GIRL, SUSPENDED FOR MAKING AN ANTI-BULLYING VIDEO, IS REINSTATED
I'm really glad to see this--here was a young lady trying to raise awareness about the dangers of bullying, and she gets suspended because school administrators totally misinterpreted what she was doing.  Ugh--but at least the wrong has been righted:
"Jessica Barba, the New York teen suspended from school for making a controversial anti-bullying video, is returning to school Thursday, NBC News reports.
A morning meeting with the Middle Island, N.Y. school district ended with the high school freshman's suspension removed from the record.
Jessica's father Michael Barba told NBC News that all went well. "I am the proudest father in the world."
Jessica made the six-minute video for a class at Longwood High School in Middle Island, N.Y. The assignment was to create a project about an important issue.
The video, posted on YouTube, tells the story of the fictional 12-year-old Hailey Bennett (played by Jessica), who lost her mother at age 3, is abused by her dad and is all alone after her only friend moves away. Hailey gets bullied at school daily, is mocked on her fake Facebook page, and ultimately, ends her life. The video and the Facebook page had disclaimers saying Hailey was a fictional character.
A school district spokeswoman says the district cannot comment and attorneys for the district say no one can give a statement in order to protect the privacy of the student. However, Barba says her video "accomplished more than I could have imagined.
"Bullying is 100 percent preventable," she says, adding that she thinks she deserves an "A" for the project."

If you don't know the whole story behind this, be sure and scroll through the entire piece--it also contains the original story which started all this.  On the whole, what's important is that the spotlight on bullying and its negative aspects continues...


“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

A poem:

Leavin’ The Old An’ Greetin’ The New


It’s kind of tough t’ have t’ leave
 So many folks you’ve learned t’ know,
 An’ have ‘em grip yer hand an’ tell
 How much they hate t’ see you go!
It’s kinda tough t’ say goodbye
 T’ friends you’ve seen day after day–
 It’s hard t’ break the happy bonds
 O’ comradeship, an’ move away.

It’s hard t’ pack up all yer things
 An’ leave a cozy home behind–
 The place where joys have come t’ you,
 Where neighbors all have been so kind.
 An’ when, at last, yer dearest pal
 Is tryin’ hard t’ make a bluff
 At bein’ brave, an’ breaks right down,
 It’s kinda tough — it’s kinda tough!
But say!  It’s great t’ find new friends
 Just waitin’ fer a chance t’ show
 How glad they are t’ have you come
 An’ live with ‘em!  It’s great t’ know
 That folks ‘re jus’ about the same
 No matter where you chance t’ roam,
 An’ if you let ‘em have their way
 You’ll soon be feelin’ right at home.
So, it’s a long farewell old friends, old friends;
 May God be mighty good t’ you!
 Across the miles an’ down the years
 You’ll find my friendship always true.
 An’ now I turn with eager heart
 T’ meet whatever life extends –
 T’ greet the folks that welcome me,
 An’ try t’ make ‘em all my friends!
-Lawrence Hawthorne