Angry Mass. Parents Demand Action on Bullying After Girl's Suicide

Parents in South Hadley, Mass., gathered at the town’s high school Wednesday night to voice their concerns and anger about school bullying following the suicide of a 15-year-old girl who was allegedly tormented by bullies, the Boston Herald reported.

At the school committee meeting, the first since Phoebe Prince’s death on Jan. 14, parents told school officials they want to see more done to protect their children from bullying, the paper reported.

One parent, who attended the school nearly two decades ago, said he had experienced bullying when he was a student, the Boston Herald reported.

"It’s been 17 years," Matthew Bail told the school committee. "And now we have a fatality."

Some parents said their children had been harassed, and in some cases assaulted, by classmates often.

"Until somebody stands up and admits there has been a failure -- a complete failure -- we have nowhere to go," Luke T. Gelinas told the paper. Gelinas claimed his son had been "hit in the gut" after he became friends with a student who was often bullied.

Friends and school officials told MyFoxBoston.com that Prince, 15, had been picked on since moving to Massachusetts from Ireland last fall. School bullies reportedly taunted the teen through text messages, Facebook and other social networking sites.

South Hadley High School superintendent Gus Sayer said two students have been disciplined in connection with the incident, BostonHerald.com reported.

"There’s still an investigation going on, which may lead to disciplinary action against other students," Sayer said.

One parent argued that school officials need to be held responsible for not taking action to curb the constant bullying that he claims occurs frequently, TheBostonChannel.com reported.

"Wouldn't we all agree that not only have you not been successful, that you have failed?" that parent said, according to the Web site.

Prince’s parents have not commented to the media because prosecutors are mulling whether to file criminal charges, TheBostonChannel.com reported.

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