This article is so powerful and amazingly written. Bullying is a horrible thing, and we can only hope that readers of this article take your opinions and use them accordingly.

As usual unfortunately Julius hit a very serious right on point. Bullying is an unfortunate part of the lives of many children. More often than not a parent does not even know their child is being bullied because they are too embarrassed to talk about it. Consequently it is the job if parents, teachers, siblings and friends to pay attention and speak up if they hear or fear that something is going on. Don't assume it will go away tomorrow. You may not have the chance to help tomorrow. Bullying is a silent killer and as Julius said " it is time to stop the madness"

Jill really? Weren't we supposed to meet for coffee?

We only allow comments that comply with our terms of service and are relevant to the story.

Patch often deletes relevant comments it disagrees with. People understand this

who detremines inappropriateness? if thet start dleteing some commnets, then you need a patch police just like lohud tried and failed with. if you dont like a comment, ignore it. in fact some sites have an "ignore this user" function. Either that or ALL posts need to be moderated which would be a ridculous situtaion for an operation like patch which runs on a show string.

As Local Editor Dina Sciortino said, Patch asks users to abide by our Terms of Service. We encourage users to comment and engage in lively discussion. However, personal attacks, abusive language or personal insults toward specific people are not allowed. A frequent issue on comments that are deleted is someone offers a solid, well-thought out idea but in the last sentence makes a personal attack that is inappropriate. We encourage an open discussion on key issues in the community, but ask that users respect others as they would like to be respected.

You can find the Terms of Use at http://peekskill.patch.com/terms. They're very readable.

Powerful stuff!!!

An opinion contrary to Patch staff is often considered in violation of terms of service. If someone posts people shouldn't eat hot dogs with their nose and someone at patch thinks its ok to eat hot dogs with their nose the dissenting post is considered an abuse of some kind.

This blog post mentions the suicide of the gay Rutgers who jumped off a bridge - presumably for being videotaped (there are other explantions from the student himself) - an act associated witrh bullying. After this one incident NJ passed a bullying law (found unconstitutional last week). Now with the thousands of kids bullied in NJ for equally as many reasons there is ONE reason the Rutgers student got the most attention and that's been true of the whole anti-bullying movement which is being spun into propaganda for political purposes. Pointing that reason out no matter how polite apparently violates Patch's terms of service when someone takes offense to opinions they dont hold and think should be off-limits. I recall most vividly an article about a Peekskill activist calling city staff racists - and when comments suggested the accuser might be racist himself they got deleted for "name calling". So one public persons charge of racism gets disseminated and protected while counter claims of racism get deleted. If I posted incest wasn't normal and someone practicing it was offended they would probably think the ToS were violated. Patch people have written for ACORN so things swing a certain way

An incredibly sad story.

Amazingly, The Journal News does not have anything about this story. And there is no Yonkers Patch website.

The only local background story I can find on this is from WPIX:
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-westchester-girl-suicide-020212,0,23149.story

To Jill Gertz:

Google these names for starters:
Phoebe Prince
Megan Meier - targeted by a friend's =mother=
Hope Witsell - she was only 13
Jessie Logan
Alexa Berman

Do I really have to go on? These teenage girls all were victims of cyberbullying and all committed suicide. And this list is the tip of the iceberg. This has nothing to do with gay activism - except insofar as gay activists have helped to bring this terrible problem to light, and society owes them a thank you for doing so. This is not propaganda, it is truth Why don't you educate yourself, instead of spewing your hate-filled, unacceptable vitriol here. And by the way, what about Eira Maghuyop? Do you have nothing to say about her tragic death? Have you no decency?

Bullying is clearly an increasing problem for our schools and I'm not sure it is more predominately occuring to gay kids. I think there is bullying occuring at similar levels based upon other reasons- appearance, weight, gangs, etc. However, I dont think it is productive to look at it this way. Bullying for any of these resaons is just wrong and needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, I'm not sure it can be done by teh schools alone. I feel that as a society/nation we have lost teh sense of tolerance and acceptance of others. It does not mean we have to agree with others, but I think we must respect others and be as tolerant as possible. Our kids are grwoing up in a world that does not see this practiced very well. We have become such a divisive society and crass when you look at the Talk shows, reality TV, news channells where opposing sides do nothing but overtalk each other. We even see this in Congress. The solution lies not such much in our schools policing these situations, but in the parents in the home. We ned to teach kids manners and respect for others. We need to teach that tolerance and accepting other persons point of views is part of what this country is about. Monitoring your kids televison watching and internet use is needed just as much if not more than having teachers monitoring bullying in schools. In short, we need to instill personal responsibility back to our country and especially back to our kids.

Parents on both sides have to pay attention to what their kids do, and should teach them what Martin Luther King said in his famous sermon: "We all want to achieve distinction... to lead the parade... Adler said this quest for recognition, this desire for distinction is the basic drive of life... Children are little bundles of ego, they have innately the drum major instinct. In adult life, we never get by it... The only people unhappy are those for whom praise goes to others... This drum major instinct, a need to feel superior, a need to feel they are first... The most tragic expression of man's inhumanity to man... what is wrong is... We have perverted the drum major instinct... The answer Jesus gave in the Gospel of Mark was, don't give up the instinct, don't pervert it or give it up. Keep feeling the need to be first. But be first in love, moral excellence, generosity. He transformed the situtation by giving a new definition of greatness. I can't make you first, you must earn it. Not favoritism, but fitness. If you want to be great, recognize that he who is greatest is your servant. King tried to live serving others, trying to be right. He was a drum major for justice, for righteousness. He left a committed life behind. Parents must teach children the same ideal, and recognize their own failures.

This is a small part of a statement released today by Ursuline:

Unfortunately, our grief has been compounded by the erroneous reports on the Internet and among some news organizations that Eira’s death was in part the result of bullying at Ursuline. We are reassured by the Yonkers Police Department statement that their investigation “has not revealed any evidence to support that bullying was a factor in this incident.”

While the bullying conversation is an important one to have, it's also important that we don't all jump to conclusions based on internet postings by people who actually don't know anything about the situation. News stories based on the modern day rumor mill -- the internet -- aren't really news at all.

The conjecture and speculation that Eira was bullied at school just served to make a grieving community of young women feel even more heartbroken.

Whoever wrote this article was stretching it. Kids must talk to their parents. If they don't, parents have to accept responsibility for their own failure. This author deflects the issue to third parties who, in a rational world where parents loved and cared for their kids, should have no overriding influence. I feel bad for all these kids parents, but they have to look hard and deep into the mirror. Why did they have less influence over their kids than their peers? Something was missing.

Maybe I'm a different parent than others. I don't allow my kids to participate in "social media" of any kind, because I think it's too intrusive and ultimately destructive. Do I know everything about my childrens' lives? Probably not. They need their own space, and yes, I've experienced a teenager withdrawing as they become a separate person, working toward adulthood. It's painful if necessary. And yet I do have an unusual amount of openness and conversation with them, all perhaps a product my experience on 9/11 and how I nearly lost everything. But that's me. I still think parents can teach their kids not to think that the internet is God. Lots of BS published. I'm striving to create a life for my kids where the Internet is an extension of the library and not a place to affirm their identity. I don't trust teachers to achieve this for me. I believe I'm my kids' best teacher and that's my role. I understand others want to subcontract the responsibility to others. I think there is a better way.

Here is the story in New Rochelle Patch: http://newrochelle.patch.com/articles/ursuline-student-takes-her-own-life

I would definitely not delete something saying people should or shouldn't put hot dogs up their nose, that's just hilarious. Jill, you lost me on your train of thought, but if you have any questions about me, my background or how Patch works I would be more than happy to speak or meet with you. My email address is dina.sciortino@patch.com and my phone number is 914.610.8525

Thanks for your constructive input Liz! Really fantastic input for parents to consider.

Thank you Julius and the WP Patch, for such a powerful and timely article.
Bullying! has always been a problem, especially for children and teens. Realistically, it always will. My suggestion is always the same: if you see something; SAY something. I equate it to hiring a professional to get a specific job done right; bring it [Bullying!] to the attention of the proper authorities (an adult, parent, teacher and in some cases the police).
I will not comment on suicide, except to say, that I sincerely hope people do not glamorize and/or romanticize it in any way, shape, or form.

Part of the blame should go the media; especially Fox News. The level of vitriol and the screaming debates that pass as public discourse are a disgrace. Bullying is a societal issue, and until we stop buying the products advertised and stop watching the cheaply produced slug fests masquerading as news, our children will be at risk.