New Hampshire
Students accused of sharing, ‘grading’ pics of female classmates without consent
High school students in New Hampshire are at risk of disciplinary action after allegedly snapping inappropriate photos of female classmates’ bodies, making them into trading cards, and giving out “grades” to the images.
A group of ninth- and 10th-grade students at Bedford High School had been photographing 11th- and 12th-grade girls without their knowledge and circulating the images without their consent, Bedford High School Principal Bob Jozokos said in an email to parents last week.
In the email, provided to the New Hampshire Union Leader by a parent, Jozokos called the behavior “upsetting” and warned that the students involved can expect a meeting with their parent at school — and possibly suspension.
“This is absolutely inappropriate behavior and not expected of our students,” Jozokos wrote.
The principal added that parents should “let your teen know that I take this sexual harassment very seriously and there is no place for it in our community.”
The students who participated in the disturbing behavior — mainly boys — created both physical and digital trading cards featuring the chests, backsides and names of upperclass girls, NBC10 Boston reported.
The group of students were printing pictures of the girls and taping them over Pokémon cards for at least a week.
“They were, like, rating them,” one student told NBC10 Boston. “From 0 to 10, and just rating them, ‘bad’ or ‘not bad.’”
The female students, however, were largely unaware of the unsettling trend until later, the student said, adding that one of his friends was featured on a trading card.
“She’s pissed. She’s not happy at all,” he said. “She was just very embarrassed.”
Antonio Bruno told WCVB that his 15-year-old daughter may have been one of the girls whose photo was shared unknowingly.
“She saw the picture and she thinks she’s one of the girls,” he said, adding that she no longer wants to go to school.
“We’re thinking about maybe we’ll move my daughter somewhere else because if she’s not safe in school, where’s she need to be safe then?” he said.
According to a WMUR report, school administrators interviewed 35 students on Friday over the incident.
A petition created by a Bedford High School senior calls for the permanent expulsion of the students involved — instead of the suspension Jozokos had threatened. As of Wednesday, over 4,300 signatures of its 5,000-signature goal had been collected.
“We are not a toy for your son to play with, nor a piece of paper that can be traded like a Pokémon card,” wrote Kristen Caldwell, the petition’s creator.
“These students deserve to be expelled. Why are issues such as these, treating women as sex objects, not being taken more seriously? These students have no place in our school, and need to be removed immediately.”
It’s not clear how many students and victims were involved in the incident.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire State Troopers investigating fatal crash on the Interstate 93 ramp
3 people are deceased as New Hampshire State Police investigate a crash on the Interstate 93 ramp in Salem, N.H.
State Troopers, alongside members of the Salem Fire Department and New Hampshire Department of Transportation, were dispatched at 2:02pm for a report of a single-vehicle crash at the Exit 2 offramp from 1-93 Southbound.
Initial investigations believed that the vehicle, a 2012 KIA Sportage, had veered off onto the right side of the offramp, traveling through the grass, and then striking a culvert. The vehicle immediately stopped.
Both the driver and two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver has been identified as Rodney J. Dore, 71, of Pelham. The passengers were identified as Anne J. Dore, 70, also of Pelham, and Lisana M. Alexander, 45, of Salem.
The offramp was closed for a short period of time while troopers conducted initial investigations before reopening around 6pm.
As the investigation continues, N.H. State Police are urging the public with any information to contact Trooper Mark Lingerman at 603-223-4381 or mark.n.lingerman@dos.nh.gov.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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New Hampshire
One dead in single-car crash in Nashua
One person is dead after a single-vehicle crash in Nashua, New Hampshire early Sunday morning.
Nashua Fire Rescue says they responded to a report of a crash at around 1:08 a.m.
When they arrived, authorities say they found a car had hit the center barrier and ended up against the overpass on Tinker Road.
Hydraulic rescue tools were used to access the person inside the car, according to authorities.
The person in the car was declared dead at the scene.
New Hampshire State Police is investigating the incident.
New Hampshire
90-year-old great-grandmother graduates from New Hampshire college 50 years after finishing degree
MANCHESTER N.H. – Some people may have thought there was a celebrity in the building at Southern New Hampshire University’s graduation on Saturday. Annette Roberge certainly felt like one as she crossed the stage to get her diploma at 90 years old.
“I’m still on cloud nine,” Roberge said. “I can’t even put it into words. It was exhilarating, it was awesome, it was beyond anything I could’ve possibly imagined.”
Degree 50 years in the making
This degree has been decades in the making for the mother of five, grandmother of 12, and great-grandmother of 15. She began taking classes at New Hampshire College, now SNHU, in 1972 one year after her husband of 20 years was killed in Vietnam.
She completed several night and weekend courses before it took a backseat to her five kids and two jobs. Roberge worked as an insurance agent while she finished up as a lunch lady at a nearby school. Roberge retired at age 75, but she was a woman who loved learning, and she knew something was missing from her life.
“If I started something I just have to finish it,” Roberge said.
But it wasn’t until recently that Roberge’s daughter began poking around and learned her mom had earned enough credits for an associate’s degree in business administration. Barring some health challenges, Roberge finally walked across the stage on Saturday to the roaring cheers from her fellow graduates and a standing ovation.
“Never give up on learning because what you learn can never be taken away from you,” Roberge said.
“It matters so much for the example it sets about what we do for ourselves, to keep learning and stretching and growing,” SNHU President Lisa Marsh Ryerson said.
“Don’t ever give up on a dream”
Roberge even had a parting message for all of her new fellow graduates.
“If you’ve got a dream don’t let it just sit there. Do something, make it work, don’t ever give up on a dream.”
If you thought Roberge would be satisfied with her associate’s degree you’d be wrong. She plans to start working towards her bachelor’s degree in January.
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