South Hadley High School may form anti-bullying task force in wake of death of Phoebe Prince

SOUTH HADLEY – South Hadley High School Principal Daniel T. Smith said Monday he hopes to create a task force to look into the issue of bullying at the school as well as conduct an internal investigation of circumstances related to the recent death of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince.

“We have already done a lot of things in the school district, but clearly not enough,” Smith said about the problem of bullying.

Prince, who enrolled in the school last fall after arriving here from Ireland, is suspected of having committed suicide Thursday because of bullying by other students.

Among the school district’s efforts to discourage bullying have been the tightening up of policies at the high school and presentations by nationally recognized expert on bullying Barbara Colorosa.

South Hadley Police Department detectives are working with investigators with the Northwestern District Attorney’s office to determine if bullying was involved. Police were summoned about 4:40 p.m. Thursday to Prince’s 356 Newton St. home, where they discovered a teen-age girl who had apparently taken her town life, Police Chief David J. LaBrie has said.

Determining the cause and manner of the first-year student’s death has been left to the state medical examiner’s office.

Friday night about 200 South Hadley High School students held a candlelight vigil for Prince at the school’s softball field, just blocks away from Prince’s home. Students gathered in a circle so that people could come to the center to speak about their memories of Prince. Sophomore Kyle R. Whelihan sang several songs, including “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban.

Smith said he will send out letters Tuesday to parents, students, teachers and administrators outlining goals for the task force such as coming up with ways to eradicate the problem.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Beers & Story South Hadley Funeral Home, which is handling arrangements, would say only, “Everything is private.”

High school Student Assistance Counselor Karen Walsh Pio said she is working with Everywoman’s Center at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to bring The Clothesline Project to the school. The exhibit features a line of T-shirts written on by people advocating against violence and bullying.

“It is a very strong statement against interpersonal violence,” Walsh Pio said. The project, which had been in the works before Prince’s death, will be displayed at the school Jan. 28 such that students will be able to add T-shirts to it, according to Walsh Pio.

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