Bullying blamed for student suicide...

yagazn

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At Vasquez High School in Acton, Calif

Officials said 15-year-old Jeremiah Lassiter shot himself in the head in a school bathroom on Monday afternoon. Another student found him at about 1 p.m.

Lassiter was a freshman and a starter football player on the junior varsity team at the high school. He was also a special needs student.

"I didn't know him that well, but he was sweet, he was really gentle, just a shame that he did that," said student Adriana Dodge.

On Monday, some students wore black T-shirts with Lassiter's football number 51 on it.

"I'm on the football team, and he was on the football team, and we're taught that we're family on and off the field, and losing Jeremiah was like losing a brother," said student Zac McGuire.

According to students and campus officials, Lassiter was constantly picked on by the other kids. His older brother also attends the school.

"He was about 6 feet 4, very big guy, and he never laid a hand on anybody, at least not that I ever heard of or saw, and I saw kids push him to the limits," said teacher Roman Moretti.

Investigators are unsure where Lassiter got the gun, and they have not determined why he killed himself.

Classmate Paige Cummings said the day of Lassiter's suicide, kids were throwing food at him.

"One of the kids that is here stood up for him, and basically told the other kids throwing things, told them off, told them to stop," Cummings said.

A candlelight vigil was held in his honor on Monday night.

Some parents said bullying is a big problem at the school that needs to be addressed.

"I have a special needs daughter that's also in the school district. She's supposed to be here at this high school, and we won't allow her to come here because I just don't think it's safe. If they can't control the bullying and the picking on at the elementary schools or the junior high school, I can't have her come here," said parent Lisa Alonso

Sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating the death.

Grief counselors are on hand at Vasquez High School in Acton after a student suicide. The school enrolls about 580 students.

The superintendent of schools in Acton said they have a no tolerance policy on bullying, and if cases are brought to their attention, they deal with it.

"I think it's a terrible experience, but it's also a learning experience for all of us," said student Breanne Aronin.

"What you say really does matter."


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Bullying blamed for student suicide at Vasquez High in Acton, Calif. - 10/21/08 - Los Angeles-Southern California-LA Breaking News, Weather, Traffic, Sports - abc7.com


Meyag2-> 15 yrs old killed himself because of stupid bullying and they made fun of his height 6'4". Anyone who feels down, he or she should see a counseling immediately or talk to parents. Recently news reporter interviewed a young lady at school saying that someone who pretend to be friend with him was fake. I can't believe it. If you notice his or her behavior changes, then talk to your daughter or son or whoever. I'm not a therapist. Geez, some people are so mean like that.
 
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This is just so very sad..Unfortunately there are majority of children who do not report bullying cause they see it as being a "tattle tale" OR afraid to speak up. Schools need to put children's safety at the top of their priority list, also I'm surprised that he was able to bring a gun into the school building. :shock:
 
This is just so very sad..Unfortunately there are majority of children who do not report bullying cause they see it as being a "tattle tale" OR afraid to speak up. Schools need to put children's safety at the top of their priority list, also I'm surprised that he was able to bring a gun into the school building. :shock:

anonymous phone call. and yes i shivered at the thought of this boy bringing gun to school. on the other hand..... I was glad that there was no school massacre.....
 
anonymous phone call. and yes i shivered at the thought of this boy bringing gun to school. on the other hand..... I was glad that there was no school massacre.....

Obviously, the safety of their students is not a priority for this particular school, or they would have done something about the extreme cases of bullying that are happening there.
 
This is just so very sad..Unfortunately there are majority of children who do not report bullying cause they see it as being a "tattle tale" OR afraid to speak up. Schools need to put children's safety at the top of their priority list, also I'm surprised that he was able to bring a gun into the school building. :shock:
The other problem with not reporting is to avoid being suspended.

A lot of schools suspend both the bully and the victim if it's ever reported.

I went through that when I was bullied on. I went to the principal and said I wanted to report a student who was bullying me. He told me that if I filed a report, I would also be suspended.

My brother was beat up at his school when he was young. Both my brother and the bully were suspended.

If the bully is aware of this rule, then he knows that he can bully anyone and not be worried about being suspended because he knows that the victim doesn't want to be suspended. So, no reports are made.
 
Another case of mainstreaming gone bad.:mad:

I really disagree with that statement. Bullies are everywhere. The 16 year old from a deaf school who raped a 6 year old on the bus going home could be held up to say, "Oh deaf schools should not be allowed."

The important thing is more education and less tolerance for bullying anywhere.
 
The other problem with not reporting is to avoid being suspended.

A lot of schools suspend both the bully and the victim if it's ever reported.

I went through that when I was bullied on. I went to the principal and said I wanted to report a student who was bullying me. He told me that if I filed a report, I would also be suspended.

My brother was beat up at his school when he was young. Both my brother and the bully were suspended.

If the bully is aware of this rule, then he knows that he can bully anyone and not be worried about being suspended because he knows that the victim doesn't want to be suspended. So, no reports are made.

Yeah... When I was bullied and told a principal but I got in a trouble. :( To me, that's not so helpful. It will make so much harm to our cause... There is something that could help better than this "a fill report and gets a suspended" crap. :mad:

PS - I'm not mad at you, you know what I said. :)
 
Wow.. That's so sad!

It's very hard for kids to telling that someone is bully them because of MANY reasons. Even, parents don't know if they are being bully or not because of sometime they dont tell or even, they can keep their acts STABLE very well. It's very diffcult, even I heard many things about school and stuff like that which it got me afraid to send my daughter to school because of that. :(
 
The other problem with not reporting is to avoid being suspended.

A lot of schools suspend both the bully and the victim if it's ever reported.

I went through that when I was bullied on. I went to the principal and said I wanted to report a student who was bullying me. He told me that if I filed a report, I would also be suspended.

My brother was beat up at his school when he was young. Both my brother and the bully were suspended.

If the bully is aware of this rule, then he knows that he can bully anyone and not be worried about being suspended because he knows that the victim doesn't want to be suspended. So, no reports are made.

What? you can't be serious? so school wanted to ignore the whole issue and hoped it would just fade away or to sweep it under the carpet OR waiting for a child to commit suicide? That’s ridiculous.

Ya know what that did not happened at my children's schools, only two of my children were picked on and bullied, I went up to the school and spoke with the principal about it, the bullies got in trouble but not my children because they did not do anything wrong.

If some schools are doing what you said above then this is not going to help protecting these children from bullies, it just gonna to make it even worse. :(
 
It's unfortunate to see something like this to happen. It just appalls me to see kids that are bullying another kid with special needs in this case.

From what I see, Most of the time the behavior of a bully starts at home by seeing how their parents acts around home.

There are too many cases like this that goes unnoticed and when it continues, it escalates and blows out of proportion. :(
 
I really disagree with that statement. Bullies are everywhere. The 16 year old from a deaf school who raped a 6 year old on the bus going home could be held up to say, "Oh deaf schools should not be allowed."

The important thing is more education and less tolerance for bullying anywhere.

I agree that bullying needs to be addressed everywhere, but this is a story of a special needs student being bullied in a mainstream setting. The incidents of this occurring every school year are in like settings are many. A student with special needs in the mainstream is at a disproportianate risk for bullying compared to students without special needs.
 
. . . Unfortunately there are majority of children who do not report bullying cause they see it as being a "tattle tale" OR afraid to speak up. . . .

I was picked on, which is why I will never attend a high school reunion. Besides, it's water under the bridge. Furthermore, what would we have to talk about at the reunion, as I have nothing in common with any of them, nor desire to see any of them?
 
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