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“She didn’t blame it on anybody,” said Rebecca Knowles, 14. “She realized it was her fault for sending them in the first place.
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She behaved foolishly, but the bullying and harassment that ensued was in
no way justified by one foolish mistake on her part.
Apparently, she had some friends who tried to protect her. When I was in high school, if a student died, there was usually an assembly held shortly thereafter. The point of the assembly was for people to say nice things about the deceased, and to achieve some degree of closure.
I hope the school holds such an assembly. And I hope at least one of her friends speaks. And I hope that (s)he makes all involved realize just how petty and cruel they have been. As adults, we tend to romanticize childhood, but we forget at our peril -- few creatures are capable of such indifference and outright cruelty as are adolescent humans.
And the students who harassed her going to be punished? If not, why not? Are the boys who all but forced her to provide another photo going to be punished? They sure as heck
should be.