Jessica Barba’s bullying project garnered a lot of attention from YouTube viewers and Facebook users, which ultimately led to the teen’s suspension from school under threats of further suspension and jail time.
What caused the furor over Jessica Barba’s bullying project seems to be in part the content of the multimedia work and in part, its reach. A concerned parent spotted the joint YouTube video and fake Facebook account on the web and contacted the school to complain about Jessica Barba’s bullying project, getting the teen called into the principal’s office.
What happened next is like something out of a Lifetime movie about bullying awareness, the Long Island teen said on TV this morning:
“[The principal] said that I could get jail time for six months for what I did and I could get suspended for the rest of the year, including next year… So, I’m sitting there and I’m having a mental breakdown. I was so distraught by everything that was going on.”
So what was Jessica Barba’s bullying project all about? It seems in the vein of the Blair Witch Project , Barba created a YouTube video about bullying, ending with the protagonist’s suicide, and a fake Facebook account to back it up. In it, the main character Hailey Bennett is played by Barba.
The Longwood High School teen’s dad says he’s proud of her daughter’s work, and that “anybody who watches has nothing but great things to say about it.” Jessica Barba’s mom Jodi explains:
“For them to even say a 5 day suspension to begin with is crazy, but then to say we’re going to have a hearing and possibly even suspend her for the rest of the year and maybe even next year and it’s just insane.”
Although she ultimately complied with the school’s demand she take down the content, Jessica Barba’s bullying project returned to the web during her suspension as she felt the message was “too important” to be erased. You can watch Jessica Barba’s bullying project below- do you feel the content in the video warrants suspension?