Greenwich Magazine Questions Suicide of Greenwich High School Student
GREENWICH, Conn. (PRWEB) May 27, 2014 -- “Not in Vain” tells the story of Bart Palosz, a boy driven to take his own life after years of being bullied in the Greenwich, Connecticut school system.
A difficult story for the Palosz family to share and one too often sensationalized, the piece explores what went wrong and how so many ultimately failed Bart Palosz and his family. Greenwich magazine has given voice to a young man and his family that will grip parents and compel conversations across the country.
Bart was a regular boy who loved camping, fishing, and Boy Scouts. He had a loving family. But after being targeted by fellow students for years, Bart’s pain became so great that took his own life by putting a gun to his head on August 27, 2013—the first day of his sophomore year.
In the family’s first in-depth interview since the tragedy, Bart’s sister Beata Palosz speaks with Greenwich magazine Senior Writer Timothy Dumas and documents the layers of emotional and physical abuse that Bart suffered beginning in middle school.
The story points to an ineffective school system that did little to handle multiple reports of physical bullying despite repeated, ongoing requests from his parents. Bolstering that point, the story also reveals that almost ten months after Bart’s death, school administrators have not documented publicly how they tried to protect him.
“This story is as painful as it is infuriating,” Greenwich magazine Editor Cristin Marandino says in her monthly Editor’s Letter. “In the aftermath of Bart’s death, the community was incensed…community meetings addressed it, school groups were created around it. But as is the case in life, once the initial shock wears off, the rallying calls tend to quiet down. Maintaining momentum requires all of us to continue the conversation loudly and publicly. We (Greenwich magazine) want to be loud,” she stressed.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Editor Cristin Marandino is available for in-studio interviews or via phone/satellite, to discuss new details of Bart’s death, shedding light on questions raised about the school district’s handling of the bullying Bart faced. She can also talk to the importance of why everyone— parents, school staff, community residents—need to continue this conversation as loudly as possible.
In all but Montana, anti-bully laws span the country and most states are continuing to strengthen and expand laws. However, this story questions who is leading the charge at each school, taking the initiative and following through in order to manage the process and eliminate the problem. While Connecticut made significant changes to its bullying legislation in 2011, there is still no law requiring schools to report cases to the state.
Experts refer to bullying as a “community problem.” “Our society is slowly changing. Bullying is out of the closet,” says Dewey Cornell, a clinical psychologist and UVA professor who is a source in the story. But it requires much more than a hotline: It requires attentive parents, responsive schools and courageous peers. If any one of these elements is missing, bullying may continue unchecked and another child could be lost.
About Cristin Marandino:
Cristin Marandino has 20 years of editorial experience, including seven years at the helm of Greenwich magazine, owned by Moffly Media. She has conducted multiple national and local TV and radio interviews, both live and taped, for Greenwich magazine. She was involved with the recent reopening of the cold case of Honeymooner George Smith when the magazine ran an in-depth update on the events of his 2005 disappearance aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship.
About Greenwich magazine:
Greenwich magazine is one of six luxury titles published by Moffly Media. Moffly Media’s titles also include Westport, Stamford, New Canaan/Darien, Fairfield Living and athome magazines. For more information, please visit http://www.ilovefc.com.
Peter Barhydt, Aberdeen Associates, Inc., http://www.AberdeenAssociates.com, +1 (203) 618-1709, [email protected]
Share this article