School Division in Winnipeg Suspends Facebook Bully

School Division in Winnipeg suspends Facebook bully
By: Staff Writer

28/01/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 93

ONE student has been suspended after about two dozen students joined a Facebook site created to ridicule a student at Chief Peguis Junior High.

River East Transcona School Division says school staff have been working all week with parents of the students involved.

The division will not reveal the length of the suspension, or release any other details about the incident, other than to say the Internet activity took place outside the school.

A Winnipeg mother said that a friend tipped her Grade 7 daughter Sunday to the existence of the Facebook site.

"They set up a site with my daughter's picture, and bashed her back and forth," said the mother. "It's like there's almost no boundaries. She's very upset."

The mother said her daughter had previously been involved in incidents with some girls in her class before the website was created, but said they were what she considered normal activities for girls of that age. "It's a lot of girl issues, which the school is aware of -- one minute I'm your friend, the next minute I hate you."

A parent of one of the students took down the site Monday night, but not before school officials saw it, the mother said.

-- Staff

source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/division-suspends-facebook-bully-82876577.html

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That's a horrible thing for a child to go through, considering how popular facebook is, and the fact that now days your online persona is very important to the younger generation.

You might want to edit your title - Winnipeg School Division is actually the name of one of our city's school divisions.

anny wrote:You might want to edit your title - Winnipeg School Division is actually the name of one of our city's school divisions.

Sorry, what I meant is Winnipeg School Division, as in a "Winnipeg" school division. I was just going by the Sun article. I can try and edit it, but I have no idea how...

Do you mean the Free Press? Their headline says "Division suspends facebook bully." Just edit your original post and it'll let you change the title.

sounds good.

edit: ahhh...never realized I could do that. I take it your kids are from the WSD?

Nope, no kids. The title was misleading.

What the heck does the school have to do with this at all?

If a kid beats up another kid in his own backyard...do you suspend him from school?

So now these other kids who were part of the facebook thing are allowed to stay home and get into more trouble because they were stupid.

I'm sorry...but if my kid were one of these bullies...I'd protest the school and tell them my kid stays in class, and does EXTRA work because she obviously has too much time.

Now if the kids made the site while IN school, or were posting the insults during school hours...the school should be reviewing their policies of computer use, phone access during school...and adapt accordingly...and certainly ban those particular kids from having access during school.

This is just another example of bureaucratic stupidity, and overreaction by school boards.

Good point AA! Not sure what suspending the kid is going to prove anyway.

My own experience is that schools don't give a sh1t about what happens beyond their boundaries and often within them as well. One of my sons was assault by an older kid, from another school, in his own classroom, yet they did nothing. When another of my sons finished a fight at school that started somewhere else, he was suspended. I'm so glad to be out of the public school system.

Freeman wrote:Good point AA! Not sure what suspending the kid is going to prove anyway.

My own experience is that schools don't give a sh1t about what happens beyond their boundaries and often within them as well. One of my sons was assault by an older kid, from another school, in his own classroom, yet they did nothing. When another of my sons finished a fight at school that started somewhere else, he was suspended. I'm so glad to be out of the public school system.

And believe it or not, it used to be much worse. I remember this poor kid in my grade who used to get roughed up every day in Junior High. It was sad, as he was the most ostracized kid in the school. Near the end of the school year, he was clearly showing signs of mental instability, as years of bullying were taking it's toll on him.

He brang a knife to school, and threatened one of his worst tormentors. Believe it or not, he was suspended, even though teacher would walk by to the school, and ignore him getting shoved around, and bullied every day for 2 years.

This kid entered junior high in a class designated for gifted students, as he had something like a 98% average in classes. By the end of high school, he had to upgrade for failing some subjects. He got a job as a barback at Scandals when he was 19, and has never advanced beyond that point, and as of mid 2009, was still a barback for a different nightclub.

Today, he is angry, bitter, and a very troubled person. I cannot help to think what he would have become if he did not endure years of bullying and harassment from his peers.

anny wrote:Nope, no kids. The title was misleading.

oh sorry...lol. My bad...

LennyJessop wrote:

anny wrote:You might want to edit your title - Winnipeg School Division is actually the name of one of our city's school divisions.

Sorry, what I meant is Winnipeg School Division, as in a "Winnipeg" school division. I was just going by the Sun article. I can try and edit it, but I have no idea how...

This particular junior high is not in Winnipeg School Division but in River East/Transcona School Division. So your title to the thread is correct as it is a School Division in Winnipeg.

unfortunately, bullying will happen no matter what. in my own experience i found the only way to stop bullies is to strike back. HARD. i would suggest to this young woman to identify the ringleader and get her older brother, if she has one, to secretly beat the piss out of him or her. later deny any knowledge of it. it may be a cliche but its true, all bullies are really cowards. the beating will likely scare the ringleader sraight. this may seem harsh but i know through experience it can work.

Well, thats the way it works. WHen #3 son was being picked on by some kid and his little group of friends, #3 stalked him out at lunch one day at school and laid a beating on him (A good one too, bloody nose, bruises and the whole thing). He got the 2 day suspension, but the little bugger left him alone after that.

dj...yes...and no.

getting her older brother or someone else to fight her battle won't do much...except get more trouble when she's "alone" with her problems again.

She needs to face up to the bully...preferably in public...and show that she's making a stand.

The best way is to go on a tirade at the bully...in their face...loud and obnoxious...and lots of witnesses. Embarrass that bully in front of their peers...and they will back down. Get an older brother to do it though...and they'll wait till that older brother is out of the picture before attacking again.

Yeah, the big brother thing just starts an escalation. Then they have an even bigger brother, etc...Stand your ground and settle it.

Freeman wrote:Well, thats the way it works. WHen #3 son was being picked on by some kid and his little group of friends, #3 stalked him out at lunch one day at school and laid a beating on him (A good one too, bloody nose, bruises and the whole thing). He got the 2 day suspension, but the little bugger left him alone after that.

I'm not so sure about that anymore Freeman. These days that's just as likely to end up getting your son stomped on the week after by the bully and 5 or 6 of his friends. I've got a niece and nephew in high school, many of my wifes younger cousins have just recently finished and a daughter entering junior high next year. Things only appear to be getting worse imho with bullying, and even more so with "swarmings".

This girl may be able to confront the bully and "lay a beating" on her unexpectedly once and that may be the end of it. But it's just as likely that she'll catch the girl off guard, and then have to face a half dozen of her friends putting her in the hospital the week after.

Kids are mean little bastards, always have been. The difference is now the lines are blurred between school and home with the advent of technology. The Facebook tormenting would NOT have occurred 10 years ago, would not have occured if these kids didin't know each other from school, and was surely a continuation of bullying going on at school. I personally think the school did the right thing.

Any parent going back to the school and complaining needs to give their head a shake. How would you feel if you were the other girls parents or worse the other kid? If my kid came home and said they were suspended for doing something so stupid and incredibly mean, I'd say "too bad so sad"...and then proceed to give them a few lessons in why picking on people weaker than you isn't the right thing to do as a human being. Standing up and demanding they be reinstated would only reinforce the opinion in their minds that they did nothing wrong in the first place, and that mom and dad will back me up no matter how much of a sh1t head I am.

LennyJessop wrote:

Freeman wrote:Good point AA! Not sure what suspending the kid is going to prove anyway.

My own experience is that schools don't give a sh1t about what happens beyond their boundaries and often within them as well. One of my sons was assault by an older kid, from another school, in his own classroom, yet they did nothing. When another of my sons finished a fight at school that started somewhere else, he was suspended. I'm so glad to be out of the public school system.

And believe it or not, it used to be much worse. I remember this poor kid in my grade who used to get roughed up every day in Junior High. It was sad, as he was the most ostracized kid in the school. Near the end of the school year, he was clearly showing signs of mental instability, as years of bullying were taking it's toll on him.

He brang a knife to school, and threatened one of his worst tormentors. Believe it or not, he was suspended, even though teacher would walk by to the school, and ignore him getting shoved around, and bullied every day for 2 years.

This kid entered junior high in a class designated for gifted students, as he had something like a 98% average in classes. By the end of high school, he had to upgrade for failing some subjects. He got a job as a barback at Scandals when he was 19, and has never advanced beyond that point, and as of mid 2009, was still a barback for a different nightclub.

Today, he is angry, bitter, and a very troubled person. I cannot help to think what he would have become if he did not endure years of bullying and harassment from his peers.

I've seen a lot of cases like that too when I was in school. Difference now is that the bullying is so constant and doesn't end when you leave shool anymore.

Is it any wonder some of these kids reach a breaking point and snap?

djh wrote:unfortunately, bullying will happen no matter what. in my own experience i found the only way to stop bullies is to strike back. HARD. i would suggest to this young woman to identify the ringleader and get her older brother, if she has one, to secretly beat the piss out of him or her. later deny any knowledge of it. it may be a cliche but its true, all bullies are really cowards. the beating will likely scare the ringleader sraight. this may seem harsh but i know through experience it can work.

That is true, but it depends on the circumstances. In my case, I admit to having self-esteem issues when I was younger, and being a shy kid, I was ridiculed in Junior High. In High School, I became a member of the Provincial Team, was hitting the gym everyday, and lifting weights.

One of the worst offenders in Junior High decided to give me trouble out of the blue, when he was with his buddies, when I was 16. I told him if I could have a word with him, and asked him what his problem was. He kind of mocked me in front of his friends, and didn't take it seriously. I picked him up 2 inches off the ground, and threw him 5 feet against a wall, then jumped on him, and basically told him not to f**k with me.

The look on his friends faces was something I will never forget. Sheer terror. What was weird is a teacher actually passed by, and smiled, as the bullies were not exactly well liked. After that, I was left alone, and the guy avoided me completely.

Having said that, I don't think it's right in any circumstance to terrorize or bully someone for any reason- being really shy, different religion, disability, etc. School can be a very insensitive place. Hopefully since Columbine, schools have taken steps to tackle this issue, as Grumpyrom said, everyone has their breaking point.

As a wanna be lawyer, I would suspect that whomever suspended the kid for stuff outside of the schoolplace, is out of line, and out of order!

the problem with kids standing up for themselves these days is that its just as likely that the bully brings out a knife and stabs the kid as it is that they will back down.

parents who have kids that are being bullied need to teach their kids to have self confidence. kids who are happy with who they are can more easily ignore the bullying or stand up for themselves early on before it escalates to violence.

Kids being bullied should be given a gun to safeguard against a knife!

rosencrentz wrote:Kids being bullied should be given a gun to safeguard against a knife!

lol