On Sunday, Father’s Day, Seth Grossman wasn’t able to bask in the glory of extra hugs and kisses from his daughter, Mallory. He wasn’t able to marvel at any special gift she made or picked out for her dad on his day. He couldn’t spend time with her.
That’s because Mallory Grossman, 12, killed herself on June 14, 2017, following many months of unrelenting bullying at the hands of her sixth-grade classmates. Her parents, Seth and Dianne, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Rockaway Township school district in New Jersey, Copeland Middle School, and some of its faculty members.
“The lawsuit, which also names various faculty members, alleges that [the school] ignored the ‘ongoing and systemic’ bullying directed at” Mallory, according to a New York Post report.
The alleged bullies—four girls who are not identified in the suit due to their status as minors—would take pictures of Mallory on schools grounds, caption them with heinous comments such as “U have no friends,” “poor Mal,” before giddily sharing them with pals.
In the weeks leading up to her death, Mallory was forced to eat lunch alone in a guidance counselor’s office because the alleged bullies had frozen her out of a table and relentlessly picked on her.
One of her most persistent tormenters allegedly asked Mallory “When are you going to kill yourself?” in front of fellow students inside the school.
Dianne Grossman has said that she had tried time and time and time again to get school administrators and faculty to do something about the abuse. In one instance, the suit alleges, the school principal had Mallory hug her bullies, the girls responsible for her misery.
There are more examples of merciless torture that Mallory endured for a solid year, both online and on campus, but I won’t do that to you or me. This story has made me frighteningly angry.
Copeland Middle School faculty and administrators: You have Mallory’s blood on your hands. And I hope the stain never fades, a daily reminder of your own apathy and cowardice.
Their ineptitude is what makes City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s report and audit on bullying in NYC public schools so troubling. Not only is bullying on the rise in City schools, but so many students “feel there is no adult in their school in whom they can confide.” Additionally, last year, 82 percent of students reported that their peers harass, bully, or intimidate others in their schools, up from 65 percent in 2012, based on student responses to the most recent NYC School Survey. Similarly, roughly one in five students said they personally do not feel safe in or around their school.
“Our young people are yearning for mental health support – we heard it straight from them, and it’s time we address the problem head on,” Stringer said.
If we don’t, then we’re just as ignorant and pathetic as the so-called leaders of Copeland Middle School. And Mallory’s won’t be the final funeral we attend.
