FB Page For Teen, Asher Brown, Who Committed Suicide Defaced

[Family Ties Forever!]

Awful.

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Facebook Page For Teen Who Committed Suicide Defaced
Asher Brown Committed Suicide Sept. 23

Posted: Saturday, October 2, 2010
Updated: 11:00 am CDT October 2, 2010

Houston -- A boy who committed suicide because, his parents said, was bullied in life, has been bullied in death.

Watch It: Teen's Tribute Page Defaced

"The initial act itself is shocking, but to think this hatred keeps going on and on," State Rep. Jessica Farrar said. Asher Brown committed suicide on Sept. 23. His parents said he was relentlessly tormented at Hamilton Middle School for the last two years. Soon after Asher’s death, his classmates set up a memorial page in his honor on Facebook.

Early Friday, dozens of users start plastering the page with hateful messages and photo. To give you an idea of how bad these posts were, we picked out the least graphic message. It's a picture of the smiling eighth grader with text that reads, "Hey mom sorry about the mess, LOL." "That's the problem. When this sort of behavior is permitted, it grows. You have to stop it and make it not OK," said Farrar.

In an effort to stop bullying all together, Farrar and others have announced their intention to push an anti-discrimination bill for Texas public schools. The bill would prohibit retaliation against those who report being harassed. "It also directs schools to establish policies and to stop harassment before it even starts," said Farrar.

That's something Asher's family said they needed before he committed suicide. They maintain part of the problem before his death was the lack of response from officials at Hamilton Middle school. Farrar said she hopes this bill could prevent another life from being lost too early. "If we can pass it in his name, it's something that would signify that his life stood for something," said Farrar.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office said it will look into what led to the teen's suicide. The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District is conducting its own investigation into the allegations that Asher was bullied at school. The district said it has not concluded the investigation, but released its initial findings:

"Upon enrollment, his mother reported his personal history, which included post-traumatic stress disorder. Asher had established relationships and accessed both his sixth-and seventh-grade counselors. His recent academic progress report reflected all A's in his classes and his class conduct was excellent. Prior to Asher Brown's death, the parents made no contact with the school regarding concerns of bullying.

Although the campus did not receive concerns from the family regarding bullying, his mother contacted his counselor approximately two weeks prior to his death requesting assistance from school staff members in monitoring Asher's behavior due to a significant emotional struggle within the family. Asher's counselor alerted all his teachers and assistant principal of their family's situation. The following week, an assistant principal followed up with Asher's mother by phone.

District administrators have been unable to substantiate specific instances of alleged bullying of Asher; however, some student information indicates a perception that Asher was mistreated by classmates, but those concerns were not reported."

Previous Stories:
October 1, 2010: DA To Investigate Suicide Of Bullied Teen
October 1, 2010: Students Speak Out About Bullied Classmate's Death
September 29, 2010: Parents: Bullying May Have Led To Son's Suicide

Copyright 2010 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved.

[Mr. Television]

This is just disgusting. Something has to be done about bullying in schools.

[old grouch]

What a heartbreaking situation. My heart goes out to Asher's family. People need to realize that the whole 'sticks and stones' saying just isn't true. Names can hurt, and in this case, they can kill. I hope this law passes.