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Dale G. Young / The Detroit News
Whitney Kropp was named to the homecoming court as a joke by her classmates, but the tiny farm town of West Branch, Mich., has rallied around her.
A tiny farming town in Michigan is rallying around a 16-year-old girl who was voted to be on a high school homecoming court as part of a prank. Local businesses are picking up the tab for her special night, while a neighbor started a Facebook support page.
"It’s been overwhelming," Bernice Kropp told NBC News on Monday. Her daughter, Whitney Kropp, is at the center of the controversy at West Branch’s Ogemaw Heights High School, north of Saginaw.
Kropp said Whitney was humiliated when she learned Sept. 13 that her selection to the homecoming court had been part of a joke. She said students pointed at her in the hallways and laughed, and the boy who was picked with her withdrew.
"She was getting ridiculed in school and on Facebook," Kropp said.
"But then," Kropp added, "other kids started coming up to her and saying, 'Whitney, don’t let them stop you from going to homecoming. You need to go ahead, you need to do it'."
Kropp said her daughter, a sophomore, had been picked on before at school, but not to the extent of the peer vote that selects popular students to the court, which traditionally names a queen, king and princes and princesses from each class. The high school has about 800 students.
"I thought I wasn't worthy. I was this big old joke," Whitney told The Detroit News.
Dan Cwayna, the superintendent of the West Branch-Rose City School District, told NBC News he is aware of the situation. “I do not have much to add at this time,” he said, adding “I am hesitant to say anything out of privacy and concerns for the student involved.”
Kropp described her daughter as quiet, polite and kind, rarely finding fault with peers and people. Kropp said Whitney has a date for the dance this Saturday, "and it’s her boyfriend who has been very quiet and supportive through all of this."
"You want to protect your kid, and you feel angry and mad at what has happened, but at the same time the outpouring to help her has been beyond expected," Kropp said.
Word spread quickly through the community of about 2,100 residents in West Branch. Resident Jamie Kline started a Facebook support page, gaining more than 4,000 likes in Michigan and nationwide. Personal stories of bullying and messages of encouragement filled the page, among them:
"You go, girl! From here in California, it looks like you won the vote legitimately but some of your "friends" got jealous and nasty about it. Their "joke" never really happened! Hold your head high and have a good time," Raymond Puffer.
"Whitney YOU are a beautiful gal inside and out and dont ever let anyone tell you any different,” Karen Morrison Gross.
"I am so proud of this young lady ((((You GO, Girl))))), her family and the awesome community we share! It's high time we ALL take a stand against bullies. They come in all sizes, ages and social arenas. Be Kind ALWAYS,” Ginger Warren.
Jen Case, who is with Whit’s End Salon in West Branch, said the salon owner donated services to cut, color and style Kropp’s hair. "Bullying is a big thing and we wanted to turn this into a positive moment," Case said.
Other local businesses are paying for Whitney’s dinner, gown, shoes and a tiara for the dance.
"We live in this community and we’re about the community and giving back," Case told NBC News. "We wanted to help this young lady have a special night."
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Never understood the whole homecoming "court" thing anyway? What is the point of it?
I agree.It is nothing more than a popularity contest.Schools need to focus on education and not so much on the socializing.These kids are obviously not kept busy enough with school work and chores at home.
This is the stupid @!$%# I have ever seen. What a waste for a news story. This girl gets attention over something as little as this? Much worse pranks have been played at our school. Hell, I was put on craiglist under the section for free stuff with an ad stating I was giving away a slave plantation with 10 black slaves. Did I cry to the media? I think not. We had something like this happen at Friendswood High School in 2005 that was exactly similar. 3000 students and everyone voted for the slow kid that everyone made fun of. Did that get media attention or did he care that people laughed? Nope. Why is this such a big deal? This girl and her family are attention seeking whores. If you want to dispute this and cry about how you think she is right, please send all hate mail to adelgadobusiness@yahoo.com.
Smiles It's a Modern day Cinderella story?....Go show em what you got girl...! And don't Slop your dipper..! For anyone..;) Tricks are for kids and the joke was on them...! Way Cool...!
Way to go for standing up for this beautiful young woman! The irony about bullies is that despite their outward appearance of confidence and strength they are instead filled with anger, sadness, and feelings of insecurity. People who are confident and satisfied with themselves are kind to others and don't act out on others.
I hope those involved in the "prank" are not allowed to participate in any of the events for the rest of the school year!
file this under "white girl problems"
How is this a white girl problem?
i'm just saying...
I don't get it? You mean like white girls worry about stuff like this too much? Races are different regardless of what people say, so I'm not going to attack you for being racist or anything, I'm just curious because it seems to me that white girls have the least problems.
Ya gotta admit it was a pretty messed up thing to do... Speaking of race, just imagine if she wasn't white, it would be a frikkin media storm! So many people think (thanks to the media imo) that everything that happens which crosses races is racist. Everything that happened to people in my school (before all this PC BS) just happened, regardless of race. Nowadays if you want to do something, joke or otherwise, you have to reconsider if they happen to be a race other than your own. Imo it's racism by the police, PC police, school officials etc to be forced to think that way. Throw a water balloon at a classmate and you get an hour detention, throw one at a black classmate and it's a racist hate crime and you get expelled. So who's teaching racism now??
I digress, but I'm still curious about the comment...
I hope Whitney reads this: You need to dye your hair red, your skin, body and face remind me of Emma Stone and L Lohan, and like those women blonde just doesn't work. The right shade of red like those women use would change your life!
Btw, the people who did that prank are a-holes, and I imagine they're regretting it big time now... Many pranks are fun and all, that's just one of them.
You'll come out on top when this is over, and if you go red I'd love to see a pix!
Take care, and best wishes :)
And can someone explain to me why this is news, anyway?
She is a very cute young lady.The superintendent should immediately expel the students who pulled the prank and any teacher who is in charge of the homecoming gala.To single out one student and make the butt of a joke is not acceptable.
Kids are cruel, not fully developed so use this experience as a toughening event where you can realisticly see how warped life can be; stick to your values anyway!
The meanNESS just won't stop.....mean spirited freaking kids.
I got bullied so badly in elementary and middle school that when my child went to school all of the old bad memories came right back. Not much has changed but I do notice that some of the parents revert right back to younger days when at school with their kids. You never get over this kind of thing. The kids that did this will get restriction or at worse suspension for a couple of days and the poor girl will have to live with this forever.....
Hopefully, she will use this experience to become a much better person. The bullies are the kind of kids who never grow up.
Okay so this is pretty messed up. I mean hell this is comming from a guy who makes fun of people online, pulls pranks on friends and people I hate like every week. A prank is like wiring the horn to the brakes on your friends GFs car. This is just bulling, not a prank.
I think you are so pretty, people are so mean, I hope you go and have the time of your life. Don't worry about what people say, there's this thing called Karma. What goes around comes around we will leave at that. Have fun and you are beautiful
Unfortunatly, a prank like this speaks volumes about the families that raised these kids to think this would be funny. Causing pain to anyone is never funny in the end, Its just a reflection on how little self worth the person pulling the prank has. You can only hope they and their parents learn the difference between right and wrong before we have to support their kids in a prison latter in life when its more than a prank.
The bullying at schools these days is really out of control. This is bullying. It was a prank to vote her on the court? How ridiculous! Like vote her on and then laugh at her. Wow, kids these days have no feelings at all. Life is a joke to them. They are being raised by TV sitcoms. Funny when they aren't real. Not funny in a real life context. What kind of parenting is going on, anyway? Parents, can't you teach your kids compassion? Are parents so self-indulged that they can't even teach caring to their children. Kids don't learn by osmosis,you know! It doesn't just seep in!
My daughter was bullied in elementary school, but never told me about it until she was in college. It made me so sad that I didn't know about it. My daughter, like this girl, was cute, fun, nice, etc.
I guess being a good person doesn't cut it these days, eh? I guess setting-up people, lying about people, teasing people, and bullying people is what our society is all about? Sick world we are living in!
Come to Texas, Honey. We don't take kindly to bullies down here.
My heart goes out to your daughter. To this day, I am confident that the bullying still affects her to this day. Interesting point here is that many of the personality characteristics seen in bullys are the same that are seen in CEOs and other upper echilon emloyees/executives. It pays to be a self absorbed ego maniacal creep in today's world, usually. Sad!
You got it, Tom! Not only "upper" however. It is Upper, middle and lower in business, etc. They are adult bullies. You are right, our world is full of self-absorbed, ego maniacs. How often do you work in an environment where people are really working together to an end goal and enjoying their work environment? Almost never! People are cutting people down all over the place! It is sick!
Kids these days? My mother went through this crap in HS..in the 70s. Bullying has always existed. If you don't believe that then your head is in the sand.
And I did in the 60's, Drak. Didn't say it didn't exist before, but it seems to be getting even worse. Just my opinion.
If the Principal and Superintendant do not terminate the other student’s involvement in afterschool activities including all sports, then terminate them. If this was in an office environment an employee can sue the company. Now the Principal and Superintendant should pay the price or take action..... And those of you who see no problem should look up what its like to work in corporate companies or talk to an attorney because some of your comments are pathetic and show your level of education.
She's cute, I'd vote for her anyway.
This kind of thing happened at my school once or twice too, because the jocks and plastics thought it was "funny" to single out and ridicule someone "beneath them." Glad to see some people taking a stand against this kind of bullying and showing support to this young lady!
A very pretty young lady indeed. Bullies destroy from the inside out and they need to be held accountable for their behavior. Not only do they need to be banned from homecoming in this case, but also suspended from school for a couple of weeks. They will not learn a lesson otherwise, and I am sure their parents have already 'forgave' them for their 'bad choices.' I had bullies in school as many people did, and the overwhelming majority were the offspring of bullies themselves and so on. This is absolutely not the sort of thing to ever be swept under the rug which it is obvious the super is trying to do already.
Alright, apparently at 27 I'm already too old to get it...but I thought that pranks and practical jokes were meant to be mean-spirited and at times outright abusive.
...................where's the prank? "HA HA! WE ELECTED YOU TO THE HOMECOMING COURT! JOKE'S ON YOU! HA HA HA!" Who's bright idea was it to "prank" her like this? Dumping a bucket of blood on someone (as seen in Carrie) is a prank, electing someone to the home coming court is...nice? A sign that you like them?
*sigh* Kids these days...can't even prank each other properly. How in god's name is this making "national headlines"? How in god's name is this even bullying? I just don't get anything at all about this story...
It's bullying because it was insincere. The bullies hoped that she was oblivious to their intention.
It's dramatic irony. And the whole set-up was to poke fun at a girl who had no idea that she was insincerely put on the court. It's a bit more sophisticated than calling someone pizza-face, but it's much more effective and much more cruel.
I thought only seniors qualify to be on the homecoming court.
That's Prom. At my HS, there were members of court from every grade level.
As I myself reflect on my life [ I'm 53 yrs old ] I to was bullied and became the bullier to become accepted and believe me I took it way to far! HERES my point, KIDS when you get to my age and if YOU have any ounce of decency YOU WILL REGRET IT ! if only I could turn the clock back for my past discretions. My point? have as little regrets you can in life, think before you act! God Bless You all.
I must say I'm happy with the outcome of this story. Rather than overreacting and cancelling the dance, or someone suing the school or other parents we just see the culprits exposed for the jerks they are and the town making sure the girl will be the best looking one at the dance.
A bully is a bully bottom line. For those who do not recognize that this was a "Joke" it is a rather cruel one. In the long run it will just hurt her knowing she was not really voted for and I am sure they had some awful "Jokes" to "Poke fun" of her when she won. Was it stupid of them? No Doubt! But one "Joke" that seems innocent leads to another "Joke" that next time may not be so innocent. There is no harm for a community wanting to help a girl out, we have enough evil in the world. People might not be so cruel if we all shared, cared and helped one another once in awhile.
kids used to do this back when i was in school too,(1981-1984) but they would pick someone ugly. this girl is very cute,so i really don't get the joke they were trying to play..hope she holds her head up high,and enjoys the homecoming festivities.