A woman who graduated Concord-Carlisle High School this year says the school did nothing about a two-year bullying campaign against her that included repeated death threats carved into school walls, smearing feces inside her car and repeatedly keying vulgarities into her car's exterior - once at the local ice-cream stand where she worked.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in US District Court in Boston, Isabella Hankey charges school officials did nothing to stop the campaign by a group of students who called themselves the Sexy Seven, even after a private investigator and a Web site set up by the family yielded evidence as to the queen bee of the group. In fact, the suit says, a vice principal shredded what few documents he had collected on the case shortly before he left the school.
In the suit, Hankey charges she became terrified of going to school and suffered a blood clot and pulmonary embolism due to all the stress.
The suit describes numerous incidents of harassment. When somebody scratched the word "Cunt" into her bumper, the suit alleges, the vice principal said he would deal with the matter by bringing a blowtorch to school to "cover up" the vandalism. The suit charges school officials said they would bring local police in, then never even contacted them.
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Comments
I hope she nails their asses
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 8:48am
Too bad she can't sue the police department, too.
I know teachers in this system - none of this surprises me. Ever see "pump up the volume"? Not quite that bad, but protecting the reputations of the school and the perps is more important than following the anti-bullying laws - which apply to the Woebegones of the Commonwealth every bit as much as the schools with less stellar reputations.
Why would she sue the PD?
By got dat wmd
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 8:53am
Why would she sue the PD? Article says the school never contacted them. Can't be held responsible if they didn't know.
Just to clarify - the article
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:10pm
Just to clarify - the article says the school never contacted them. The complaint states that she was in close conversation with CPD.
Read the article
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 11:14am
She called the cops. They said it was a school issue and washed their hands of it.
Shameful. Would they say it was "a corporate issue" if her car was vandalized in one of the local office cube parking lots? Unlikely.
Yes, and nothing will help imrpove
By Brian Riccio
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:00am
our school system like paying out a 2 million dollar verdict if she wins. I wonder how many books, computer, lunches, 2 million buys?
You're missing the point
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:05am
Of course the $2M verdict helps. It puts the fear of being liable for such a settlement into the minds of other towns, and encourages them to get their managerial / supervisory act together. If Concord Carlisle wanted to spend the money on books, computers, and lunches rather than on settling claims like this, maybe they should have fixed the problem earlier.
You know what sends a message?
By Brian Riccio
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:21am
Firing the asses of those involved and making sure they never work in education again. I think that sends a clearer message than asking the kids and the good teachers to help a lawyer get his third,no?
Yes, dvdoff but
By whyaduck
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:38am
in this situation, according to the plaintiff, the damage has been done, hence the law suit. The school alledgely violated the state's anti-bullying law (as well as apparently ignoring their own anti-bullying plan!) So you fire folks. How does that help the plaintiff receive compensation for her alledged pain and suffering?
If her allegations are true, I think she should receive monetary compensation for her pain and suffering. Period. And they way that one may accomplish that is through our legal system. You might not like that, dvdoff, but if one believes that they have been wrongly treated and/or injured, the court is the way to receive an award, usually monetary in many cases, for maltreatment and/or injury, both physical and mental.
But there are actually an awful lot of "those involved"
By Greene
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:28am
The problem is systemic. It's not a few lousy teachers that need to be fired, it's an entire education system that doesn't handle students' behavioral problems appropriately.
So who do you fire? And how will that change anything?
Concord Carlisle had a choice
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 3:15pm
to fire the asses of the problem teachers and administrators, or to gamble. They gambled. They lost. Letting them off the hook now would completely unbalance the whole system. The layer's third is part of the cost of getting the job done.
Well, maybe next time
By whyaduck
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:30am
the school will take seriously allegations of bullying, no?
No one should have to put up with this.
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:44am
At first glance this sounds like an excessive, frivolous lawsuit for something that many teenagers experience at one point or another. But after scanning through the exhibits, and hearing about how this girl was repeatedly tormented/threatened, there is no doubt that she suffered greatly. Who knows what the full story is, and it doesnt sound like the school completely ignored the issue. While they did make an effort to address and follow up on these incidents, it clearly wasnt enough. I am sure that this young lady's life has been impacted greatly because of this. Man, teenage girls can be mean!
It's chump change there.
By Neal
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:45am
I don't think there are many, if any, kids lacking books, computers or lunches in the Concord-Carlisle school district. This is a place where people regularly drop in excess of $50K on the family car.
Just because many people are
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 12:43pm
Just because many people are well off in the town doesn't mean everyone is. As a CCHS grad, I remember plenty of kids who were getting free/reduced lunch, didn't have computers at home, etc.
Plus it is one of the most run down High Schools in the area....
By Pete Nice
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:17pm
I think they are getting a new HS next year?
The New School
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:17pm
you realize that this new school they're building for our town is like $93 million dollars? and that our town has the highest paid teachers in the state
Still stupid 14 years after Columbine
By Kim L. Short
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:32am
Bully enablers are still mean, stupid, and callous 14 years after Columbine. Their depraved indifference just makes it easy for the next Timothy McVeigh, Eric Harris, or Adam Lanza to rationalize that people are fundamentally evil and deserve to be massacred. Way to go morons.
There's no evidence the
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 10:32am
There's no evidence the Columbine shooters were in fact bullied, and they may have been bullies themselves.
No correalation.
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 5:11pm
Plenty of people have been bullied at one point in their lives,
In regards to the people you have mentioned, you gave the most simplistic reasoning for those dirtbags murders. First, they were sociopaths. Hell, Lanza's own family didnt even want to associate with him because of how you acted. When kids are young, they have no clue how to respond with an anti-social peer. Im notexcusing someone getting made fun of but being anti-social means you are sticking out for all of the bad reasons and that is by your choice.
this girl in Concord-Carlisle got bullied. I have no idea what she did to her peers to cause this reaction (I'm not excusing them at all but something had to have happened for them to react this way) but the bullying phrase is tossed out far too loosely nowadays. Once, in the 9th grade a senior checked me into a locker. I brushed it off and went to class but today, if I spoke up, that kid would easily be suspeneded and probably have to go to sensitivity training for months.
She MUST have done SOMETHING
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 6:10pm
Boy.
Sort of like "those women attacked in Beacon Hill must have worn rape-me clothes" or "don't have a purse if you don't want it snatched"?
Like, something to provoke like become the girlfriend of a popular boy, move the the area recently, etc. like the girl in Western MA?
You are a piece of work. Seriously. Please grow up, do some RESEARCH, and learn something about the subject, and try again.
Blaming the victim:
By anon
Sat, 08/10/2013 - 12:22pm
People are often bullied due to being visibly different from their peers in some way or other, often due to no fault of their own. A kid can have learning/developmental disabilities, be deformed, be of a different religion, ethnicity or color than the predominant group(s), and, oftentimes, being different in some way or other, especially due to a physical, mental/or developmental handicap can and sometimes will cause emotional handicaps as well, resulting in funny or inappropriate behavior from the victim, which, in turn, can and does fuel the bullying.
I also might add that people often get bullied due to sexual orientation, as well. I've even read/heard about kids getting bullied because they've got food allergies, and either getting quite sick, or dying as a consequence. Bullying can take different forms, ranging from overt physical violence to the sneaky kind of bullying that all too often flies under the radar; exclusion, ostracising, doing nasty, sneaky things to the victim that s/he can't put a finger on, and even not so subtle gibing.
Unfortunately, anti-bullying laws frequently fail to work, because both teachers and school authorities alike often fail to implement them, and, due to forgetfulness, neglect, exhaustion, or being too busy with their agendas, fail to set bullies straight by intervening on the victims' behalf. All too often, as well, when a person being bullied for whatever reason(s) does stick up for him or herself, s/he is the one who's often blamed and penalized, not the bully him/herself.
In any case, there's just no excuse for bullying, whatsoever. Without knowing the young woman in person, I wish her the best of luck, and hope she gets some sort of compensation for what she suffered.
Wow
By bosguy22
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 9:50am
I admit, I was a bit skeptical before reading the complaint and the exhibits, but wow. That poor girl...I hope the parties involve get shown the door.
Wow
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 10:47am
Poor kid. I'm glad she was able to hang in there and get everything documented. We all know this could have (and still could, really) ended up even worse, for herself and/or others.
Concord Resident
By Concord resident
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 11:29am
Poor girl.
Though sadly, it doesn't surprise me.
I live in Concord and have been stunned to see how our administration is far more focused on consolidating power than it is cultivating a healthy learning environment for students and teachers.
The real problem here
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 12:10pm
Is that you can't slap a kid anymore. Where's the biggest teacher or principal? Grab the bully by the shirt collar one time and slap him across the face. He won't be causing any more trouble.
Okay, then...
By BostonUrbEx
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 12:17pm
Okay, then how did bullying exist even back when corporal punishment was permissible?
Because the bullies hadn't been hit yet
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 12:47pm
You get away with it before you get slapped.
!!!
By z
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 12:58pm
Let's all just be glad you're not in charge of kids.
Right, because I'm clearly wrong here
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:39pm
What else is going to stop the bullying? I don't believe for a (expletive) second that the bullying will stop if the bullies are asked nicely to stop. I mean, for Chrissakes, they carved the c-word into the bumper of her car and made death references on bathroom walls. This rises beyond busting balls and childhood pranks into acts of terror.
Yet, the behavior must still be stopped. What's it going to take? An arrest? Jail time? Slapping the kid in the face one time to make it clear that there will be a consequence for treating another kid like crap? I'm far more qualified to be in charge of kids than the people who work at this school. And I'm a trivia host who does not plan on ever having children of my own.
Man, I thought you were trolling at first, but...
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 3:44pm
Do you think that people beat their kids because they weren't beaten enough as a child?
Um, no
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 4:32pm
I didn't imply that at all.
My dad used to slap me across the face and punch me in the arm (but never punch me in the face.) I've grown up to be something of an angry adult, but it's never risen to the level of me hitting another person.
Teenage catfights
By Mollynotloggedin
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:23pm
Wait, Will, so you're advocating grown men hitting teenage girls?
Or should they find the female teacher with the sharpest nails to do the slapping?
Yeah, you gotta get a female here
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:40pm
Really doesn't look good for a guy to hit a girl. It just doesn't.
lol
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:00pm
some of the worst bullies in school were kids that were regularly slapped around by their parents.
That's probably true, anon, but
By anon
Sat, 08/10/2013 - 2:28pm
that doesn't make bullying excusable, by any stretch of the imagination.
If you have a fetish for
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:39pm
If you have a fetish for slapping underage girls, you're disgusting. Seek help. Stay away from children.
Yeah, I said I had a fetish for slapping girls
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:13pm
Amazing the nonsense that people will spout on the Internet when they don't attach their name to their remarks.
You should run for sheriff
By Kaz
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 10:35am
Just so Doug Bennett has someone he can beat.
Bafflement
By RhoninFire
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 12:51pm
I look to my memory of bully which was never close to anything this post describe (as in stopped in middle school rather than high school, only one idiot kid rather than seven, and nothing close to her degree).
The teachers and principles I had were willing to provide help if I come to them. I cannot fathom a school where its teachers did nothing and the vice-principle even try to shred evidence.
I hope she gets the money. But I hope more that I'll read a post that the administrations and teachers who did nothing gets fired. Though ideally, I would like to know what were in their minds when they see her come in with a car full of feces and vandalism. Because I would like to think most people would volunteer to do anything to help her just by pure sympathy much less the sense of injustice and policies to also motivate. I cannot understand why they choose the opposite.
I'll say this.....
By Pete Nice
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:09pm
If this account is true, the girl should get 10 million dollars. Even if it is mostly true she should get something, but......
I've seen and investigated dozens of crimes just like this. A good majority of them involve the "victim" also does various things to antagonize the "bully(s)" in different ways. And parents can be very unreasonable when it comes to their children these days.
This account is clear that the kid did nothing wrong and the school failed her. But I've seen these types of allegations first hand, and more often than not there is another story.
I'm sure that if a kid is
By Scratchie
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:53pm
I'm sure that if a kid is being bullied incessantly, they're going to lash out at the bullies at some point. That shouldn't reduce the bullies' or their enablers' liability in any way.
You are right Scratchie....
By Pete Nice
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:08pm
That could be true in many instances.
But sometime the "victim" starts it with something relatively small (starting a false rumor, calling a girl a slut, sleeping with someone else's boyfriend), and the "bully" will strike back with something similar. And often times the bullies will get support from other people who point out the original wrongdoing of the "victim".
It does look like in this Concord case there are some serious issues going on, but what if the victim did 2 of these things (name calling, false rumor starting), and the bullies did 10 in return?
I'm just saying there is usually more to these types of cases.
None of those are crimes
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 3:21pm
Calling a girl a slut or sleeping with a boyfriend are not crimes. Vandalism and threats of bodily harm are. You know this.
Whether she had is coming or not is irrelevant. These were crimes and she had a right to not to have her property vandalized or by physically threatened. You know this as well.
Not always....
By Pete Nice
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 11:49am
It is not irrelevant if a person shows a pattern of harassment of others (even if that harassment doesn't amount to a crime). It doesn't excuse other criminal behavior (malicious damage of property, or threats), but it may not be enough to get 2 million dollars from a school/company/person/.
Even so...
By eeka
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 12:22pm
The school has an obligation to stop harassment and bullying, regardless of whether it reaches criminal levels. If either of the students is targeting another in an ongoing way, they need to do something about it. A lot of times the victim of bullying has learning disabilities and/or poor social skills, and the school has failed to address this for years. Or, the kid is innately quite well-adjusted, but just doesn't fit in well.
This doesn't even always have to be done in the manner of singling the kid out and providing formal services; there's a lot adults can do to create a culture where social standing is less important and students of all different backgrounds and talents are valued. Yet, in many high schools, you have adults who are entirely wrapped up themselves in adolescent dynamics, and you find teachers aligning with the cool kids and snubbing the uncool kids and being afraid to be associated with them. Schools need to insist that adults act like adults. A teacher can be immensely powerful in the way that they interact with kids and manage their classroom and can really be the deciding factor in including all kids and getting them interacting with each other, or in reinforcing that certain kids are valued over others. Overall school culture can also be huge; does the school earn fun activities and accolades primarily because of kids who are athletic? Does the school include a student "government" that is essentially a popularity contest and excludes the kids who actually have marketable skills?
Spot On
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 2:48pm
My brother was blamed for all the bullying that he "attracted" because he was said to have "brought it on himself" and all those other stupid things that Pete the Clueless Blamer said above.
He had ADHD and Asperger's Autism. How in the hell was he supposed to NOT "encourage people to attack him"???
I'm glad Pete isn't a cop anymore - although it explains a lot about cops attacking people rather than get properly trained to deal with the public.
I won't respond to anon posters.....
By Pete Nice
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 3:21pm
But eeka is spot on.
Of course she can get away with saying things like "a lot of times", but other people can't?
Please describe
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 5:20pm
Your familiarity with the literature on bullying and on reducing bullying in school systems.
I'm betting that is "nil" and "why would I read anything when that might mean thinking".
Blame the victim, much?
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 11:18am
Wrong answer. Of course, I'm sure it is the standard Cop answer - given that many cops were (and still are) bullies.
2 Mil is Excessive.
By cybah
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:29pm
2 Million is excessive. You're SUING a SCHOOL. hello.
Schools have enough funding problems trying to get money for teachers, books, and materials, and now they are going to be paying out lawsuits to students who were treated badly. It's going to get to a point where no one is going to want to work in public education in fear of losing their job and being sued.
Look, I get it. I was horribly teased and beaten up daily as a kid in school. To the point where I tried suicide more than once. I know how it can effect someone. But I didn't turn around and sue the school because nothing was done. I'm a child of the 80s and back then there was no such thing as bullying policies and what not. Did I sue my school?
Fuck no, I grew a backbone, sucked it up, and moved on. All bullying does is make you STRONGER. If you feel the need to SUE your school because you were mistreated, then you have no backbone and are just using the legal system to do exactly what was done to you... BULLY BACK, which is NO better than the bullies themselves. All this girl did was get a bigger 'queen bee' (aka a lawyer).
How is this a good example for other bullied kids? Oh yeah, rather than fight, you run away to mommie and daddy who just hire a lawyer and sue? This is what's wrong with kids and families today. Rather than work it out, we just hire a lawyer and sue. That's chicken'ing out, and not solving anything.
Where were her parents? Why didn't they approach the school? Where's documentation that this was discussed and worked on? Once again, rather than actually take action, they are just hiring a lawyer instead. I also have to question why the police were not directly called by the parents. Again, you can't let/think the administration is going to do everything for you, as parents, you need to step up to the place and make calls yourself.
And yeah I get that the administration did nothing, but seriously folks, you want people that care, send your kid to private school. That's what your money is paying for.
This is going to set a precendent for other kids who were bullied to sue other school districts for cash because they were 'mis treated'. This is a slippery slope and considering how wide reaching bullying is these days, it's going to open a can of worms that won't be stopped. I already see hundreds of lawyers drooling at the possibility of new streams of revenue.
I feel sorry for the tax payers who contribute to the funding of the Concord-Carlisle School District. I also feel sorry for the students of this school district, as its going to be future generations who are going to lose because instead of that money going to materials, its going to be paid out in lawsuits. Even if she doesn't win, those lawyers need to be paid some how, so its a lose-lose situation.
What an awful world we live in these days.
I'm sure I'll be flamed for this post, but I don't care. I *was* bullied far worse than this girl in the complainant was. And THIS lawsuit annoys me to the max.
I'm usually against lawsuit abuse
By Will LaTulippe
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:53pm
But not here. This was a consistent pattern of terror that was systemically ignored. How frickin' big is this school? How hard is it to stake people out? 2 million might be steep, but the school at the very least owes her for damage to the car and for her medical bills.
EDIT: Especially with the $300 annual parking fee. Is there signage that reads "not responsible for damage to vehicles?"
Couple things
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 1:54pm
You are going get flamed because your rant if off in so many ways:
Did you even read the complaint? It lays out in detail the parents interaction with the school, the police and even a private investigator. Based on the document provided, they were very much involved and pressing the school and the police for action to no avail.
How did bullying make you stronger if you self-admittedly attempted suicide numerous times? Did you grow a backbone and suck it up before or after your failed suicide attempts? I don't see how eating a bottle of Tylenol makes you morally superior to someone that hired a lawyer.
"you want people that care, send your kid to private school." Ahh so only people of means should be able to send their kids to school in a safe environment. Gotcha.
Suit happy parents are a hassle for schools no doubt. But this situation as described is egregious. If administrators want to keep their jobs, they should be afraid of being sued for cause. There are always kooks that will sue over nothing and the school district should back their employees 100% in those situations. However, I can't fault the parents in this case for going the legal route when it appears the school didn't take the situation seriously. Had the girl actually been harmed on school grounds during this, you would be adding a few zeros to the lawsuit.
2 Mil is Excessive
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:04pm
I disagree with you wholeheartedly and I don't consider this a flame. This girl, if all is true and I have no reason to doubt, was bullied first by fellow students and then by the disregard shown by authorities and trusted officials. Unfortunately in this country we only have so many avenues to obtain justice, reaching for the money seems to be the preferred method.
I do understand that schools have better things to do with their money; however if you read the complaint, the parents and the student did the right thing by reporting each and every incident in a timely manner. To be ignored the way they were is frustrating to read, no less live out.
I do wonder why more wasn't done by the police. If an adult's car was being vandalized multiple times, I wonder if it would be investigated more thoroughly.
To suggest that because people have been bullied for generations somehow the victims need to suck it up is a little baffling to me. Think of all the activities that we abhor today and are thankful that we as a society have moved away from and can't believe we ever condoned.
I hope that girl and her family can find peace no matter the outcome of the case.
I'm no fan of lawsuits
By Nonymouse
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:26pm
But in this case, litigation is all that is left. This kid was systematically terrorized and the administration sat on its hands for over a year, refusing to act on information given to them by multiple sources, let alone ferret out any information themselves.
Plus, this kid has LASTING damages. She had a pulmonary embolism, for chrissakes - stress is a huge factor in that, especially in one so young.
You know, I'm glad you feel your bullies toughened you up. I feel the same about mine, actually. This kid didn't react that way. Maybe she *couldn't* react that way, the same way that some people thrive in high-stress environments and some people melt down over planning a birthday party.
I'm just going to address
By RhoninFire
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:27pm
I'm just going to address this one point. The rest can rightly flame the rest
Why can't public schools have teachers and administrators that care?
I give you one concession to your view. Awarding money may not make the administrators and teachers feel any pain aside the inconvenience of meetings with lawyers. That the money may only make taxpayers feel the pain with higher property taxes and students with less materials.
However, I do hope the results will be better than that. That they would feel a sense of remorse even if only from the public spectacle. And I do believe she should get some kind of compensation because her suffering was unnecessary by the actions of the school.
This leads to the more important point, the people involved and did nothing must get terminated. If not to try to punish their error, then to try to bring in people who do care - why should only tuition paying private school get access to hire such people? It is in as much in the interest of the taxpayers with money going to public schools as a parent paying to a private school.
I'm not sure what to feel about your story
By Nancy
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:58pm
I was bullied in elementary school so my parents put me in private junior high and high school but the scars are still there.
It doesn't sound to me like you became stronger from your experiences. It seems to me like you just got angrier.
I've been in therapy for years as a result of what happened in my childhood and the self-destructive behaviors I pursued because I thought I deserved to be hurt. I still struggle with the after-effects of my childhood every day and it sounds like you do too.
I hope you find some kind of peace someday.
read the complaint before you post
By bosguy22
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 3:09pm
The parents were in constant contact with the school, as well as the police department and it was all documented. Get a clue.
I'm sorry for what you went
By Annika
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 8:34pm
I'm sorry for what you went through and wish you had some opportunity for recourse (or at least understanding from your community! no one should be treated like that ever!) because you shouldn't have had to deal with any of that. I feel like it's old school thinking that you're supposed to 'grow a spine' and 'stop asking for it'. Awful. (And yes, I do still think there are kids who court drama and bad scenarios, but they are in a small minority of students and need to be dealt with differently).
As far as personal I was harassed and tormented in high school as well, not to the point that it was bad enough to feel like I couldn't ever get away from it, but it definitely made it hard to pay attention in class and I developed severe depression and anxiety issues that extended after. In school, I used to bail and hang in the nurses office instead of going to certain classes because there was nothing I could do to stop any of the harassment personally. The guidance counselors were like overgrown high schoolers who wanted to be recognized as 'cool' by the majority of the st Administrators didn't take it seriously and often were even 'friends' with the students who were the perpetrators.
I support this lawsuit because our laws are different now as are (or are in theory) what our levels of tolerance for harassment in schools and this should have never been allowed to escalate to such dangerous levels.
Yes, what an awful world we live in
By anon
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 1:32pm
Where a student can be treated like this and no one does anything (happens in private school too). Telling students that it makes them stronger is NOT the answer. The complaint clearly states that the parents approached the school numerous times for assistance and nothing was done.
Shredding evidence is obstruction. A felony.
By Omri
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 4:41pm
If it takes 2 million dollars to explain to this particular branch of the education system that vice principals should not commit felonies, so be it.
So what you're telling us is
By Sid
Thu, 08/08/2013 - 12:49am
So what you're telling us is that you're jealous.
What actually happened.
By anon
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 2:13pm
I went to that school and what happened to her was absolutely above and beyond normal bullying and our principal did nothing to stop it or protect her. On multiple occasions people keyed "slut" into her car and the school did nothing about it, she went to the police and again they did nothing about it. Im sure there were more things done to her as she and I were not close friends, but this alone is worthy of a lawsuit. compiling onto the fact that the school did nothing about this incident is that the board was also very corrupt, money comes in and out and no one knows where it goes...
That's so scary and awful. I
By Annika
Tue, 08/06/2013 - 8:06pm
That's so scary and awful. I went to high school in a suburb nearby and it was awful for me but it never escalated to vandalism, though I and another girl did have things thrown at us during class on a daily basis for a time and verbal harassment. (Of course those guys are either in jail or in the local police force or military these days, lovely). When I look back, I'm not surprised that I failed chemistry class. A lot of administrators dealing with these kids were like overgrown high schoolers reliving their glory days endlessly and just tried to be friends with the instigators which only further enabled the behavior.
Anyway, I absolutely support this case moving forward. This is absolutely intolerable behavior (death threats!) and the beyond inadequate response from administrators, staff, and the police department is just disgusting.
Sorry, no witnesses for the
By anon
Fri, 08/09/2013 - 4:56pm
Sorry, no witnesses for the vandalism. Who are the police going to go after? Happened outside the school property.
And this is why nothing was done by the school administration or the Concord (car was vandalized at the train station) or Carlisle (car was vandalize at her work location) police.
Lots of rumors. Just hearsay - no confessions. No one willing to testify.
How does one stop the harassment/bullying for this?
Amherst Schools in New York State
By theszak
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 12:35am
Amherst Schools in New York State
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Jamey_Rode...
For "Site Search" enter... bullying
at
http://amherstschools.org
So they never determined who was responsible for the threats?
By Dan Farnkoff
Wed, 08/07/2013 - 9:29pm
I would say that 17-18 years old is old enough for some real accountability. These kids should be exposed if law enforcement knows with some certainty who they are. I know "Innocent, etc", but it's kind of scary to think that these young women are going to get away without even a slap on the wrist or a mark on their records, so that they're free to become morally immature lawyers, financial advisors, investment bankers, or government officials without anyone being the wiser.
Expose them, for God's sake. Then they can (hopefully) set to work on their personal redemptions having learned that there are some consequences to evil behavior.
DASA Dignity for All Students Act EC Extracurricular Code
By theszak
Thu, 08/08/2013 - 8:07am
DASA
Dignity for All Students Act
EC
Extracurricular Code
http://www.amherstschools.org/highschool.cfm?subpa...
http://www.amherstschools.org/news.cfm?story=2351
Why not sue the bullies
By anon
Thu, 08/08/2013 - 3:12pm
Why not sue the bullies instead? She knows who they are.
Suing the bullies and (more than likely) exhausting savings
By anon
Sat, 08/10/2013 - 2:40pm
isn't necessarily and always the answer either, first because who knows what kind of lawyer(s) the bullies' parents have? Secondly, It might possibly make the bullies even more aggressive towards her if she'd gone that route. Thirdly, maybe getting involved in martial arts or at least something similar might've provided her with a little more self-confidence, thus reducing, if not stopping the bullying altogether. Also, one doesn't have to be a lawyer to realize that suing somebody is cakewalk. It can take months or possibly years to get anywhere, plus the plaintiff won't necessarily win his/her case, and, often enough, people exhausted their life's savings by taking legal action(s) for whatever reasons.
Also, not everybody can afford a lawyer, either.
Oops....my bad!
By anon
Sun, 08/11/2013 - 10:49am
I meant to say that one doesn't have to be a lawyer to realize that suing somebody is no cakewalk!
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