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The parents of a 7th grader in Odessa, Delaware are angry.

They say that their daughter was relentlessly bullied on Facebook by some students at Alfred G. Waters Middle School.

Tonight, her parents complained to the school board because they did not find out about this bullying from the school directly. Instead, they found out from another parent

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Evanston Township Supt. Eric Witherspoon says the "Evanston Rats" Facebook page has been the source of hateful, humiliating, reputation ruining comments and that students who post those kinds of comments could wind up being disciplined by the school or prosecuted.

On Tuesday morning, the group still appeared, and had 346 fans as of 11:25 a.m. But Witherspoon has warned students not to access the site, even out of curiosity.

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The following CNN videos, articles and other online resources offer opportunities for families, schools and communities to discuss and address bullying.

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A local resident filed a lawsuit against the Cherry Hill School District in late March for a teacher’s alleged derisive comments and actions toward her high school daughter.
Melanie Singer filed the federal civil rights lawsuit against the district on March 18, stemming from incidents in which Cherry Hill High School West teacher Thomas DiPatri Jr. allegedly encouraged students in the school to call her daughter by the nickname “Handy Mandy” and other derogatory terms in reference to her alleged sexual activity.
“Handy Manny” is an animated cartoon show that is catered towards young children.
According to the lawsuit, the student sought counsel from her guidance counselor and said DiPatri Jr. was encouraging his honors students to call her by the nickname – and others, such as “*advertiser censored*” and “*advertiser censored*” – and she wanted it to stop. Despite her complaints, the guidance counselor told the student to “ignore” the comments and no action was taken.

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Beacon Hill lawmakers yesterday staunchly denied that the casino frenzy sweeping the State House has stalled a highly publicized anti-bullying bill inspired by Phoebe Prince’s tragic suicide.

“It may come as a surprise to some people, but we can work on multiple things at the same time,” said Rep. John Scibak (D-South Hadley).

The Herald reported yesterday that House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo’s all-out push to bring casinos and slots to the Bay State has effectively put the state’s first anti-bullying bill on the back burner.

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Parents Say Daughter Was Cyber-Bullied
Family Takes Case To Odessa, Del. School Board

ODESSA, Del. - The parents of a 7th-grader in Odessa, Del., are angry.

They say that their daughter was relentlessly bullied on Facebook by some students at Alfred G. Waters Middle School.

On Tuesday night, her parents complained to the school board because they did not find out about this bullying from the school directly. Instead, they found out from another parent.

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(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in two North American countries believe bullying should be considered a crime even if no physical violence is involved, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 62 per cent of respondents in Canada—and 52 per cent in the U.S.—agree with this notion.

In the United States, the death of teenager Phoebe Prince has sparked a national debate about bullying. Prince—an immigrant from Ireland—committed suicide in January after repeated instances of harassment and taunting. Last month, six teenagers from Prince’s South Hadley High School were indicted as adults on felony charges by a Hampshire County grand jury.

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A multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Clarke County School Board may be settled out of court.

A mediation hearing is going to be scheduled in May before a magistrate judge.

Berryville Resident Kenneth Liggins is suing the school board for $10.5 million. He says the board and a government official violated his civil rights and his freedom of speech during a public hearing two years ago.

Liggins claims board members told him to stop talking and sit down. Liggins, who is representing himself on the matter, says he is willing to try and settle outside of court.

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"Carla Carey said her daughter has been the victim of bullying for months and despite the family's complaints to school officials the problem has continued.

"Constant, constant emotional terrorism," Carey said.

Carey said 14-year-old girls tormented her daughter.

"Speaking to her demeaning, making her the butt of jokes, talking to her as an infant," Carey said. "There were days she stayed home, and she's healthy. Her grades went from honor roll to D and F."

Carey said she went to the school for face-to-face meetings with school officials.

"They said go to the guidance counselors, and they didn't do anything," Carey said. "The school told us it was all in my daughter's head and she should get counseling."

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Some common misconceptions may lull the parents of bullies into failing to recognize warning signs.

Bullies are often star athletes or popular girls considered charismatic leaders by peers and adults, experts say. What's often missed or passed over as minor is a consistent pattern of control and aggression against other kids — behavior that socially savvy bullies can sometimes slide under the radar of grown-ups.

"It's not what we typically think of. It's not always the kid who's pushing kids down on the playground," says Rosalind Wiseman, who wrote "Queen Bees and Wannabes," the basis for the movie "Mean Girls."

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Middle School have joined a group called Teachers, Administrators and Students for Kids, which aims to improve the way students treat one another. Students say bullying is a problem as much here as it is anywhere, and with the help of adults — including legislators — they are hoping to change that.

“A lot of kids don’t really take the time to realize the bullying that’s going on,” said Jenn, 14. “They’re afraid, or they don’t know who to say it to.”

Conor O’Shea, 13, says TASK students are trying to set positive examples and are available for students who need to talk about a bullying problem. Adults at the middle school are supportive, but “we need more kids to be supportive,” he said.

“I’ve been bullied,” said Conor, who is in eighth grade. “You feel horrible … I know kids who don’t come to school because of it.”
Many students at the middle school wrote letters to state Sen. James B. Eldridge, D-Acton, in support of bullying legislation. Yesterday, they met with the senator, who told the students their letters “made a dramatic difference” to lawmakers.

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A sophomore at Glenn High School committed suicide Wednesday night after receiving harassing text messages from other students, school officials said today.

Ashley Rogers hanged herself at her home in Kernersville, said Dr. Donald Jason, a Forsyth County medical examiner. She was pronounced dead at 10:55 p.m. at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Her mother, Christine Rogers, called administrators at Glenn on Tuesday to tell them that two students had been sending her daughter harassing text messages. After investigating, the school's resource officer determined that the students had sent text messages starting at 10:30 p.m. April 8 and continuing until 7:30 a.m. on April 9.

"The administrators talked to all the students involved," said Theo Helm, a spokesman for the school system.

The students were told that such behavior would not be tolerated. Because the messages were not sent during school hours, no disciplinary action was taken against the students, Helm said.

Officials would not say what the messages were about

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Increasingly, neuroscientists, psychologists and educators believe that bullying and other kinds of violence can indeed be reduced by encouraging empathy at an early age. Over the past decade, research in empathy — the ability to put ourselves in another person's shoes — has suggested that it is key, if not the key, to all human social interaction and morality.

Without empathy, we would have no cohesive society, no trust and no reason not to murder, cheat, steal or lie. At best, we would act only out of self-interest; at worst, we would be a collection of sociopaths.

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Ayrshire: Fifteen-year-old Peter Sinclair falls through ice and dies. He was playing truant to avoid bullies. His mother forgave the bullies and invited them to his funeral.

Seven-stone Daniel Mole is chased and beaten by the who had bullied him throughout his school life. He died falling from a roof in an attempt to escape. It was his 21st birthday.

Lanarkshire: A 12-year-old pupil at a top fee-paying school hanged himself from a tree to escape merciless bullying.

Wales: Jemma Brine-Daniels, 14, dies of overdose after being bullied at school ... by teachers

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