High school sophomore Whitney Kropp was ecstatic when she
found out she had been nominated for her high school’s Homecoming court. She
had been bullied viciously for her dark clothes and dyed hair, but she still
was excited to be able to represent her school during such a big occasion.
And then she learned that it was a joke. Classmates told her
that her popular peers had orchestrated the nomination as a prank. Whitney was
devastated. Thinking herself unworthy of such an honor as a legitimate
nomination, she contemplated suicide, The
Huffington Post reports.
That’s when the town stepped in. When word of the prank
spread through the small Michigan community, residents refused to let Whitney
be defeated by her school’s bullies. Business owners volunteered to dress
Whitney in a stunning red gown, have her hair and nails done and take her out
to dinner. Families packed the stands at the Homecoming game, where her name
would be announced, so that all she would hear was applause.
Whitney did end up
going to Homecoming. On a Facebook page
created to support her and all teens being bullied, she wrote, “Going to
Homecoming to show them that I’m not a joke. I’m a beautiful person and you
shouldn’t mess with me!”
We’re hoping this is the start of a movement, of communities
coming together to support people being bullied and to instill and encourage
better values and behavior from everyone. What do you think, babes?
BY BRITTANY TAYLOR ON 9/25/2012 12:00:00 AM
POSTED IN In the News, bullying