Update: Student Suspended in Jamey Rodemyer Bullying Case

Remember the sicking story about the bullies who chanted, “We’re glad you’re dead” at Jamey’s sister during a homecoming dance? Well it appears one of those bullies may have been caught.

LGBTQ Nation is reporting that, “The (School) district identified a single student believed responsible for the Sept. 22 incident at the homecoming event, and that he has imposed a long-term suspension which was “to the fullest extent allowed by state education law.”

The School District made the announcement via You Tube:

Three other students could be facing criminal charges for the bullying that led up to Rodemyer’s suicide. LGBTQ Nation says “The Amherst Police Department Special Victims Unit has opened a criminal investigation to determine whether to charge some students with harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes. “

Report: CDC calls suicide amoung LGBTQ bullied youth “a pandemic”

“Suicides among LGBTQ bullied youth are nearing a pandemic”, according to the U.S. Centers For Disease Control.  In an article published last evening by LGBTQ Nation, Journalist Brody Levesque writes, “the victims  come from every walk of life, socioeconomic, and ethnic background, but in a majority of the cases, they all share one common denominator, they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer questioning.”

The article details recent the suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer then Levesque goes in search of answers…

“The problem of addressing bullying goes beyond the classroom according to the faculty member stating that social media sites such as Facebook and blogs such as the Tumblr blog that young Jamey published, share equally in the blame. There are absolutely no restraints in place to stave off inappropriate behaviors by users who more often than not are anonymous leaving cruel remarks and epithets in the comments of these sites directed at the victims. ”

A Willimsville North High School teacher makes a brilliant observation regarding the suicide problem…

“Teenagers live in the moment — there really is not a ‘future tense’ to them, its a state of immediacy.” the teacher said. “Convincing them to not act impulsively takes constant monitoring by parents and schools.”

“Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York’s executive director, Marvin Henchbarger, tells LGBTQ Nation, “Adults need to put a stop to “hurt words” when they hear them or see them. Stop the use of ‘That’s so gay’ or similar expressions teaching kids that words can in fact lead to deaths.”

Read the full LGBTQ Nation report HERE.

According to the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.

Bullyingstatitscs.org reports that “nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying.