When Whitney found out she was nominated for homecoming queen, she was surprised… giddy… elated. When she logged on to Facebook later that day, she discovered that her nomination was a joke and she felt humiliated… devastated… suicidal.

It’s difficult to believe that this story could occur, particularly in a small town within my home state of Michigan. It stands to reason that many students thought it would be funny to vote for Whitney just so they could make fun of her. Many students had to think this was a good idea. They must have seen this as no big deal. Not one of these students put a stop to it, told the administration what was going on or cared that this was just plain mean. Shame on them!

To her credit, Whitney decided to show up… to show up those bullies who thought her nomination was a joke… to show up on homecoming night and represent her sophomore class with pride. Instead of letting the situation define her, Whitney defined the situation. Good for her!

To the town’s credit, the community decided to take a stand… to stand up for Whitney… to stand against bullying… to stand against being mean. A dress shop donated her dress, a florist donated flowers and a salon did her hair and nails for the big event. Good for them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzlqBh9Jyh0&feature=related (local story – 2 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8PAf472QnM&feature=related (CNN – 2 minutes)

Your Turn
1) Why do you think someone would initially think this is a good idea?
2) Why did so many students go along with this idea? Why wouldn’t someone just tell a teacher or the principal what was going on?
3) If you were the administration, what would you do in this situation?
4) How do you think Whitney, the school and town will be changed by this incident?
5) This became a national story covered by most of the cable news networks? Why? What do you think the moral of the story is?