Waupun, Wis. (Learfield) - Police in Waupun are investigating a bullying incident that apparently drove a middle school student to try and set himself on fire in a school restroom. Interim Superintendent Don Childs said the boy brought a water bottle filled with gasoline to the Waupun Area Junior-Senior High School on April 25th. He went to the school office smelling of gasoline – and he told officials he had just doused himself in the restroom with the goal of burning himself. According to Childs, the youngster said he didn’t want to kill himself, but he did want to get hurt. He’s now hospitalized. Childs says police have the names of those reportedly involved in the bullying incident. Waupun Deputy Police Chief Mindy Hendricks says the bullies could end up with school discipline or juvenile delinquency charges. Childs said the school has programs against bullying, but the incident could have happened away from school property. The administrator is not sure if cyber-bullying was involved. But he said text-messaging and sites like Facebook have made bullying uglier than he’s ever seen. And Childs told the Fond du Lac Reporter that adults are often “less than stellar” role models. In his words, “We see a lot of adult behavior that’s built on incivility, rather than trying to solve our differences.” And as long as that continues, he says the level of bullying will be quote, “pretty damaging.”
