I wrote this and it will be in my local paper this week

> The Titanic Disaster in 1912 proved having enough lifeboats on board for all of the passengers was necessary to prevent tragedy. The Great Molasses Flood in 1919 in Boston proved that plans drawn by engineers and things built according to them were necessary to prevent tragedy. The Station Nightclub tragedy in 2003, proved that pyrotechnic displays in small spaces were a very bad idea, and now there is a moratorium on them at venues that hold fewer than 300 people.
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> And finally, after the suicide of Phoebe Prince, bullying is being finally being taken seriously thanks to Massachusetts District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel.
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> Phoebe Prince was a beautiful 15 year old who was bullied by one 9 students who have been indicted on such charges as stalking, criminal harassment, and violation of civil rights, just to name a few. The news reported some of the girls who were her tormentors were laughing about Phoebe’s suicide, and some have even written hateful messages on her memorial Facebook page.
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> The bullying took place on line and on her cell phone but was primarily during school hours
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> The students and faculty knew this was going on, but did nothing about it. Phoebe’s parents tried to get the school to help Phoebe and they wouldn’t.
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> The faculty and staff’s behavior was not deemed criminal but there will be consequences for the school district. And there should be.
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> As a parent of a child who has suffered a the hands of bullies over the years and has at times been the parent begging for protection of their child from the school, I can only think “there but for the grace of God go I”
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> So far, we in our school district have not been touched by a tragedy like this. We are lucky. We are not immune. Phoebe Prince had parents who loved her as much as we all love our children but for some reason, Phoebe felt so powerless, dying was the only option she felt she had. Dying was the only way to stop the torment and the pain that every school day was for her. Because her parent’s intervention did no good, she had no authority figure at school to go to; she must have felt abandoned to the wolves.
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> The events in South Hadley Massachusetts should be a lesson for every school system. Anti-bullying programs need to be constantly re-assessed to be sure they are working because the Hadley School System had one. As parents we need to be talking to our kids and really listen to what is going on with them. Parents also need to teach their kids that bullying is wrong.
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> We can only beat this problem if we all engage together, parents, teachers and community leaders.
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> I do not want to be discussing this issue at a funeral.
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> It shouldn’t take a tragedy to prevent a tragedy.

:kick: