Teen Bullying and 15-Year-Old Phoebe Prince Suicide

Phoebe Prince immigrated from County Clare in Ireland, and last year she enrolled at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. 15-year-old Prince walked home from school on January 14^th 2010 and hanged herself. Sadly, her younger sister found her body.

However, her death was not just a suicide, it was a desperate desire to escape the verbal, and physical bullying she had endured at school. A clique of school girls known as the "Mean Girls" allegedly were seeking revenge for Prince dating an unnamed older boy; they tormented and harassed the teen until she could take no more.

There have been reports of students blocking her in a classroom, throwing soda cans at her, and doing other horrible things to her. The disturbing part is that these acts of bullying took place at school, and nothing was done to stop it.

Prince was threatened and verbally harassed non-stop, and after nearly three-months of constant bullying Phoebe could take no more. Obviously, she felt that the only escape from the living hell she faced each waking day was death. Can you imagine how this child must have felt having to return to school everyday?

Elizabeth Scheibel, local district attorney, said the the bullying had been "common knowledge."

It is reported that Phoebe's mother did speak with staff members about the bullying prior to her daughters death. The South Hadley High School staff, faculty, and administrators were aware of the harassment of this teen but did nothing to stop it. Many would agree that they are partly responsible for 15-year-old Prince's death.

According to a survey of 700 communities done in 1994 by the National School Safety Center 80% of respondents stated that violence was a serious problem in hallways, playgrounds, and classrooms. That was 16 years ago, and today we have school staff members that do not take these reported incidences seriously.

Parents and school staff members need to realize that teen-bullying today is not like that of many a years ago; long gone are the days when bullying was nothing more than name calling. Angeles Chanon, the mother of one of the nine students charged, told the Boston Herald daily that, "They're teenagers. They call names," she added, "She did not physically assault (her). I know she knows better than that. I wouldn't accept that." Is Chanon saying that it is okay for her child to verbally bully someone?

Teens today are showing an extreme lack of compassion, and a total disregard for human life. Parents that feel like Chanon need to understand that children may behave one way in our presence, but once they walk out the door they usually behave very differently. And she, Chanon, as an adult and parent should know that words can be used as weapons to hurt someone.

More importantly, teen bullying is a sign that these teens are heading down a dangerous path, and they are at risk for serious acts of violence. According to bullybeware.com 60% of identified bullies have a criminal conviction by age 24.

Parents need to become more open-minded, and educated about teen bullying. It is not enough to believe that your teen is not capable of doing such a thing. Are you the parent of a teen? The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center has information to help you; a great place to start is with the bullying facts and statistics.

The suicide of Phoebe Prince is heartbreaking, and now we have 9 teens that have been charged in this horrific case of teen bullying that caused a 15-year-old girl to kill herself. A total of 11 young lives have been affected by this senseless crime which school staff ignored. Yes, that is 11 lives because we must not over-look the lasting effect this will undoubtedly have on Phoebe's little sister who found her body.

Parents and school staff have to make some serious changes in their thinking, and reactions to reported teen bullying.