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Fear and loathing in South Hadley over Phoebe Prince suicide

APRIL DREW,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 9:50 AM

Updated Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 9:50 AM

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South Hadley High School

Photo by April Drew

It hurt to the core as I saw in my mind the beautiful Irish teenager walk through the front door and up the stairs to her death.

After a short prayer for her and her family I continued into the main strip in South Hadley. An impressive little village adorned with stores, restaurants and offices.

I had lunch with a mother and daughter teams who have been very vocal on the responsibility the school should be taking in Phoebe’s bullying and were eager to share their opinions with the Irish Voice.

Erica Laughlin, 39, and her mother, Susan Clow, are beyond angry at the way school authorities have handled themselves in dealing with Phoebe’s death.
Laughlin, a parent of four children, lives in South Hadley. However, her children attend school in the next town over.

There is a chance that next year her kids will be expected to attend South Hadley High School.

“This will not happen,” said Laughlin.

“If it comes to that I’m ready to home school my kids,” she said.

“There is no way I’m going to send them to South Hadley High.”

Clow said South Hadley has a “culture of bullying.

“It’s always been like this and people have turned a blind eye. If you don’t fit in or wear a certain type of clothes then you are looked down on and bullied,” said Clow.

Laughlin has attended all the school committee meetings to show solidarity for the few people in the town that are standing up to the South Hadley school authorities.

“I’ve been at meetings where several people stood up and spoke about the bullying of their own child,” said Laughlin.

“But nothing has been done- Gus Sayer (schools superintendent) had neglected to do anything. It’s a disgrace.”

Clow said she would like to see the “school stand up” and taking responsibility.

“It would be nice to see adults in the school, morally coming forward and standing beside the kids who are being charged.”

Both mother and daughter agree that although it’s imperative the six students charged in relation to Phoebe’s bullying should be punished they feel the South Hadley school authorities are hanging them out to dry.

“Their life is being ruined and the school is doing nothing to take responsibility,” she said.

Darby O’Brien, 61, is also asking South Hadley High School administrators to own up to their role in Phoebe’s bullying.

O’Brien, founder and president of Darby O'Brien Advertising and Public Relations in South Hadley, has been very vocal with his opinions at school committee meetings. His outrage and opinions have caused threats to his life.

"I was walking the dog along a major road when this car came right off the road and up on the curb towards me," he said, adding that he managed to get out of the way on time.

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muttenchops | May 10, 2010, 05:00 PM EDT

As an Irish born gay man I lived in the US for 2yrs and the response across the globe about this case is very welcome and sad as this was going on for years not only Phoebe but other Irish kids who immigrated with their parents went to school there, the officials of the school should all be brought to justice also

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irishcherokee | Apr 30, 2010, 10:23 PM EDT

First, stop waxing poetic about your experience here in Massachusetts.This isn't creative writing 101. 2nd, bullying happens everywhere around the world. That does not make it right and the school officials behavior is intolerable. Bullying happens everywhere.Stop advertising for the PR companies, your a news person not a commercial. Write about the facts. These jerks tortured this poor girl, she committed self murder to escape and now everyone is passing the buck, that's what this is about. This should not have happened. Quit turning Phoebe Prince and her family into a creative writing project.

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CullenAbroad | Apr 30, 2010, 06:41 PM EDT

WAW ! This school should be closed down altogether! As for those in oblivion, they deserve each other... And this is the 21st century - WAW!

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notleftbehind | Apr 29, 2010, 06:33 PM EDT

This is a heart-breaking story. We are going backwards in America, not forwards. If I were a foreigner, I would seriously look at life in these United States before moving here. Finding fortune on the streets supposedly paved with gold is hardly worth sacrificing the safety of your family. If I could, I would spend my life outside of the States, because things are only getting worse.

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Mayolady | Apr 29, 2010, 02:39 PM EDT

Wow! Fhwrath described so well the "cocky, aloof, empathy-deficient bullies and adults who are cowered, emasculated, see-no-evil deniers." That culture and mentality says I can do as I please no matter who it hurts. Think of the evil in history that evolves from that attitude! Even the Wall Street bullies who took the country down and made common citizens pay and NOW want Congress to let them continue the same games! And the Republican party wants no real regulations to prevent a repeat! Stand up American!

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Liamkeyes | Apr 29, 2010, 10:29 AM EDT

Great job April. I hope and pray that the Editor keeps April on this. I'll look forward to more good reporting from youi on this. It will keep me updated.

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fhwrath | Apr 28, 2010, 06:13 PM EDT

They never fail to disappoint. The ugly collection of moral midgets called South Hadley, Mass. Like a cross between Children of the Corn and Kristallnacht, where teens are cocky, aloof, empathy-deficient bullies and adults are cowered, emasculated, see-no-evil deniers. Vultures and worms. That the majority of hollow pod people there just want to overlook the crime that was the wanton destruction of an innocent young girl, who was new and unaccustomed to their phony civility, their shiny barbarianism, makes, as mentioned in the article, a normal decent person nauseous. That they don’t walk around in shame, with head hung and covered, is a stunning testament to their soullessness, and I want them out of my country. Their smell is only exceeded by their stupidity if they think that this incident is just something that happens everywhere, it’s not, and will fade away, it won’t. America has spoken. Read the responses everywhere. Until and unless inhabitants of the island of miscreants called South Hadley, and I mean a strong good majority, apologize to the world and demand hard justice be metered out now to almost everyone remotely responsible for allowing this incident to reach its climax, including supervisors, parents, and whiny, alibi spewing weasels in the street, there will be no salvation. None. The city is a tombstone.

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xenophilia | Apr 28, 2010, 04:37 PM EDT

I live two towns away from South Hadley and I share your disgust. The townspeople and administrators are refusing to acknowledge and take ownership of the problem. The culture of the town will not change until that happens. I have been following avidly a south hadley forum since Miss Prince's death (http://www.masslive.com/forums/southhadley/) and many of the posters have the same view as the people Ms. Drew met. And yes, Medde52, there's a lot of Irish surnames in S. Hadley. The second biggest St Patrick's day parade in the *country* is held in the city next door, Holyoke. Irish immigrants are the backbone of the city (read The Parish and the Hill by Mary Doyle Curran if you want a great introduction) There's a bit of a joke that as soon as the Irish have enough brass, they move to South Hadley. There is also an exclusive club for Irishmen, the Hibernian Society or something. Back to the Parade: Every year the Parade Committee holds a pageant to select the year's Grand Colleen and her court. The contest is open to females of Irish descent from Holyoke and South Hadley who are between the ages of 17 and 22 who are single and have never had a child. The Grand Colleen is a Very Big Deal in South Hadley. So, yeah, go figure about using Irish as a pejorative. I'm scratching my head about a lot of things here...

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Voiceout | Apr 28, 2010, 03:20 PM EDT

The principal and staff keeps saying they are not responsible in any way due to the "so called" fact that they were not aware of the bullying going on. It has been proven that it was going on for three months, isn't this reason enough to hold the school responsible? Obviously they are not doing their job, they should have been aware. Let's hold them responsible for that, they have openly admitted to it. They need to resign.

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medde52 | Apr 28, 2010, 01:37 PM EDT

Calling her an "Irish slut"-- a number of the bullies even have Irish surnames, what's that about?

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joanxis | Apr 28, 2010, 01:26 PM EDT

It seems apparent why those kids bullied Phoebe. They learned it from the townspeople of South Hadley. I cannot believe that more people aren't outraged at what was done to her. It's unbelieveable.

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adrienrain | Apr 28, 2010, 12:54 PM EDT

I've seen it again and again. A child is bullied by a pack of kids, and the adults are on the pack's side.

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mommawoz | Apr 28, 2010, 11:48 AM EDT

It is so sad to think that those responsible for this girl's death may go unpunished. I'm not talking about the students that bullied her, but about the administrators that turned a blind eye to the brutality of the bullying. My daughter faced a similar situation in a private school she attended. It was an all girl parochial high school and there was a small group of girls who started rumors and caused emotional problems for many of the students, but although I and other parents complained about these girls, nothing was ever done. I removed my daughter from the school after learning she had been self mutilating herself because of their treatment. My hope is that people will learn from this tragic incident and heed the cries of those that are bullied, but in my heart I don't think they will. Perhaps these administrators were once bullied and deep inside are afraid of these children. Or could it be that they too were bullies once upon a time. Whatever the reason for their decision not to do the right thing, this is a sad commentary on today's society and hopefully someone in that community can bring about a change that is much needed in their school system.

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Searlit | Apr 28, 2010, 10:30 AM EDT

Here we have another institution that is allowing abuse to continue while trying to cover it up and denying their part in the cover-up. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thank-you Darby O'Brien and Irish Central for your courage and persistense in seeking an end to this type of criminal abuse by teenagers against their peers, and the alowance of it by school authorities. This problem of extreme bullying in our nation has continued to escalate and we need to send a strong message that the perpetrators will be prosecuted and convicted for criminal acts. The educators were negligent, therefore aiding the crimes of their students. I hope the townspeople of South Hadley realize that they can restore their image of a nice town if they do something to stop these crimes from happening there.

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borefield | Apr 28, 2010, 10:00 AM EDT

It's a disgrace that the School Authorities are getting a pass, the kids involved by all accounts are being punished. The Principle, if he had any integerity should resign, since he doesn't, he should be fired. I think they should take it all the way to the Supreme Court. If Phoebe was Black,Hispanic or Muslim, the results would be very different. I am not an Al Sharpton supporter, never was, that said, if Phoebe was a black student he would have South Hadley all over the map of the WORLD! and he would have a lot of support. The parents and citizens as a whole needs to have the entire staff fired, starting with the Principle, School Board and all teachers involved, either directly or indirectly.

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