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Mass. officials target Facebook to dull bullies’ barbs

Boston-area students and school officials say they have found at least 15 Facebook pages over the last few days that use obscene or hateful language to target female students, as well as a handful of male students, school administrators, and teachers at schools in Boston and surrounding communities, reports the Boston Globe. School and police officials say they consider the pages to be acts of cyber bullying, a form of harassment that has garnered more public awareness after the suicides of two Western Massachusetts students who had been bullied. Boston officials have been scrambling to have the pages removed and have been meeting to figure out how to address the apparent cyber bullying and find the culprits. But as the offending Facebook pages come down, new ones go up. Ranny Bledsoe—principal of Charlestown High School, one of the most severely afflicted schools—said, “It seems to be an absolute epidemic.’’ Nearly 10 percent of the 900 students at Charlestown High have been victimized, Bledsoe said. Students targeted on the Facebook pages say they have been taunted and laughed at by classmates. “It’s a very ugly modern crime,’’ Bledsoe said. “I don’t think students understand the implications of the powerful technology they are using.’’ Boston and school police sent a letter to principals about the bullying issue April 1, and school officials plan to send letters next week to parents to provide them with tips on determining whether their children are victims or instigators…

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