#stopbulling [a story of a brave young woman, my sister]

If you follow me on any social media, you know now that my sister was brutally attacked on the school bus last friday! I thought i would share some of the news stories with you so you could all be aware of what happened.

I will come back & write a more personal post in the next couple days, i just wanted to share with the story with those of you who may not know whats going on.

What happened to my sister is terrible. there is NO reason these things should be happening to kids at school, on the school bus, places they are supposed to be safe. My sisters horrible story also conveys a much bigger picture. She doesnt want this to happen to anybody else. She wants people  to know standing up for your friends is the right thing to do. She wants things to change! Sorry for being rambly, thats how my brain feels!

WARNING: THE VIDEO IS VIOLENT

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"The tale of Chase Cristia, by all accounts a modern-day good Samaritan, only gets worse, which is saying something, because it was awful in the first place.
Pummeled by a classmate in the back of a school bus last week, then internationally humiliated when video of the attack was posted on Facebook by the attacker's alleged sidekick, Chase left school in tears Thursday morning — her first day back — saying peers accused her of bringing trouble on herself.
If the back story is remotely accurate, the Pasco County school district better re-evaluate its entire anti-bullying program. A week's worth of evidence from a showcase school in one of Pasco's better-heeled neighborhoods suggests what's being preached isn't reaching the congregation.
* * * * * Reports indicate Chase was targeted because she stuck up for an overweight friend who was being taunted by schoolmates. Then, when these flowers of maidenhood escalated things by threatening her, Chase turned to Mitchell's front office for protection. In other words, she was doing exactly what school administrators and anti-bullying activists urge of kids when they witness thuggery on campus. Handle it if you can. Enlist school officials if you can't.At every turn, the adults assigned (and trained, presumably) to intervene proactively failed. Inexcusable. Chase told them Friday she feared for her safety, but they did nothing. The bus driver saw what was happening but did nothing. Given nearly a week to prepare students for Chase's return, Mitchell administrators did nothing. Failure heaped upon failure.
* * * * * Yes, the kids behaved badly. Guess what? When adults shirk their responsibilities, that's what kids do. Always have. Always will. That's not to excuse any of the bad actors in this horrifying episode. It's simply to reinforce the accountability of grownups who, after Chase — a sophomore honor student with college aspirations — bought into their program, didn't have her back.
What could Mitchell administrators have done before the attack? Alerted to the possibility of trouble, someone in authority should have stood at the front of every bus to deliver a brief but stern reminder about satisfactory passenger behavior and the withering woe that would befall any and every violator.
What was the bus driver supposed to do? Park the bus. Dial 911. Report what he saw. Wait for deputies to arrive. The good kids are inconvenienced with the bad? Awww. The video shows the attacker striding the length of the bus to reach Chase and not a single hero rising to impede her progress. They couldn't all be on Ritalin.
In fact, the attacker lands a dozen or so blows — each a sharp, ear-shattering thwack! — before the fellow sitting across the aisle, redefining "belatedly," ends it by simply raising a hand and shouting, "Hey!" Otherwise, this bunch, representatives of the cohort on whom the future relies — so we are told — limited themselves to ineffectual shrieks and profanity.
What could Mitchell administrators have done after the incident? Gee, that's a tough one. I mean, here they have the beating of one of their students by another of their students, punctuated by the posting of a video on the Internet, the purpose of which is unmistakable. It's a message. An advertisement. This is what happens if you mess with us. Nonetheless, the school was at best ill-prepared for the predictable glomming-on ripple effect.
Do they ever gather the students in the gymnasium for special programs or to deliver exceptional news? Maybe they could have tried doing that — call it an "assembly" — to describe their new no-tolerance policy for anyone tempted to tease, mock, goad, criticize, provoke or otherwise harass Chase when she returned.
You say, "But the First Amendment," we say, "Intentional infliction of emotional distress," which can get you (and, more to the point, deep-pocketed enablers) sued, big time.
Well. Kurt Browning was elected Pasco's schools superintendent last year at least in part because he vowed to get a handle on discipline. We wish him luck, because the first test of the Browning Doctrine is a whopper. And it's scarcely an overstatement, given the global reach of social media, to report that the whole world is watching.
Meanwhile, the district owes Chase transportation to the school of her choice anywhere in the Tampa Bay area and a voucher, if necessary, to cover expenses. In the interest of repairing its neglectful damage to Chase's well-being, we will call that a good start."

article by tom jackson at tbo.com

 

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since my sisters story has gained local media attention, the news networks, the news papers, the radio station it has also gained national attention. We've seen it being posted on news sites all over the country but this afternoon it officially went nation after abcnews.go.com post her story! She is a brave girl, so strong & I am so proud.