resort to emotional positions and name calling, essentially hijacking the argument.

So here is the nastygram, along with my response. I have not included this person's name for privacy reasons.

Please do not send any e-mail. I could block you from my receiving list and be done with such. However, I choose to give you the respect that you are not willing to give Latino Immigrants of this great nation. As a Naturalize United States Citizen and citizen of the State of Arizona who was born in Mexico, who also served in this country's military fighting for the principals that this great nation stands for. I am bewidered and upset that you would have such views. SB 1070 is a racial profailing proposition (It's not a law yet and hopfully never will be.)

Sir, you are incorrect in many of your views and comments. Its too bad you are very uneducated regarding the great things immigrants bring to this country. That would be the case however, since your ancestors were the first ones in this great land and thus not considered immigrants (you are of course a Native American right???????). and that gives you the right to removed anyone else from this country, right?

Please take to study and get factual information before writing and sending your racial and non-factual opinions Sir.

Dear Mr. Obviously Did Not Read All of My Article,

Thank you for contacting me. I also thank you for being a fellow military man, as I served in the Marines during the First Gulf War.

I don't know where you read in my article any disrespect for Latino immigrants. Nowhere in the article did I attack them or say anything negative.

I am more aware than most of what immigrants bring to this country. As I said in my article, my wife is first generation Chinese American; my great-grandparents came here from Germany through Ellis Island. My wife's father, a Phd in electrical engineering, holds fourteen patents from his days working with IBM, many of which are a part of America's economy today. If it wasn't for immigration and immigrants, my wife wouldn't even be my wife and I wouldn't have a beautiful daughter.

As far as being uneducated on the issue, I actually read the law, word-for-word, prior to writing the article. I always try to get my information unfiltered, not through a conservative or liberal source or, God Forbid, some support group with a political agenda. The law - as best as I can tell, since I am not an attorney - mirrors what the Federal law already does. So Arizona is simply going to enforce what the Federal government said was the law already.

Bringing up Native Americans has no relevance to the discussion, although what was done to them by our government was an injustice.

I don't see the connection with removing anyone from the country, unless you are referring to someone who is here illegally, regardless of their nationality, which is federal law.

It sounds to me that you may have read my article and let the emotion and passion you have for the issue cloud your point of view. I hope that you are not like the thousands across the country that are rallying, calling people names like racist, Nazi and worse, just because someone told you that this law was racist, encouraged racial profiling and likened it to Nazi Germany before Hitler started killing jews.

If you did that, it means that you were taken advantage of by someone with a political agenda who fed you B.S. and you believed it. And, you didn't take the time to read the law yourself and form your own opinion.

I urge you to not listen to anyone on the matter, including me. Read the bill for yourself and if you have questions, ask an attorney for clarification. Then you can take and educated, intelligent position on the matter.

And by the way, when you call someone a racist, you give the appearance of putting the other party on the moral low ground, and put yourself on the moral high ground. Unfortunately, it is a tactic that far too many people use today when their position is weak (Al Sharpton, anyone?) So in the future, at least when communicating with me, please keep the discussion on point and leave out the name-calling.

Thank you again for your response to my article. If you ever want to stop hearing from me, feel free to hit the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom of any e-mail from me.

P.S. - Just for fun, go and research Mexico's Illegal Immigration laws. They are much more severe than ours and will provide some very interesting perspective.

When you are faced with an instance like this, the best way to handle it is quickly, and head-on.

You can see that I kept my response as factual, on-point and non-emotional as possible. You want to stick to the facts, be polite and firm. You also want to lay out guidelines and/or expectations on what you expect in the future, so that everyone is on the same page.

Usually, if all parties can keep their emotions and passions in check, you can resolve the situation amicably and move forward. If not, then you have to take whatever steps make sense at that time to address any further developments.

This situation, like the situation in Arizona, is a great example of how to take back your power and stand up to a bully. Make sure you stand up for yourself and your child, whether it is popular or not, and whether or not you are going to be criticized, vilified or called names.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Arizona Illegal Immigration Article Triggers Cyberbullying Incident

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On Friday, I sent an article regarding the Arizona Illegal Immigration law and how it is a perfect example of how to take back your power and stand up to a bully in your life, especially when you have done everything you were asked or taught to do and nothing changes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MACON COUNTY, Alabama -- The Macon County police department is investigating a case of cyberbullying that allegedly involved a death threat against a student, reports WSFA today.

The Montgomery news station spoke with the mother of a ninth-grade student at Booker T. Washington school in Tuskegee. According to the report, Patricia Borum said someone sent her daughter a message on a social networking site threatening to "murk" -- a slang term for murder -- the girl after a series of face-to-face altercations days before.

The Macon County school system, which has an anti-student harassment policy in place, is also investigating to determine the severity of the loose slang terminology used in the Facebook message.

Other parents are taking a stand against cyberbullying, using a new system called WebWatcher to monitor their children's safety on the Internet. Read more in a report here.

For more information about what can constitute online harassment, visit the WiredKids, Inc. anti-cyberbullying website here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MACON COUNTY, Alabama -- The Macon County police department is investigating a case of cyberbullying that allegedly involved a death threat against a student, reports WSFA today. The Montgomery news station spoke with the mother of a ninth-grade student at Booker T. Washington school in Tuskegee.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The rift between Sarah and another classmate at a Juneau elementary school started innocently enough. But by the end, one young girl had turned to self-harm as a means of escape.
Bullied
"Sarah," whose full identity is being withheld for her own protection, now attends middle school in the Juneau School District and said bullying has been life-changing.

Sarah and a classmate started competing for friends, and fitting in wasn't easy. Being popular was one thing, but having a group of allies was another. Sarah said appearances meant everything and the struggle to be liked was akin to survival. The quarrel spiraled into hatred, and the classmates became bitter enemies.

"The school didn't really do anything about it. They tried to make us make up and I tried my best to and then (the classmate) started acting insane," Sarah said.

The identities of Sarah's bullies have also been withheld.

"Not only did she (bully me) physically and verbally ... she went from physically and verbally to cyberbullying me," Sarah told the Empire in February.

The dispute grew, spreading beyond the two children to others in the school.

"They would trip me, yell nasty things at me, tell my friends bad stuff about me, say I said terrible things about other people and then I got to the breaking point, and I started cutting (myself) and (the bully) went around telling everyone," Sarah said.

When the other kids found out how Sarah was struggling, the harrassment got worse.

"Some kids would trip me, other kids would punch me in the shoulder and go, 'What's up cutter?'" Sarah said.

The group of bullies soon found ways to attack Sarah online. There was no refuge, even at home. Pictures surfaced online of Sarah's wrists and messages appeared telling her to "drink bleach."

"She made fake accounts on a lot of stuff just to mess with me, and one time my friend ***** was trying to make me make up with her and this was when I was really bad with cutting and she was like, 'let me see your wrist' and we were in a group chat and I'm guessing she either took a screenshot of the photos or saved them and then posted them online and was like, 'look at me I'm a f***ing attention whore' and yeah ..."

Sarah trailed off as she spoke.

"It was totally bad. She ... created a whole bunch of things," Sarah said. "She made fake pages, fake names. She would screenshot photos of me from my account and would write things like, 'I'm a faggot,' under it."

Last year, JSD documented 60 elementary, 46 middle school and 14 high school students who reported being bullied, according to statistics from the district's mandatory reporting system.

Director of Student Services Bridget Weiss said instances of bullying are greater among younger students because they have not yet developed moral standards for appropriate behavior. Bullying becomes less frequent, but more severe as children age, she said.

After Sarah finished fifth grade last year, her parents got her into a middle school across town to avoid the bullies from elementary school.

But as a stalker would, the harassment followed Sarah.

"On my way to health the first day, someone tripped me and ... my stuff went flying down the hall. I wasn't really embarrassed; I just fell on my knees and was like, 'Seriously? This is how middle school is?" Sarah said.

Sarah said she is considered an outcast because of the way she dresses, the music she listens to and because she doesn't drink or do drugs.

"A lot of kids smoke weed at our school," Sarah continued. "It's a popular thing for them. They think smoking weed is cool. If you're not fake with them and you don't smoke pot, then they're pretty negative toward you."

In January, Floyd Dryden Middle School Principal Jim Thompson addressed students concerning multiple drug arrests on campus over the course of just a few days. He told students to stay focused on their work and to represent their school with pride.

As the new kid in middle school, Sarah felt out of place and different, but soon made a small group of friends. She even stopped cutting herself.

Then the bullying started again.

Sarah began to find razor blades stuffed into her locker and fellow students catcalled and tripped her in the hallways.

When a counselor found out about the razor blades, administrators attempted to close the vents in Sarah's locker. Bullies got their notes in anyway, and even started typing and printing their insults so they wouldn't be recognized by their handwriting, Sarah said.
Fear
Juneau resident Julianna Mattice said she didn't know her son had been bullied for two years at Harborview Elementary School until it got out of hand.

She said the young boy had been verbally abused because of a speech impediment and even came home with his legs covered in bruises from bullies cornering him in classrooms.

But Mattice alleged that although she contacted Principal Dave Stoltenburg, teachers, police officers and the school board multiple times, the bullying continued.

She wrote emails to her son's teacher explaining that the young boy was frightened to go to school because he feared retaliation from his bullies.

Eventually, he retaliated on his own, hacking into the school's learning database, posting curse words and deleting his bully's assignments.

Mattice said she finally confronted the bully's mother herself, and that's when the harassment ended.

The Juneau School District's privacy policy prohibits staff from talking to the media about incidents involving specific students.

Stoltenburg and teachers at Harborview also declined to discuss their general anti-bullying policies.

According to the Committee for Children, which creates anti-bullying and self-esteem curricula used in Juneau schools, "Students may not report being victims of bullying because it makes them feel ashamed, afraid and powerless. Over time, they may come to feel they deserve to be bullied. This may be particularly true of children in fourth grade and up."

In middle school, Sarah's mother said her daughter wakes up fearing the school day, and that she has dropped extracurricular activities to avoid her bullies.

Sarah isn't the only Juneau student missing out on sports because of peer violence.

Last year, within a series of incidents, several middle schoolers were kidnapped and beaten with paddles as part of a team hazing ritual. The Juneau Police Department investigation into the case was delayed multiple times because the victims were afraid to come forward.

Hazing is now included in the district's policy prohibiting bullying and harassment with potential consequences of suspension or expulsion.
Retaliation
According to the National Crime Prevention Council, 43 percent of teens nationwide have experienced cyberbullying, 11 percent reported it, and 30 percent wanted to seek revenge.

Weiss said cyberbullying has changed the scope of the bullying problem in the Juneau School District. Students are rarely seen without a smartphone in their hand and Weiss said the district realizes the pivitol role of social media in their lives.

"It's their world," she told the Empire last month. "Kids used to be able to 'walk away' from school, leave any problems there and at least have some distance from it while they were home."

"Now, if there's a problem, kids can face the stress of the negative interactions 24/7."

"If you have very strong protocals and manage it well," Weiss said social media can become a positive force.

"We're not going to eliminate social media," she said. "We have seen really positive examples of its use."

Weiss said she doesn't see the need to ban cell phones in schools, as some other districts have done, and Facebook pages are often used to promote clubs, sports and community events.

JPD became aware of a Twitter account called "Juneau Gossip" in 2013. The account was based on the popular teen sitcom "Gossip Girls," which chronicles New York prep school students and the details of their private lives revealed through anonymous text messages.

In the same month, JPD received a crime tip that an Instagram account had been created with pictures of "teenage girls publicly humiliating them calling them names (ugly, disgusting, ratchet, slut. whore, etc.)," according to the police report.

Juneau Gossip, which publicly posted comments submitted by students at local high schools, was deleted in 2013 but copycat pages quickly followed. Many members of the group were students at Thunder Mountain High School.

School Resource Officer Blain Hatch wrote in his March 2013 police report that the identity of the Instagram and Twitter pages' creator(s) was unknown. Students took to their own Twitter feeds to express mixed reactions over the offensive tweets on Juneau Gossip, which speculated on other students' relationships, sexuality and private lives using full first names and an initialed last name.

One student tweeted, "So glad no one knows me so I'll never be on Juneau Gossip lol."

Another posted, "This is it guys, I'm finally on Juneau Gossip, my life is complete."

Weiss said many parents didn't grow up with social media to the extent that kids do today. She said it's parents' responsibility to learn about various media accounts and monitor use for their children.

"We don't put kids behind the wheel at 13 driving solo. There are too many dangers they can't handle yet," she said.

Students began a witch hunt, so to speak, through their Twitter accounts to find out who was behind the harassment on Juneau Gossip. In April 2013, JPD Officer Ben Beck responded to complaints of physical threats made through Twitter.

"They made these threats because they think that (the victim) might be the person behind Juneau Gossip," Beck wrote in his police report.

In December 2013, TMHS assistant principal Rhonda Hickock contacted Hatch about continued physical threats against students through Twitter.

The Instagram page from 2013 was also inactivated, but in March 2014, JPD received another complaint of an Instagram account that was created using another student's profile picture and "posted that photo saying she should kill herself because she's ugly."

StopBullying.Gov, a partner of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported that constant harassment through bullying can lead to or magnify existing anxiety, depression and suicidal behavior.
Bullying and Suicide
The Empire's 2008 series, "The quiet tragedy: Teen suicide in Juneau," describes how four Juneau teens had taken their own lives in just a few months that year and eight young adults had committed suicide since the year before.

In 2006, a 13-year-old girl in Missouri hanged herself after years of depression was compounded by a bullying incident through Myspace. In the ensuing months, Megan Meier's parents realized that her tormentors, who had created a fake page with a young boy's name to falsely flirt with and then reject the young girl, were actually parents of their daughter's former friend and classmate.

Meier's parents created an anti-cyberbullying campaign to educate the public on both child and adult bullying in cyberspace. They note on their website that the National Crime Victimization Survey reported 2.2 million youths experienced cyberbullying in 2011.

In 2013, a father of three, Todd Schobel, heard the story of Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who committed suicide after she posted a YouTube video chronicling her experience with cyberbullying when classmates shared a topless photo of her on the Internet.

Schobel was disturbed by Amanda Todd's experience and, although his own children were still young, he sought a way to prevent further cyberbullying in schools by empowering children and teens to stand up for each other and "say enough is enough."

Schobel created a smartphone, tablet and desktop app called Stop!t, which allows kids to take screen shots of bullying behavior on social media and send it either anonymously or with their name included to a database of teacher and administrative volunteers.

"Kids aren't any better or worse than they were 20 years ago, they just have the technology now," Schobel told the Empire in January. "People hand their kid a loaded gun with these devices ... but when someone is given the opportunity to be a hero, their lives are enriched."

The app, which can be purchased for system-wide use by schools at $2 per student annually and may be covered by insurance in the future, was named in June by CNN Money as one of "five apps to help change the world."

Along with a 24/7 talk and text line connected to a certified counselor, the Stop!t app offers cyber-safe presentations and posters to students and their families when the app is installed on a school campus.

As of this year, 78 schools in 13 states have implemented the anti-bullying application.

Bridget Weiss said relationships between students, peers and parents are top priorities in bullying prevention at Juneau schools and if students do not feel comfortable communicating with administrators, they will not report abusive behavior.

"We can't help if we don't know," she said.
Copycats
Copycat Twitter accounts similar to the "Juneau Gossip" page have spread since 2013 with public insults posted about students as far away as Sitka and directed at students as young as 12.

The multiple pages active in Sitka now display a profile picture of red lips, signature of the "Juneau Gossip" page, and a caption explaining that public tweets posted about students could be submitted anonymously through private messages.

One Sitka High School gossip page tweeted, "Hate on us all you want, we will just come back at you 100x worse," after being apparently deleted due to complaints.

As of Friday, the Empire counted six Sitka gossip pages, though from a distance, or due to privacy restrictions, they appeared not to have been active since 2013.

The Empire also located an active Twitter page called, "Middle School Gossip," last month with a profile picture reading "F***ing Whore" over a black and white graphic of roses. The page, which lists Dzantik'i Heeni and Floyd Dryden students as its audience, has 43 "followers." That page, like those in Sitka, appears to be most active two years ago.

In 2006, HB482 required all public schools in Alaska implement specific policies prohibiting bullying. According to a 2012 Harvard University study, as part of the Kinder, Braver World Project, about 48 states have approved legislation to require bullying policies in school districts and two, Mississippi and Texas, even condone retaliation under certain circumstances.

All states have some form of criminal law that could apply to bullying behaviors.

In the Juneau school district, "students, staff, parents and volunteers are prohibited from bullying on school property, in transit to/from school or school activity, at the bus stop or at school activities," according to the student code of conduct.

Cyberbullying is specifically included in the district's definition of bullying behavior.

Any incidents involving physical violence or threats of physical violence in Juneau schools must be reported to local law enforcement.

Cyberbullying is not specifically targeted in Juneau schools, although appropriate social media use is regularly discussed at parent forums and staff site councils.

"Cyberbullying is not expressly monitored by the school district so incidents that are addressed are first reported by students and families," Juneau-Douglas High School Principal Paula Casperson wrote in an email to the Empire.

Cyberbullying was officially classified as harassment in October 2014 under Alaska state law with the passage of SB128. Currently, about 38 states include cyberbullying in their definition of harassment, according to the Harvard study on bullying.

Electronic communications which threaten or intimidate and are directed at minors are considered illegal, as are harassing telephone communication and illicit photo disbursement.

The first U.S. prosecution in a cyberbullying case in 2008 found a 49-year-old woman guilty of misdemeanor charges of computer fraud for her role in the Myspace bullying which led to Megan Meier's suicide in Missouri.
Nightmare
Sarah's mother is stretched thin by her daughter's nightmare. She said her whole family is struggling to hold their lives together and keep Sarah from falling apart.

"There are mornings Sarah doesn't want to go to school and days she's called home and asked to come home sick because she was being bullied at school and didn't want to deal with it anymore," Sarah's mother said.

"Last year Sarah was AB honor roll and this year she got at least two F's. How can you go to school and concentrate when you're worried about going to your locker and finding a razor blade?" she said.

Sarah's sister has heard rumors about what the future brings - parties, drugs and social struggles will only continue when they reach high school.

"It's just going to get worse in high school," Sarah's sister, also in middle school, said.

She's afraid the bullying will only become more vicious.

"Honestly, it's kind of like those movies where people have drugs and knives in the school and now it's like in real life," she said. "And that's kind of terrifying ..."

* Contact reporter Stephanie Shor at 523-2279 or at stephanie.shor@juneauempire.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The rift between Sarah and another classmate at a Juneau elementary school started innocently enough. But by the end, one young girl had turned to self-harm as a means of escape. Bullied "Sarah," whose full identity is being withheld for her own protection, now attends middle school in the Juneau School District and said bullying has been life-changing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cora Delille hanged herself in her family's Ohio home on May 10

In a suicide note, she named four students, including two ex-boyfriends

Friends say she endured name-calling in the halls at school and one student even said she was glad she was dead

But police said they interviewed the students named in the note and found evidence of 'name-calling' - but nothing to warrant prosecution

Cora, whose boyfriend had broken up with her the day before she died, also wrote about feeling unloved at home amid her parents' divorce

A 15-year-old girl who was bullied by classmates for years has killed herself after naming her tormenters in a suicide note and telling them: 'Thanks for all the pain.'

Cora Delille's body was found by a family member at their home in Pickerington, Ohio on May 10 after she hanged herself, Commander Matt Delp of Pickerington Police said.

She left an emotional note giving a 'myriad of reasons' why she took her life, including classmates calling her names and feeling abandoned by her father and stepfather, he told MailOnline.

'There were complex issues,' Delp explained. 'She wrote about her home life and feeling unloved. Her mother and stepfather - the father she had known for 14 years - were getting a divorce. Her boyfriend had broken up with her the day before. There were many reasons.'

She also named at least four fellow students, including girls and two ex-boyfriends, and said they had caused her pain, he said.

Following news of her death, friends confirmed to police that Cora had been the victim of bullying and name calling at school and on social media.

Authorities interviewed the four students who were named in the letter, but did not find any conduct worthy of prosecution, he said. There was also no evidence of bullying on social networks, he added.

'She was the victim of some name calling,' he explained. 'While it's troublesome, it doesn't warrant bringing charges against the students.'

Close friends said that Cora mostly kept the torment to herself, and her parents said they had no idea the extent to which she was suffering.

'She mentioned here and there when kids made fun of her,' her mother, Amy Hall, told the Columbus Dispatch. 'She didn't clue me in to how bad it was.'

Friends said that students would make passing digs at her in the hallways at school and at lunch, while others said they heard girls calling Cora names at the spring dance recently.

The day before she killed herself, she phoned her best friend Sydney Teal in tears.

'She said she couldn't take much more,' Sydney told the Dispatch. 'I didn't know what to do. I told her I loved her and that I'm here for her.'

Since her death, a friend has heard a student at school say she was happy that Cora was dead, while bullies have also cropped up online, writing insulting words beneath her photographs.

School officials added that Cora had never reported any bullying.

'I've yet to work with anyone who is going to ignore outright bullying when it's taking place,' Superintendent Rob Walker told the Dispatch. 'Can it happen and the teacher not hear it? Yes.'

Her mother, who remembered her daughter as fun-loving and a caring big sister to her younger siblings, hopes that other teenagers will get help before it's too late.

'A lot of other kids are suffering,' her mother said. 'They need to know there are other people out there to help. They don't need to keep it inside.'

Cora's funeral, led by her grandfather Pastor Roger Epperson, was held on Wednesday.

Commander Delp said the investigation into her death is now closed.
In the U.S., for support on suicide matters call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-8255 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org
In the UK, for confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Girl, 15, kills herself after leaving suicide note naming her bullies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cora Delille hanged herself in her family's Ohio home on May 10 In a suicide note, she named four students, including two ex-boyfriends Friends say she endured name-calling in the halls at school and one student even said she was glad she was dead But police said they interviewed the

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
But she also carried with her the torment of bullies, who called her names at school and in her neighbourhood of Ridge Farm, Illinois.

Her mother Stacy said she knew about the bullying, but never thought it would drive Ashlynn to kill herself.

Scroll down for video

An emotional Stacy Conner told WCIA-TV: 'They'd call her a slut. Ashlynn's ugly. She's fat.'

She added: 'I thought my kids are strong kids, and that my words for them for guidance and advice was going to have more weight than what these kids could be saying.'

But the harsh name-calling was too much for her daughter.

On Thursday, Ashlynn pleaded with her mother to allow her to be home schooled to escape Ridge Farm Elementary - and Stacy Conner refused.

The next day, she was dead, having hanged herself. Her body was found by one of her siblings.

Now, the girl's grief-stricken family hopes that her story will make a difference in the lives of other children who are bullied.

Ashylynn's aunt, Kim Wright, told ABC News: 'If she just saves one child from being bullied, if one bully gets this message and thinks about it and says, I'm not going to make another kid feel that way ... she did it.'

Ashlynn's death is the latest in a startling trend.

Two months ago, Jamey Rodemeyer, a bullied teen from Buffalo, New York, was found dead outside his home.

The 14-year-old was a big fan of Lady Gaga and sent her a message on Twitter saying 'Bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever,' before he killed himself.

Moved by his death, the pop star performed her song 'Hair' a few days after Jamey's death and dedicated it to him.

HOUNDED TO DEATH: TRAGIC VICTIMS OF BULLYING

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Was this 10-year-old bullied to death? Girl asked mom to be home-schooled the day before taking her own life

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
But she also carried with her the torment of bullies, who called her names at school and in her neighbourhood of Ridge Farm, Illinois. Her mother Stacy said she knew about the bullying, but never thought it would drive Ashlynn to kill herself.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Grieving Nevada parents are suing their 13-year-old daughter's school for failing to tell them about the on-campus bullying that allegedly led to her suicide.

Jason and Jennifer Lamberth said they had no idea their daughter, Hailee, was a victim until she killed herself in December 2013.

The Henderson couple filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against White Middle School staff and the Clark County School District Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Three weeks before Hailee's death, a classmate anonymously reported the taunting on the school district's anti-bullying website. The school was legally required to tell the Lamberths about the compliant.

It didn't.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, we wouldn't be here today if the school had informed us of this," Jason Lamberth said.

According to the lawsuit, students began bullying Hailee in August 2013. While she was a straight-A student and star soccer goalie, she had recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and her tormenters mocked her seizures.

The bullying was "severe and abusive," the lawsuit said.

One time, a classmate left a voicemail message one Hailee's phone saying, "Where are you, Hailee? I hope you died." Another student stuffed hateful letters in the teen's locker that read, "Drink Bleach and Die" and "Why don't you die?"

Eventually, a classmate who witnessed the daily harassment in P.E. teacher Kim Jefferson's gym class reported it online.

(KVVU)

The school district has a website where students can anonymously tip-off officials about bullying and, by law, the district is required to inform parents of accused bullies and victims about the complaints, KVVU reported.

Jason Lamberth said he wasn't made aware of the complaint until after Hailee died.

Additionally, school employees are required to report any witnessed bullying to the school's principal. "Jefferson made no such report," the lawsuit claimed.

Jason Lamberth found his daughter's body on Dec. 12 with a gunshot wound to the head.

She left a suicide note that read: "I only ask that you tell my school I killed myself so maybe next time people like (bully) wants to call someone (names), he won't."

But the Lambeths didn't learn about the full extent of the bullying for months.

In March, Jason Lamberth met with the school's dean and demanded he see Hailee's school records. The dean said there wasn't such record.

When he made the same request a day alter to the school's principal, she gave him Hailee's file, which included the online bullying report.

"Jason and Jennifer were stunned," the lawsuit said. "This was the first time they had been notified of the bullying incident and the online complaint."
Send a Letter to the Editor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nev. school didn't tell girl's parents about bullying before suicide: lawsuit

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hailee Lamberth committed suicide in December 2013 after being bullied for months. While her classmates reported the abuse to the school district, officials never told her parents about the documented torment, even though the district was legally required to inform them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Amber Cornwell came home from a date with her new boyfriend on Friday night, and everything seemed to be going right for the East Henderson High junior, her mother said.

EAST FLAT ROCK - Amber Cornwell came home from a date with her new boyfriend on Friday night, and everything seemed to be going right for the East Henderson High junior, her mother said.
"He had driven her home and they were both very happy," Kim Cornwell said. "Everything seemed to be so good. She said she was going to wait for Andrew to text her to let her know he got home. It was so sweet ... like puppy love. I was so happy for her. So I told her I loved her, and I went to bed."
It was the last time Kim Cornwell saw her daughter alive. The family discovered 16-year-old Amber's body Saturday morning.
"She hung herself in her closet," Kim Cornwell said Monday night through tears. "She's just 16 years old. Sixteen years is way, way too young to die. It's just not fair... it's not fair."
Amber Cornwell's final words were posted on her Facebook page: "If I die tonight, would anyone cry?"
Kim Cornwell said she talked with Amber's boyfriend the next day, and like everyone else, he was in shock.
"There was nothing wrong between them," Kim Cornwell said.
The family believes that bullying at school led to Amber Cornwell's decision to take her own life.
"She's been bullied for so long, by the girls especially. They picked on her all the time and called her names, even though the school is supposed to have zero tolerance for bullies," Kim Cornwell said. "It's just a slap on the wrist. The kids need to learn the consequences. My daughter's gone. I would love to get up in front of the entire student body and tell Amber's story for everyone to hear."
Bullying is not taken lightly at East. Earlier this year, a group talked with the student body about bullying, and back in March, students saw a presentation on the subject.
East Principal Scott Rhodes and other school officials have visited the family.
"The entire East High family is saddened by this tragic loss of life. Amber was a talented young lady who was involved in many aspects of our school. She was involved in chorus, dance and she was also a member of the women's tennis team. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cornwell family," Rhodes said.
Tennis coach Terry Saltz said when he and his team heard the news it was "a total shock."
"It's really a horrendous loss. She was a very special young lady and a tremendous asset to our team," Saltz said. "She came out as a freshman two years ago, and I believe it was the first time she ever played. She worked very hard. She got along so well with all her teammates, and like me, they're all going to really miss her."
Kim Cornwell and her family were sitting in their living room Monday night after a long day of preparations at the funeral home. They all had blank stares as they gazed at their Christmas tree.
"If you have children, hug them every day. Let them know how much you love them," Kim Cornwell said as she cried.
Kim Cornwell said her daughter was selected for all-county chorus and will be buried in her black chorus dress provided by the school. Among the pallbearers will be her father, Alan, and her boyfriend, Andrew Whisenant.
The family has set up a tribute Facebook page called R.I.P. AMBER Cornwell, where friends are posting their final goodbyes.
The graveside funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Shepherd Memorial Park on Asheville Highway. Family will receive friends from 10 a.m. to noon at Jackson Funeral Services on Greenville Highway.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to Jackson Funeral Services to help cover funeral expenses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Family says bullying led to teen's suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Amber Cornwell came home from a date with her new boyfriend on Friday night, and everything seemed to be going right for the East Henderson High junior, her mother said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
DENVER -- Counselors are helping students deal with the death of a sixth grade classmate in Montbello.

Ashley Cardona took her own life last week, and now her family is telling their daughter's story.

They say she was bullied and they hope others can learn from their tragedy.

"She was the most beautiful person you could ever imagine."

Ashley's family spent Monday at the funeral home saying goodbye to the 12-year-old who took her own life last Wednesday.

"Everything was normal until I got home to find that my child was no longer with us," says Michelle Payan, Ashley's mother.

She found her daughter's body after she committed suicide. Ashley's mother remembers only one cry for help. "She was really quiet. My daughter never really mentioned ... only on one occasion about the bullying."

Now she knows parents often only get one outcry. "Talk to your kids, don't ignore the signs -- even if they are quiet and you think everything is OK -- don't ignore the signs because they are still there," says Ellen Kelty of Denver Public Schools.

Her aunt says even though she was beautiful, she was tall. She says students made fun of her and called her terrible things because she had a scar on her face.

"She was Gorilla Scarface and my baby shouldn't have been told this and a lot of us intervened and it didn't help," says Perla Butanda.

Whatever the reasons, psychologists say the signs are often missed. "Teaching kids ... if you see something going on around bullying or see something online, you need to tell a trusted adult."

Ashley's mother says she reported bullying earlier this year to the principal at her school in Montbello. She says the school did try to do something but the bullying never stopped.

"I immediately went to the school but now that her friends have come forward I know it continued."

Ashley's Instagram account shows a young girl in crisis late last week. She posted this: "I'm just not Okay," among other things.

"No words can explain what I feel like right now or how I felt. I just don't have a child anymore," Ashley's mother says.

Her parents have set up a go fund me account to help defray funeral expenses. Cardona's funeral will be held Wednesday.

LINK: Suicide Prevention - School Safety Resource Center
LINK: Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado, information about bullying

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
12-year-old's family says bullying at school caused her suicide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
DENVER -- Counselors are helping students deal with the death of a sixth grade classmate in Montbello. Ashley Cardona took her own life last week, and now her family is telling their daughter's story. They say she was bullied and they hope others can learn from their tragedy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By the bus stop, they found their Angel hanging from a tree.

On her bed at home, for her stricken mother to find, the 14-year-old Indiana girl left a note that read, in part, "Why did I deserve this pain?"

The heartbreaking suicide last month of West Lafayette's Angel Green has now led to anti-bullying legislation at the state's capital.

Green was an 8th-grader, who hanged herself March 5. The note she left behind - penned in a careful hand and addressed to her classmates - pointed clearly to the growing menace of bullying.

"Have you ever thought about what you said to me? huh... maybe not! because you killed me everyday," she wrote, leaving the note beside her bed for her mother.

(theindychannel)

"P.S.," the note ends, "it's bullying that killed me. Please get justice."

The girl's devastated mother, Danielle Green, took her daughter's plea straight to the state legislature.

She's pushing for passage of House Bill 1423, targeted at making school's accountable for bullying. It would require them to note and report such incidents in an annual report, WRTV-TV reported.

The bill would further require training for all school staff and employees on bullying prevention. Any incident of bullying would be reported to the students and their parents.

(theindychannel)

The bill has passed the state's House and will go before the Senate for a vote.

"I want the schools to have more training and I want the kids and everybody to have support and resources for how to handle it," Green said as she visited the statehouse in support of the bill.

Such legislation, Green believes, could prevent further suicides. Her daughter had long been bullied by her classmates.

"They called her whore, slut and countless names, and told her she was worthless," Green said. "She did this before the bus was going to be there so her bullies would see her."

(theindychannel)

Green was joined Wednesday by other mothers, including Lana Swoape, who lost her daughter Tori, 15, to suicide in May.

In Angel Green's case, still just a month after her death, her final note speaks volumes to the bullying she faced as a middle-school student.

"You told me so much that I started believing it," she wrote on a piece of notebook paper. "And I was stupid for doing that. Every morning, day, night I look in the mirror and cry, and replay the harmful words in my head."

sgoldstein@nydailynews.com or follow on Twitter
Send a Letter to the Editor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Indiana girl's suicide, heartbreaking note spark anti-bullying legislation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By the bus stop, they found their Angel hanging from a tree. On her bed at home, for her stricken mother to find, the 14-year-old Indiana girl left a note that read, in part, "Why did I deserve this pain?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Rebecca Ann Sedwick seemed like an ordinary girl who went to school and contributed to the community. Few would have suspected that she was experiencing major peer pressure by just looking at or interacting with the 12-year-old. The world, however, became aware of Rebecca Ann's struggle when she committed suicide on Monday, September 8, 2013. A little bit about Rebecca
Rebecca Ann Sedwick was born on October 19, 2000, in Sebring, Florida. Her mother, Tricia Norman, and father, Kim Sedwick, did not remain together after Rebecca was born, but managed to spend quality time with her before her death in 2013.

As the sibling of six sisters and three brothers, Rebecca had little privacy at home. The youngster did have the opportunity to be independent at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, where she attended school. Rebecca stayed on top of her studies and got into little trouble during the academic day. The 12-year-old seemed to be living an ordinary life, until the fateful morning of September 8, 2013.
Monday morning
Rebecca left home without her school books and backpack on at around 6:45 a.m., on Monday morning. No one in her family noticed her leaving home without supplies because other things around the house garnered their attention. The youngster should have been headed to Lawton Chiles but instead went to an abandoned industrial location where she climbed atop a structure and leaped to her death.

It was not until Rebecca's mother filed a missing person report hours after she should have been home from school that law enforcement began searching for the 12-year-old. Rebecca's lifeless body was discovered on Tuesday, September 9, 2013 at around 2:30 a.m.
What caused Rebecca to jump?
Further investigation into the 12-year-old's personal affairs found that Rebecca was being taunted by fifteen girls who sent hateful messages by way of electronic correspondence. These messages would encourage the youngster to do bodily harm to herself and make the ultimate decision to commit suicide.

Guadalupe Shaw,14, was said to be the ring leader of the group who rallied the others to taunt Rebecca in such a vile manner. The teen allegedly encouraged the terror because Sedwick captured the attention of her then-boyfriend.

Rebecca's Facebook account was eventually shut down, but it seemed as though she could not escape the bullying. Guadalupe and the girls found other means by which to terrorize the 12-year-old online, and used them to their full benefit. The taunting got so bad that Rebecca's mother complained to the staff at Crystal Lake Middle School before making the decision to transfer her daughter to Lawton Chiles. One would think that with a new school the bullying would end, but for Rebecca the nightmare only intensified and led to her death.

It was said that Sedwick endured cyberbullying for a year before she decided to commit suicide. Although many place all responsibility for her death with Guadalupe and the other girls who taunted her relentlessly, There is proof that Shaw and her gang may have only contributed to Rebecca's decision to take her life.

A Deeper look into family life

According to several news sources that delved further into the tragedy, Rebecca Ann Sedwick lived in a disturbing environment. The youngster reportedly slept on a recliner in the living area while one of her sister's rested on the couch at night. Both siblings allegedly used grocery bags to house their clothes, and little privacy was given during the day since their space doubled as the family room.

Although Tricia was proactive in combating her daughter's experience with cyberbullying, she failed to steer clear of the long arm of the law. Not only did she have three known aliases, but Tricia also had a criminal record that extended back to 1995. When questioned about his client's troubles with the law and different identities, Tricia's attorney told the press that she was "doing her best."

Even if problems at home made Rebecca consider the extreme of suicide, it was the constant terrorizing of her peers that pushed the 12-year-old over the deep end. This is why the girls were arrested and charged after Sedwick's death.

Florida state law on bullying

Florida's state has strict laws when it comes to bullying. According to statute 1006.147, bullying and harassment are prohibited in schools and other public settings. Such interdict is extended to cyberbullying where taunting affects the victim's ability to live a comfortable life.

In Rebecca's case, the bullying became so unbearable that she found it impossible tolive. The girls' electronic messages included teasing, intimidation, and public along with private humiliation. All of these acts are criminal offenses, according to Florida law.
What happened to Guadalupe and the other girls?
Guadalupe and her crew were arrested and charged with third degree felony stalking in a juvenile court. Shaw and another participant named Katelyn Roman were later released after all charges against them were dropped.

Guadalupe's lawyer accused Sheriff Grady Judd of being reckless in arresting and sharing his client's mugshot with the public since she herself was a troubled teen who had been bullied. "I found zero evidence having to do with my client that would rise to the level of a criminal act," said Shaw's attorney. Guadalupe took to her Facebook account to talk about the events, where she expressed zero regret for her role as instigator to those who terrorized Rebecca online.
What Rebecca's mom did right
Even though her daughter succumbed to the taunting, Rebecca's mom did a number of things right. The mother of the victim noticed changes in her daughter's demeanor and took action. Tricia made the school aware of the situation by lodging a formal complaint. She also took further action by transferring her daughter out of Crystal Lake when the bullying at school became too intense. Tricia closed her daughter's Facebook account after discovering that the girls were still taunting Rebecca by way of electronic messages. Even though they still managed to terrorize online, Tricia did everything within her power to protect her daughter from cyberbullies.
What went wrong?
Tricia may have zeroed in on the cyber abuse but she and others missed a few signs that Rebecca gave days before killing herself. Hours before Sedwick took her final breath, she messaged a boy from North Carolina whom she met online weeks prior. The youngster blatantly told him of her plans to commit suicide but he did not take her seriously. It was not until the news broke of Rebecca's death by suicide that he came forward and informed authorities of the youngster's final message to him.

Sedwick also changed her Kik Messenger profile name to "That Dead Girl," but none of her followers found such activity to be suspicious. The youngster's friends did, however, put the puzzle pieces together after Rebecca died.

Although some criticize Shaw's friends and family members for not recognizing and reacting to the warning signs, few people actually discern a person's desire to commit suicide in time to stop them from making a horrible mistake. Since depression often precedes the act of suicide, many victims tend to withdraw from loved ones and only leave subtle signs of there being a major problem on the horizon. A person can easily be joyous in public and later drown himself because of the immense sorrow he feels. In many respects, depression is the culprit that leads to suicide because feelings of despair make a person believe they can no longer pursue life.
What can be done?
While it is difficult to help those who have reached the point of complete anguish, there are many ways to prevent such feelings from arising. In terms of kids being bullied in school or online, parents can be proactive and take serious measures to end the torment.

You should complain to school administrators and transfer your child if you are aware of the problem. Follow in the path of Rebecca's mother by closing down social media accounts if they are the vehicles by which bullies terrorize your child. You should even consider the extreme of taking away all electronic devices if the issue persists. Your child may become angry with you, but remember that it is better to have them upset and alive.

Make sure to pay attention to your child's demeanor. If their overall attitude improves, then you can take that as a sign of conditions improving. If, however, their demeanor remains the same or becomes worse, you should take further action. Complain to school administrators again and, if your concerns are not taken seriously, inform law enforcement of the situation at hand. There are laws in every state that prohibit bullying, though some are not as strict as others. Even if your child's terrorizer is not booked and charged for offenses, it is important to convey the message of bullying being unacceptable before the unthinkable takes place.

Remember that while sticks and stones may break bones, harsh words will kill in due time unless someone silences the mouths of those spewing such venom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Story of Rebecca Ann Sedwick - NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rebecca Ann Sedwick seemed like an ordinary girl who went to school and contributed to the community. Few would have suspected that she was experiencing major peer pressure by just looking at or interacting with the 12-year-old. The world, however, became aware of Rebecca Ann's struggle when she committed suicide on Monday, September 8, 2013.

# 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.attachment_link.readable_text
A TEEN whose 'rape' gripped the US has spoken out about her ordeal in a bid to help others who have gone through the same experience.

Daisy Coleman and her friend Paige Parkhurst found themselves at the centre of a social media storm, and ostracized by their community, when the case of their sexual assault hit the headlines.

And despite going through the horrific ordeal, five years on, she says she forgives her attacker.

The two teens, from Maryville, Missouri, were attacked in 2012 when they left their homes to go to a sleepover - and were sexually assaulted in the basement of the house by boys who were among the most popular footballers at their school.

Daisy who was 14 at the time, was dumped in her front garden, and was found suffering from frostbite, and partially clothed by her brother.

Paige was 13 when she suffered the ordeal.

Both girls were subjected to vicious attacks on social media, and were labelled "skanks, whores" and "liars."

Daisy has attempted suicide four times after what she went through, and her friend Paige has tried to kill herself twice.

In a bid to try and make a difference,, she decided to who waive her right to anonymity in a bid to help others.

And she has even found it in her heart to forgiver her attackers.

Speaking to the Dailymail.com Daisy said: "I feel no resentment towards my attacker only because I have come to realize that he was only passing on some form of negativity to me which at some point was passed onto him so once I came to that realization...that made me forgive him in a sense even though he never presented an apology."

She has now set up an organisation called Safebae.org with other victims of sexual assault: "After my case went viral I took break for a while, but during that time period I noticed a lot of other victims and survivors had come forward.

"Seeing me doing it so publicly, I felt like that gave them a space to tell their own story and I was really inspired by that."

The case hit the headlines and social media because Daisy's attacker was only convicted in adult court, during a second trial after the charges in the first were dropped.

The felony charges were dismissed as allegations were made of corruption and political favour.

The online group Anonymous began to champion the two girls in the wake of the case collapsing.

The boys who attacked Daisy and Audrie on that night, branded themselves 'the wolf pack'.

Matthew Barnett, now 22, Jordan Zech, 24, Nick Groumoutis, 23, Cole Forney, 22, and an unnamed juvenile were all investigated on the case.

Barnett was merely charged with child endangerment, and the unnamed juvenile confessed to raping Paige.
He was sentenced in juvenile court.

Daisy is now studying at Missouri College and a Netflix documentary has been made about her ordeal

She said she found 'Audrie and Daisy' hard to watch - understandably so as the then Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White appears to beleive the girls were somehow to blame as the boys.

He can be seen saying to camera: "teenage girls lie."

Daisy's mother, Melinda, 55, also spoke to the website about what happened saying the night the girls were attacked it was like a "covert operation."

Speaking about when she her daughter was found in the yard by her brothers she said: The first thing I noticed was she had frostbite on her hands and feet.

"It was 21 degrees that night and she was in a T-shirt and sweatpants. Her hair was wet.

"They had just thrown all her belongings, her purse and things, her underwear and bra, in the yard next door."

Daisy's brother Tristan said she was "blue and sparkly" she was nearly frozen. Her mother thought she was dead.

Melinda said the boys involved had come over to her house, and she considered them to be friends of her sons.

She added 12 or 13 girls had come forward saying they had experienced similar situations with Barrett to her daughter, but they decided not to comment when they saw how Daisy was being vilified.

Melinda revealed she sobbed when she was told about Daisy's injuries from the attack, who was also in tears.

The family saw their home burnt down in 2013 - no one was ever held responsible.

But she says it is helping others which has helped her daughter, who has a GoFund Me page for Safebae, find the will to live: "At the beginning she would say to me, 'Mom why does my story matter? There are other girls who've had worse things than me?' But then I think she started to see that she was helping people by talking and by carrying on. I think the most healing thing for Daisy has been helping others."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teen 'rape victim' who was 'dumped in her front yard to freeze to death' by high school footballers speaks out about her horrific ordeal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A TEEN whose 'rape' gripped the US has spoken out about her ordeal in a bid to help others who have gone through the same experience. Daisy Coleman and her friend Paige Parkhurst found themselves at the centre of a social media storm, and ostracized by their community, when the case of their sexual assault hit the headlines.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Saratoga, Calif. -- A few days after Audrie Pott killed herself, while her baffled parents were grieving and students across the Saratoga High School campus wore her favorite color, teal, in her memory, a couple of the 15-year-old girl's closest friends came to Audrie's mother and delivered a shocking message: "There is more to this than you know."

Sheila Pott rushed to check her daughter's cellphone, emails, texts and Facebook page. And then she found the haunting words of her beautiful, once-bubbly daughter: "These guys did (expletive) to me while I was sleeping," read one message. "This is the worst day of my life," read another.

Not only had she been sexually assaulted after drinking too much at a house party, her family's lawyers say, but pictures of her naked during the attack were being shared online.

Three days after her last online cry of despair, she was dead.

As Audrie's mother hunted for clues, a female sheriff's deputy assigned to patrol Saratoga High School began hearing whispers that at least one graphic and humiliating photo of Audrie was racing through social media. Audrie, who had gone to a house party in Saratoga on Labor Day weekend, had too much to drink and fell asleep in a bedroom and woke up to "the worst nightmare imaginable," according to her family's lawyer, Robert Allard.

Audrie's story swept across the country Friday, echoing recent cases in Nova Scotia, Canada, and Steubenville, Ohio, involving drinking, sexual assault and online photos. The audacity of the boys to share the horrifying images in Audrie's case was the critical piece of evidence that led to their arrests on Thursday, authorities say, a stunning example of how cyberbullying can lead to tragedy and provide a digital trail for police.

"The bravado to think -- what were they thinking?" Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said in an interview Friday. "I don't know why they would think it would be OK."

After seven months of detailed investigation, including the confiscation of numerous cellphones and computers of students, sheriff's deputies arrested three 16-year-old boys on Thursday, pulling two out of Saratoga High School classes where they were still enrolled and one who had transferred to Christopher High School in Gilroy. They were arrested on suspicion of two felonies and one misdemeanor involving sexual assault and the distribution of the images. The boys are in custody in juvenile hall. This newspaper is declining to name the suspects because they are juveniles. It is uncertain whether they will be tried as adults.

Three San Jose lawyers representing the boys issued a statement Friday saying that much of what has been reported over the past several days is inaccurate.

"Most disturbing is the attempt to link Audrey's suicide to the specific actions of these three boys," according to the statement from Eric Geffon, Alan Lagod and Benjamin Williams. "We are hopeful that everyone understands that these boys, none of whom have ever been in trouble with the law, are to be regarded as innocent."

The lawyer representing the Pott family on Friday said, however, that there was nothing else so distressing in her life that would cause her to kill herself. "Nothing remotely would cause her to do this," Allard said. "She had problems like any other high-schooler. Divorced parents is not something unique. She was a good kid and she had a long life ahead."

Ed Vasquez, who is a spokesman for Allard's law firm, Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard, said it was clear from Audrie's Facebook page that "she was devastated and humiliated by what had taken place. She was extremely angry that an image was captured and it was being disseminated. She was humiliated that everybody at the school would find out and she wanted answers from people at the party about what happened."

Audrie's parents, who were in seclusion Friday but are planning a Monday news conference, revealed their daughter's identity as a first step in bringing awareness to this kind of violence and cyberbullying, as well as pursuing an "Audrie's Law" to help curb the problems.

The case is especially significant to South Bay authorities, who were criticized for not filing charges in 2007 against members of the De Anza College baseball team accused of gang-raping an extremely intoxicated teenage girl at a house party in San Jose. The failure to prosecute that case was a key factor in the downfall of former District Attorney Dolores Carr.

"These aren't easy cases. We put resources into the De Anza case and were frustrated that it couldn't be prosecuted," said Smith, the sheriff, explaining the length of the Saratoga investigation. "But in De Anza, we didn't have photographs. I would rather have the best case we can move forward than the fastest case we can move forward."

Audrie had gone to a girlfriend's house on Sept. 2, Allard, the family's lawyer said. The friend's parents were out of town for the weekend, he said, and the teens had access to an unlocked liquor cabinet. The teens, including Audrie, began drinking alcohol mixed with Gatorade.

At some point Audrie went to a bedroom and fell asleep.

"They did unimaginable things to her while she was unconscious," Allard said. "A photo or multiple photos were taken of the assault as it was taking place."

The digital photos "spread like wildfire" among students at Saratoga and at least one image was posted on the Internet, Allard said.

Audrie had considered those boys her friends. "They were not strangers," he said. "She knew them pretty well. They were friends."

A year before the Labor Day assault, Audrie went to school officials saying she had been bullied by boys, Vasquez said, although he would not say whether the incidents involved the same group of teens. Two weeks after Audrie's death, Saratoga High School Principal Paul Robinson dismissed claims that bullying had anything to do with her suicide. On Friday, Robinson deferred comment to the superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District.

On campus and around Saratoga on Friday, dozens of students declined to talk about whether they knew anything about what happened to Audrie.

One student said there were no assemblies and no announcements about the arrests. But after his band class, his teacher, Jon Pwu, told the percussion class to learn from the shocking event.

"Look out for each other," Pwu told the class. "Be there for your friends."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Audrie Pott suicide: Grim picture of Saratoga teen's final online cries of despair

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Saratoga, Calif. -- A few days after Audrie Pott killed herself, while her baffled parents were grieving and students across the Saratoga High School campus wore her favorite color, teal, in her memory, a couple of the 15-year-old girl's closest friends

# 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.