Catholic school refuses to stop cyberbullies
Student victim of MySpace bullies:
This is nothing new. This has been going on since the days of Xanga, Geocities, and AOL. But now that MySpace is the new whipping boy it rears its ugly head once more…
Drew McGowan always had been a good student.
When his grades took a dive, his mother, Christine, knew something was wrong.Just before going into a parent-teacher conference about his poor grades, Drew, 14, an eighth-grader at Word of God School in Swissvale, told his mother the problem.
McGowan, of Wilkinsburg, says her son is the victim of “cyberbullies” who put up a phony profile of the youngster on MySpace.com with repeated indications that he is homosexual. McGowan said the site was constructed by classmates of her son’s who also have physically bullied him.
“I was sick to my stomach when I read it,” Christine McGowan said Thursday.
Yesterday, Word of God secretary Cecelia Madigan said that because the Web page was not set up while the students were at school, it is “not a school issue.” Madigan also said the school is not aware of Drew being the victim of physical bullying.
Since when? How many stories have been on here before where students were disciplined at school for a MySpace they made at home? It sounds like the school is trying to avoid accusing students, whose parents pay money to the school, of being bullies. So what do you do when the school won’t intervene? Get the law involved…
McGowan said that MySpace removed the profile per her request after she filed a report with Swissvale police.
Swissvale assistant police Chief Greg Geppert said yesterday that one juvenile has been identified as having posted the profile. Geppert said the juvenile, whom he did not identify, will be cited for harassment.
McGowan also notified other parents about the incident.
“I hope other parents join in the complaint,” she said.
Christine McGowan said even though the incident did not occur at school, she would like to see those responsible disciplined.
“I know the school cannot handle every problem,” she said. “But in the Catholic environment, (the school) expects more socially and morally from students.”
And for you parents who think that the bullying situation is any better in Catholic schools, trust me, it isn’t. As a matter of fact it’s probably much worse.
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