Hello World! Join Us in Saying Shame on Fairfield City Schools (Ohio)

Imagine you're sitting peacefully in your home on any ordinary Thursday night.  Things are going OK in your little world and life.  Not great.  But not bad either.  Christmas is just two weeks away, so there's that to look forward to.

Then suddenly you're startled by the loud crush of a gunshot that comes from an upstairs bedroom.  You rush up the stairs, tripping halfway up the steps in a panic to see what just happened.

Maybe it was just a mishap.  Maybe nothing's wrong more than an easily patched hole in the drywall.  Maybe everything will be OK.

You're running down the upstairs hallway scanning bedrooms quickly with your eyes wide open in adrenaline-soaked fright.  You start calling out the names of your children.  Where did that shot come from?

Then you see the bedroom door to your daughter's room still closed firmly, and nobody answering you.  You fling the door open to see the awful confirmation of what you already knew downstairs when the blast first rocked your home and ended life as you knew it.

Your thirteen year-old daughter was dead.  Her beautiful, promising, young life cut short.  Plucked for a flower in the Master's bouquet.

How could this be?  She was thirteen years old.  How did this happen?  Maybe it's all just a nightmare.

Luckily, for you and me and the vast majority of people reading this, that story was just a nightmare.  We're not really sure about the details of what happened that terrible day.  Maybe the tragedy didn't take place like this.

Our little story may be viewed as a work of fiction that should make you hold your dear ones more closely, and shiver with fear as you tell that feeling in the pit of your stomach 'let's hope it never happens to me.'

But for the Olsen family in the Fairfield City School District (Ohio), that story was not just a made up nightmare.  No, their nightmare began December 11, 2014 with the horrific incident we just described above.  The immeasurable pain they will have to bear now for the rest of their lives began the moment their daughter Emilie left this Earth.

How did it happen?  Why?  What could make a teen's life so horrible that she would decide to take it?  What can we all do to prevent tragedies like this in the future? 

The answer to those questions is why this blog was started.  It's why we have a Facebook group with 650 followers and growing.  It's why we are here.  It's why we want you to join us on this journey.

If you're starting to think to yourself that you recognize this story and Emilie Olsen's name, you're probably correct.  It's been all over national and international news for the past year.  Every newspaper from the nearby Cincinnati Enquirer, to Germany's Der Spiegel, to Cosmo magazine, Good Morning America, and even Chinese media have covered Emilie's story.

Emilie was a thirteen year-old girl who committed suicide a little over one year ago.  One of the primary factors which drove her to this sad outcome was relentless bullying at Fairfield City Schools (Ohio).  In the days following her loss, Emilie's parents attributed some of the blame for her death to bullying.  Officials at Fairfield City Schools denied that evidence existed to prove bullying was a factor in the tragedy.

Six months later, a local TV news station aired a blockbuster story and revealed documents that cast grave doubt on what Fairfield City Schools was saying about bullying and Emilie's loss.  The community has since become engaged and active in support of other bullying victims.  A federal lawsuit

In the coming weeks, we'll be posting several news stories widely available on the internet.  We'll be starting a conversation with the whole world about Emilie's story.  We invite you to be part of it.

Emilie's tragedy is gripping and compelling because we can all relate to her story so much.  Most of us were bullied at one time or another in our lives at school.  Some of us probably bullied others at some point too.  Maybe your parents, like Emilie's, or even you yourself now as a mom or dad are trying to get the school to address the bullying and keep your child safe while in their care.

But in Emilie's case something went horribly, tragically, unforgettably wrong.  That's why this group is here.  Our activist group is here to raise awareness about Emilie's case.  We're here to demand accountability, change, and transparency in Fairfield City Schools.  We're here to help you in your own community form activist groups if that's what it takes to make school officials serving your children to take the bullying epidemic among our young people seriously.

#justiceforemilie