Sultan Middle School Principal Robin Briganti Cyberbullied With Vulgar Facebook Page

Educators continually warn students about the dangers associated with cyberbullying, but what happens when school officials themselves become the victims?

Investigators are trying to figure out who set up a bogus Facebook page under Sultan Middle School Principal Robin Briganti's name, KBOI2 reports.

After the Seattle-area principal found her Facebook impostor wrote wall posts suggesting sexually inappropriate relationships with students, she tells the news outlet she was so humiliated that she didn't want to go to work.

"I know the feeling of wanting to stay home in my bedroom, pull the covers up over my head and not come to a place that I love," she said.

Some of her students from Sultan Middle School alerted officials to the page, which is being investigated as cyberstalking, an offense that can be charged as a felony under certain circumstances, MSNBC reports.

At an April 11 all-school assembly on bullying, Briganti told her students that she could identify with those who had also been hurt by words and actions. She said she hoped her experience would be an example to students, according to KBOI2.

"I know who I am," said Briganti. "I know I didn't do that, and I'm not going to let a cyberbully ruin my life. It's not going to happen."

School officials are working with investigators and Microsoft to track the computer from which the Facebook page originated.

Comments

[FoxReincarnated]

02:57 PM on 04/25/2011

Oh lets not forget that the principal is being accused of child mo*lestation. Let's just pin it on the kid. Whatever.

[Shana Donohue]

10:14 PM on 04/24/2011

Way to title an article to get people to read it. I wonder how this principal feels. Libel, anyone?

[SeptimusDSX]

09:24 PM on 04/23/2011

Back when I was young, kids used to say all kinds of weird things about teachers they did not like. Today, the difference is, what you say online stays in cyberspace for a long time. Some kids are rotten and as a senior educator, you have to stand up to the little miscreants.

[Dewts]

08:32 PM on 04/23/2011

lol, cyberbully. that's something only a lame person would say.

[Intelligenti Pauca]

09:05 PM on 04/23/2011

Obviously you've never been a target.

[wuzupwidat]

08:08 PM on 04/23/2011

I liked all of my school principals when I was a kid but I still regarded them as prison wardens.

[Kalie]

07:52 PM on 04/23/2011

Cyberbullying and cyberstalking have gotten so out of hand, that I think we need to hold companies (i.e. Facebook, etc) accountable once again. In the past, Corporations had a moral duty to do what was in the best interest of all people. Not so much anymore. They dont care what they sell to who, or how its used. We need to get back to the accountability thing before too much damage is done.

[dim]

08:34 PM on 04/23/2011

That's like saying that we should go after newspapers because kidnappers send notes with letters from newspapers glued to the paper.

[f2900]

03:48 PM on 04/24/2011

That does not follow. Your comparison is specious. A better comparison would be if a newspaper quoted someone saying something false and harmful without identifying the speaker. That is actually against the law and both the newspaper and the original speaker can be prosecuted for it.

[stuoverit]

03:12 PM on 04/25/2011

"In the past, Corporatio­ns had a moral duty to do what was in the best interest of all people."

Like the company that owned the Triangle Waist Factory? Or Rockefeller Oil? Companies have a duty to make money for shareholders, none whatsoever to the general public. You have to have government regulation for these companies, something grossly lacking for the age of internet-based enterprises. You find a company that claims to act morally and I'll find you a company selling something to gullible people.

[Pennstategirl]

07:52 PM on 04/23/2011

This is why I don't teach anymore. You can't expect teachers to continue to accept such disrespect and low pay. It's just too much.

[Sodbuster]

07:59 PM on 04/23/2011

Geez, according to the governors of Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Florida . . . teaching is a cushy job! Way better than the private sector.

FYI: I am a retired teacher. You are ABSOLUTELY correct. Teachers endure low pay, long hours, and no respect. And, they get blamed for just about everything that is wrong with America.

[Heleric]

09:33 PM on 04/23/2011

And they are often fighting an uphill battle when parents undo almost every good thing you have taught them. Until parents actually act like parents and not like their childs cheerleader the ability to educate in this society will be greatly minimized.

[LiberalScoop]

05:49 PM on 04/24/2011

What's that saying?: "Those who can't do, teach?"
I wonder if the fool who originally said that, and all the people who believe it, ever stopped to wonder how the "doers" ever got to the point where they learn how to "do" if not for their teachers?

THANK YOU! I'm here all week...

[KJLSanDiego]

04:21 PM on 04/24/2011

Yeah, I've only just started, and I'm already near the end of my rope when it comes to public schools!
Private schools are highly recommended, so much easier to expel kids who can't behave!

[LuLou Murder]

07:45 PM on 04/23/2011

This isn't cyberbullying, it's identity theft, and should be treated as such.

[Spartan112]

07:48 PM on 04/23/2011

It can be both, no?

[An Independent Woman]

07:41 PM on 04/23/2011

I hope to God that you have absolutely nothing to do with guiding children towards adulthood.

[Kalie]

07:45 PM on 04/23/2011

or guiding them anywhere else for that matter...

[SocratesSiddhartha]

07:46 PM on 04/23/2011

Nah, You're not cyberbullying...cyberwhining? Definitely!!!

[scorpioman]

07:02 PM on 04/23/2011

kind of a weird reaction, tho

[Zenith1959]

06:43 PM on 04/23/2011

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will only cause life time mental damage.

[Kalie]

07:47 PM on 04/23/2011

Kids/people are very mean and think its their "right" to say and do whatever they want to. Their is very little restraint. There is no tact. Nice kids that are taught well are being hurt every day by bullies. The bullies must be stopped. Its intrusive and damaging.

[Soundofthunder]

06:08 PM on 04/23/2011

Please stop. Cyber bullying isn't bullying. It's people talking behind your back. Bullying is when you are confronted physically and have to either cough up your lunch money or throw down with the bully. A principal cannot be bullied in any context. They are the one with the power.

S

[mookworthjwilson]

06:25 PM on 04/23/2011

Ummm...there are so many things wrong with your comment...don't know where to start.

[Phoebe917]

06:36 PM on 04/23/2011

me, neither. this person needs to wise up to the times.

[dim]

08:40 PM on 04/23/2011

Then why bother posting?

[gh0st]

06:35 PM on 04/23/2011

Wow...spectacularly simple-minded.

[dim]

08:43 PM on 04/23/2011

It's amazing how simple things are when you follow the actual definitions of words instead of tossing jargon around.

[todaysjustus]

05:08 PM on 04/23/2011

Well, now that a principal is being targeted, I am sure that there will be an all out effort to put an end to the bullying. She won't be told to stay at home to avoid it, etc.

[pphhrogg]

06:58 PM on 04/23/2011

My grandson was bullied at his school and HE was never told to just stay home to avoid it. In fact, they punished the bully.

[Kalie]

07:49 PM on 04/23/2011

Wow, a bully finally got punished?

[todaysjustus]

07:51 PM on 04/23/2011

I am glad that your grandson actually got some good protection. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case.

[FordUSA]

05:00 PM on 04/23/2011

get over it kids will be kids.....its like in the 60's when kids used to write bad stuff on bathroom walls.

[allardkent]

05:42 PM on 04/23/2011

Sigh . . .

No this is not the same, as a moment's reflection confirms. A handful of people would have seen the bathroom wall, then it would be erased. A demeaning, pornographic website can be seen by the whole world, including the entire community this person holds a prominent position in. I knew someone who had a similar experience and it was shattering.

Whoever did this deserves severe punishment, not a rationalization that "kids will be kids".

[HKR07]

05:48 PM on 04/23/2011

This goes way beyond childish pranks...are you justifying this? What if it happened to you? Would you laugh it off so flippantly? Seriously doubt it.

[MosesDidItBest]

04:20 PM on 04/23/2011

It's a cowardly act, one that should be punished, community service and a fine, the fine to be paid by the perpetrator or, if a minor, by the minor's parents.

Then hung upside down out a window from the 16th floor by the ankles.

Maybe the ankles thing is too severe.

[edgarcaycedoc]

04:54 PM on 04/23/2011

"Maybe the ankles thing is too severe." I would respond (if it is a male) that they be hung from the window of any floor by another gender specific part of his anatomy!!