Sladjana Vidovic's body lay in an open casket, dressed in the sparkly pink dress she had planned to wear to the prom. Days earlier, she had tied one end of a rope around her neck and the other around a bed post before jumping out her bedroom window.
The 16-year-old's last words, scribbled in English and her native Croatian, told of her daily torment at Mentor High School, where students mocked her accent, taunted her with insults like "Slutty Jana" and threw food at her.
It was the fourth time in little more than two years that a bullied high school student in this small Cleveland suburb on Lake Erie died by his or her own hand - three suicides, one overdose of antidepressants. One was bullied for being gay, another for having a learning disability, another for being a boy who happened to like wearing pink....Now two families - including the Vidovics - are suing the school district, claiming their children were bullied to death and the school did nothing to stop it. The lawsuits come after a national spate of high-profile suicides by gay teens and others, and during a time of national soul-searching about what can be done to stop it....
Related cases:
DA to look into suicide of teen said to be bullied
Prosecutors said Friday they will look into what led to the suicide of a 13-year-old Houston boy whose parents say was relentlessly bullied at his middle school for two years because of his religion and sexual orientation. Asher Brown's parents, who claim school officials ignored their pleas for help, said they hope "justice will be served" by the investigation by the Harris County District Attorney's Office. "Once they find out what's been hidden, we would want the people responsible to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said Asher's stepfather, David Truong.
Calif teenager who endured gay taunts memorialized
More than 500 people attended a memorial service for a 13-year-old central California boy who hanged himself after enduring taunts from classmates about being gay. Seth Walsh was remembered Friday night in Tehachapi as a warm-hearted teen who loved to laugh. His mother, Judy Walsh, says the family doesn't want to cast blame and wants the service to be a call for tolerance. Walsh died Tuesday, nine days after he was found unconscious in his backyard. He had been in a coma.
Activists partner to address suicide among gay teens
Middle school is tough for most young people, but for Elijah Hartgrove "it was the worst three years of my life," he said. He was gangly and tall, he was artistic in a town where boys were supposed to be tough, and he was gay. "I was afraid, like, if I wore nail polish, it would be like, 'He's a faggot, let's throw rocks at him,'" said Elijah, now a senior at Henry Clay High School. He moved to Lexington from a small town in Eastern Kentucky to live with his father. "I was just tired of hiding." The stress of being gay and a teen has been brought to light recently with a well-publicized alleged bullying incident involving a lesbian teen in McKee and the suicide this spring of a gay Lexington high school student.
When Seth Walsh was in the sixth grade, he told his mother he had something to say. "I was folding clothes, and he said, 'Mom, I'm gay,'" said Wendy Walsh, a hairstylist and single mother of four. "I said, 'OK, sweetheart, I love you no matter what.'" Last month, Seth went into the back yard of his home in the desert town of Tehachapi, Calif., and hanged himself, apparently unable to bear a relentless barrage of taunting, bullying and other abuse at the hands of his peers. He was 13.
Kentuckians fight back against alarming rise in suicides
Suicides outnumber homicides in Kentucky nearly three to one
Elfrida Johnson sat on the stairs of her porch crying. One trembling hand held a lit cigarette; the other absently stroked an orange cat. This is what a broken woman looks like, she said... Johnson's sister, Aletha King, took her own life. She died Aug. 17 after she lay on the railroad tracks behind her home at Ponderosa Mobile Home Park off Lisle Road at the Fayette-Scott County line...
King's death is one of two suicides that grabbed headlines in Lexington this year. In July, former University of Kentucky basketball star Melvin Turpin, 49, apparently shot himself at his Masterson Station home, according to coroner's reports.
As of Friday, the deaths of King and Turpin were among 37 cases this year that were ruled suicides by the Fayette County coroner.
Since 2005, there have been more than 250 deaths — an average of 50 a year — that were classified as suicides in Fayette County...10th highest in the nation for suicide deaths per capita....
[An] effort to increase awareness will ramp up this week during National Suicide Prevention Week. Throughout the week, organizations all over the country will hold forums, conferences and speeches to raise awareness of suicide prevention. Topics focus on recognizing warning signs, such as a family history of depression or withdrawing from friends and activities, and teaching people how to seek help through hot lines and local mental health centers.
8 comments:
I feel that bullying is a horrible problem in schools all over the United States. As a parent it scares me. As a future educator I would say I know that bullying is an issue I will have to deal with. I know that I would like to think that with as many children that are dying because of suicide this would open an eye for parents to talk to their children about what is going on in school and why they should not bully. Also if their children are being bullied talk to them about why they need talk to someone if they choose not to talk to their parents. Not only parents should be talking to the children but also teachers because we serve as role models for children and it would help if we could talk to them as well and make them feel comfortable about coming to us with bullying issues. Teachers and parents should be told and talked to about different ways to deal with bullying. I know that schools are trying to put an end to bullying. With no bullying tolerance policy, I would like to see this help in many ways.
And this report makes no mention of th gay and lesbian students who are harrassed across the state of Kentucky on a daily basis. I wonder how many of them will kill themselves because of the neglect they face in Kentucly's public schools....I wonder when a forward thinking superintendent will speak up on their behalf?
Dr. Silverman was asked, at an ACLU held meeting at the Temple on Ashland Avenue about two years ago, about providing gay and lesbian students in Fayette County Public Schools with a resource person or an advocate. He said the district had no money. To date, most teachers in Fayette County Public Schools have no resource person to talk to to about such issues. Where can gay and lesbian youth turn for help in Fayette County?
At my school in Fayette County, I see relentless bullying of students who are different. The words "gay" and "lesbian" are used all too freely.
There seems to be no policy in place for this, other than the usual haraassment protocols. Since the administation and the counselors are straight, I think they just think this type of harrassment is normal. I've talked to the principal about my concerns (sympathetlic understanding) and KEA who told me not to go to the superintendent about this (fear of being labeled a troublemaker), I feel utterly helpless. Meanwhile, all I can think of is the suicide of the Dunbar student, Josh....
I grieve for those suffering gay and lesbian students ---and those that are perceived as homosexual, bisexual, or transgendered--- in the public schools of Kentucky. Nobody except the students themselves knows how difficult their daily lives are. I'm saddened that principals,teachers, and politicians are too frightened to speak up for these special kids.
In the past few weeks, it has become more and more apparent that bullying in schools is an epidemic. Coming from a small, rural high school in central Kentucky, I wasn't aware of many instances of bullying. The more that I hear about bullying, however, I realize that there was much more bullying going on than what I realized! Bringing this sad topic to the attention of parents and concerned citizens everywhere is just what is needed to begin an anti-bullying campaign. We all need to learn how much of an effect our words and actions can have on others.
It sounds like this is a big problem for this area. One student's death is tragic enough, but when 4 students kill their self because of bullying, I think something needs to be done. Bullying occurs at every school but there must be something different here that 4 students have committed suicide. The school needs to address these issues and figure out something they can try and do to prevent bullying. When students bully other students they are usually insecure themselves so they also probably could use some guidance and help. Bullying someone might seem harmless at the time but you never know what else might be going on in that person's life. They could have so much going on at home and then one thing you say to them just set them off. I don't think a lot of students understand this and I think awareness of how harmful bullying can be needs to be raised.
I think bullying is a huge problem. There was a girl who was always my lab partner in Chemistry my freshman year of high school. She was a very bright and nice girl. Yes she was different. She wore the black clothing and died her hair neon colors. I always looked over that because she was such a sweet girl and to me that stuff didn't matter. Well she got made fun a lot. She took her life one day in her living room and her father came home to find her. That is when bullying hit home for me. It is a problem that needs to stop. Schools over look it all the time because they don't want to have to deal with it. To me becoming a new teacher it is something that I want to help change. I agree that something has to be done. Students should want to go to school, feel comfortable at school, and have positive memories about it. I feel as me being a teacher, it is my job to help the problem.
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