‘MAKE A CHANGE, NOW’

Parents Rage at NJ School’s ‘Culture of Bullying’ After Freshman’s Suicide

Students and parents packed the school’s auditorium on Thursday night to share their experiences and demand change.

Parents vented their frustrations and fury on Thursday night at the first school board meeting since 14-year-old student Adriana Kuch’s suicide. Students and parents packed the auditorium at Central Regional High School in Bayville, New Jersey, to describe a harrowing “culture of bullying” and demand action after Adriana was tormented into taking her own life earlier this month. “You need to make a change, now. That girl should still be alive, she shouldn’t have had to take her own life,” one former student said, while a friend of Kuch’s said the school board “sat there and did nothing.” Kuch took her own life after a video of her being viciously beaten by classmates in a hallway was posted to social media. Other students shared similar experiences at the meeting, with one saying she was “hospitalized” because she was “bullied so bad” and another saying his tormentors were “people in this room.” Four students involved in the hallway attack have been charged, and the school district’s superintendent resigned over shocking comments blaming the suicide on Adriana’s family.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. You can also text or dial 988.