It was hard to miss the story of Karen Klein, a 68-year-old bus monitor who was viciously taunted by a group of students riding home from school. When video surfaced of the bullying incident, the online community unleashed an outpouring of support for Klein–to the tune of $674,625.
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised on indiegogo.com, Klein has been offered a complimentary Disney vacation for four, says USA Today. She also gained the possibility of closure from apology letters written by two of the students involved.
MSNBC reports that a letter from a boy named Josh read, ““I am so sorry for the way I treated you…When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that. I will never treat anyone this way again.”
The latest development in Klein’s story, issued by CNN, should serve as a warning to bullies young and old: the four students identified from the video have been suspended from Athena Middle School for a year. The students will be enrolled in a special program at the district’s Reengagement Center and must perform 50 hours of community service with senior citizens and complete a formal bullying prevention program before applying for readmission, says NPR.
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