Bullying expert to speak in South Hadley

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

SOUTH HADLEY — Anti-bullying expert Barbara Coloroso will speak and then lead a discussion Tuesday open to all town residents at Town Hall.

Organizers say they hope the format will allow for a more free-flowing discussion than in past meetings held in the wake of the suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince last year.

The session is being organized by Stand Up for a Change, a local anti-bullying group created by parents Darby O'Brien, Luke Gelinas and Eileen Moore, Phoebe Prince's aunt. Prince's suicide in January 2010 prompted a national discussion on the topic of bullying.

Coloroso, author of "The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander: Breaking the Cycle of Violence" was called in as a consultant in South Hadley before Prince took her own life after enduring months of bullying, according to officials.

The purpose of Tuesday's meeting, O'Brien said, is to offer residents an opportunity to voice their opinions without the same rules that frustrated some parents at a series of public forums organized by the School Committee.

"Unfortunately, all of the School Committee meetings were run in such a way that people couldn't ask a question, they had to make a statement, and then most of the time the committee didn't have an answer for them," O'Brien said. "So what we wanted to do was create community sessions where we would do just the opposite."

O'Brien said he would guarantee that all residents would have the chance to speak their mind without interruption.

The meeting is set to begin at 7:30 p.m..

Coloroso has worked with schools nationwide and made appearances on national news programs. She is frequently cited as an expert on bullying by leading print news outlets including The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, according to release.

O'Brien said that at Tuesday's event Coloroso will help residents better understand what bullying is, what steps can be taken to prevent bullying and how the town can take the lead on ending school bullying and protecting children.

"Over the last nine months we have found that the ability to stand up and speak out is a core American value that should be protected," O'Brien said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.