Here's my print column for Tuesday:
You want to help. That's what I gather from the response to our front page editorial Wednesday on the suicide death of a 13-year-old rural Mantorville girl, Rachel Ehmke, whose parents say was the victim of bullying. My editorial on the front page ended with the words, "Will you stop it? Will you help?" Many of you offered to help in whatever way possible. Several of you shared stories of bullying that occurred long ago or that's on-going in schools. Others told of how devastating the loss is when a loved one commits suicide. Thank you to all who wrote and shared personal stories, many of them painful and haunting, and all of them encouraging a more honest, head-on approach to these issues, to help young people and keep them safe. As I said in this column last Wednesday, we rarely report on suicide deaths. In this case, the family came forward and attributed Rachel's death to bullying, which connected their tragedy to an issue that could hardly be more important in area schools. That's what made it different, and profoundly powerful to people far beyond the Kasson-Mantorville school district. An area expert on suicide prevention told us she was "appalled" at how we covered this story, and I heard from the mother of a student at K-M Middle School who said our stories have led to death threats against the students who allegedly were involved in bullying. I believe we've been careful to say that suicide is immensely complicated and rarely about one cause or factor, and that Rachel's parents have explicitly said they simply want all bullying to stop. In the end, we think our attention to this issue can help, not hurt. As a Rochester couple told me in an email last week, "This is when the media can be a positive force to stop these needless deaths," and that's our hope. Another reader put it this way: "I believe we ALL need to hear about this horrible event that happened, so that others can hopefully learn from this." And another: "It truly is a heart-wrenching event for so many in the K-M community. Hopefully all of us in the region -- adults and students -- can learn and can change for the better in honor and in memory of Rachel." The next Post-Bulletin Dialogues meeting will deal with bullying in schools and what's being done to stop it. We typically have our Dialogues meetings in the Rochester Public Library auditorium, but we'll move this one to the Rocket Center at John Marshall High School to accommodate a bigger crowd. Please join us at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, at JM to get more information and to ask questions of local and regional leaders on the issue. The Post-Bulletin is committed to aggressive coverage of this issue. As one reader said in an email, "My hope is that you can become the sounding board for many people of all ages who want Rachel's life to inspire change." That's our intention. We're in this for the long haul. There's a lot of work to be done.
