Bullies.

When I was in elementary school, I was bullied. A lot.

I don't know why I was the target of schoolyard (and school room, and school library, and school bus... ) bullying, but it was absolutely merciless. The taunting would give me stomach aches so severe that my parents eventually took me to the hospital to rule out a serious medical condition. My mother and father did go to the principle, but little was done. If I remember correctly, the school administrators actually told the bullies that my parents had registered a complaint, and that only made everything worse.

Eventually, I switched schools, and the bullying stopped. I was able to move on with little lingering damage. Phoebe Price, a South Hadley, Massachusetts resident, wasn't able to "move on." After a final day of being exhaustively taunted, the 15 year old hung herself in her parents' home. Her 12 year old sister was the one who discovered her body.

This case has received some national and significant local media attention. You can read about it here and here.

Nine students have been charged with crimes related to her death, and three of them will be tried as adults. State officials have also condemned the faculty members of her school who apparently knew she was being bullied, and did little to nothing to stop it. Citizens of South Hadley are calling for their resignation.

This case makes me sick to my stomach.

Children can be cruel, and to a certain extent, there's not a whole lot we can do about it. Empathy and compassion are traits that I believed are learned, and not necessarily inherent in all people. There will always be someone that's pushed on the playground. Still, there's a line. And it needs to be drawn much earlier than it was for Phoebe, and will be for future victims.

I'm sure there will be some who say that her bullies (who I refuse to call children, because the extent of their manipulation shows a level of intelligence that puts them beyond a title that claims innocence), while cruel, should not be sentenced to imprisonment or given a record that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

I can't disagree more.

For every action, there is a reaction. Every decision, whether it's been carefully chosen or hastily made, has a consequence. When you, as a student, choose to taunt someone for, if some of what I have seen is correct, months, and she decides she can no longer live with your cruelty, you need to be punished. Strongly and irreversibly.

When you, as a school administrator, become so jaded that you believe "kids will be kids," and stop looking out for the interests of children you've been entrusted to teach and protect, you deserve to lose your job. Permanently.

I hope that Phoebe's taunters are given the maximum punishment available for their crimes. And I hope that this story brings bulling more national attention. The more people see how devastating it can be, the more I believe will be done to stop it.