NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > The Irish Voice > Fear and loathing in South Hadley over Phoebe Prince suicide

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

Larger Text

E-mail

19 Comments

South Hadley High School

Photo by April Drew

“Kids kill themselves in every town across the country but it’s the media that’s keeping the focus on our small town and it’s not very fair,” said Francis Ambrose.

Not wanting any more disruptions to life as she knows it in South Hadley, Ambrose asked the media to leave the school, its staff and the kids alone.
Ambrose was not alone in her feelings.

Robert Castro said South Hadley “is a good town where people are nice.”
“It’s getting an awful reputation and it’s not justified,” added Castro.
When I asked him if he thought the school should take responsibility he immediately defended them.

“They didn’t know it was going on so what could they have done,” he said.
I quickly tried to tell him the facts that have come to light since the Northeastern District Attorney’s office concluded their investigations but he didn’t want to know.

“The kids are getting enough slack for what they did, isn’t that enough,” he asked, waving a hand in my direction and walking away.

A woman in her early forties spoke to me on the condition of anonymity.
She admitted her children – now in their early 20s- attended South Hadley High School and they were bullied.

“My son more so than my daughter and when I reported it to the principle he said he would put a stop to it,” she said.

Nothing happened. The bullying continued until this woman took matters into her own hands and approached the parents of the bullies themselves.

“Even at that, my son still got abused both physically and verbally,” she said.

After a few more encounters with people of the same minds as Castro and Ambrose I knew it was time to leave South Hadley.

I had enough.

I drove back out of town, past Phoebe’s old home and past the school where nightmares were created with a sick feeling in my stomach.

Will the school authorities ever stand up and take responsibility?

Well if the likes of O’Brien keeps the fight up – and I sincerely hope he does- then it’s a possibility.

Watch this space.

Last page < 1 2 3 4

Nster.com

E-mail

19 Comments

See all comments

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

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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!

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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!

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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...

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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?

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse

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.

Report abuse