Heated discussion about school bullying

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WWLP) - It was an eye-opening and emotional discussion about school bullying in the South Hadley High School auditorium Wednesday night.

Two weeks ago, freshman student, 15 year-old Phoebe Prince, took her own life. It hasn't been confirmed it was a direct result of bullying, but there is proof she was bullied, both in and out of school, leading up to her death.

It was a loud and emotional meeting at times. Many parents said the School Committee has been ignoring the problem of school bullying for years.

South Hadley mother Lisa Gustafson was brought to tears as she described the bullying her 6 year-old son has experienced at school.

“He was tripped, then grabbed by the neck and head slammed into the floor, punched in the chest, pushed in the back, called an idiot, called a loser, being written in marker, on his face,” she said.

Gustafson told the school committee that her son used to be excited and enthusiastic about school, but that those emotions have now changed to fear and anxiety.

Luke Gelinas, a father of two boys, ages 8 and 16, spoke out at the meeting. He read a passage from a letter sent home with one of his sons.

Afterwards he said: “Not only have you not been successful, you have failed! And until somebody stands up and admits that there has been failure here, a complete failure, we have nowhere to go.”

The crowd applauded vigorously to the sentiment.

The PTA President for the Plains School, Jennifer Carleton, is also a mother of two. She told 22News she sat in the meeting infuriated. She says she’s been telling the school committee bullying was a problem for years, and after investigating it, they've always come back saying there is no issue.

“We do believe it's being ignored. It usually ends up that the bully is the one that's being coddled for it, and the victim is the one that's being removed from class and being asked to change,” she said.

Gustafson challenged the school board to provide services for the victims of bullying, to help them cope with the abuse they've suffered.