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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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It's good to see that others were willing to stand up and something good, in the face of evil, to avoid a child from sustaining that lasting scar. Kudos to those who did what was right.
i don't get it, there's nothing wrong with this girl, she's attractive, nothing wrong with her, that age is tough because kids are pretentious, really dumb and mean, so the joke is on the kids who pranked her, they got pranked and they will be ostracized (sp?) in the end, you can tell by her attitude that it already made her the better person, but i still thought the world evolved a bit , even the younger generation, but when you hear this stuff and the bus monitor lady incident, unfortunately, in a way things like this have to happen to make the stupid world evolve, but she wins, eventually the d bags that pranked her will go into hiding then the tables will be turned
Good on the community and friends who are supporting and encouraging this fine young girl. The immature students will hopefully realize that their cruelty and immaturity is not acceptable to the community. "Do unto others..."
Assuming the upcoming hearing concerns this scandal (probably a safe bet), I think it's time to go easy on the Superintendent. He may be more bite than bark.
Also, he has the physical safety of the culprits and their families to consider.
somebody make up a list of the ten or so losers who tried to humiliate this pretty and classy young girl, and include the telephone numbers of these losers , circulate the list so the general public can call the parents of the losers and request that they ( the parents) not have any more children. Maybe they are in-breeders and that is the real problem.
Way to go young lady. ignore the kids who have no respect for themself or others. they will only lose in life while your still gaining more. do not let them work you down. i think your a beautiful young lady and would love to have you as a doughtier inlaw but my son is only age 7.. good luck and god bless.
As a teen, I was bullied until I stood up to the bullies. Whitney, as long as you know who you are - from the inside out - what others do or say will never define who you really are. Pity them because what they don't realize is - what goes around - comes around. There is balance in the universe and their day is coming.
Ya I can understand what shes going through .I grew up in a small town where I was bullied everyday and dreaded riding the school bus to school and afraid to walk home after getting off the bus. I am better then them now and wouid love to face them to show them I have become a better person because of what they have done to me.
Why in the world do we still have this mini-beauty pageant, popularity contest that has zero educational value and is generally remembered by most of the kids as a horrible emotional time?
Right? Just have the stupid dance and be done with it.
April-They have it because the popular kids want it and their dumbazz parents will fight for it.
The same reason football is so important, but that's a mystery to me too. Anyone know?
Glad to see how this has turned out. It is great to see such a nice girl turn the joke around and enjoy a very special night. Keep it up Whitney, youv'e already beaten them at thier own game now show them how a real winner acts.
Support for this young lady is great, but the pranksters need some form of punishment, and the student body needs to know about it. If there is no punishment, there will be no deterrent. Back in my day, they'd use peer pressure to get the rest of the kids to rat out the bad guys. Kids talk, so everyone knows who started it. Let them know there'll be no dance (or whatever) until the guilty come forward. As soon as all the kids who spent money on dresses and such know they may get cheated out of using them, they'll do something about it.
For those of you wondering why this is a story....maybe because it's a bullying scenerio that didnt't end in a suicide! We could possibly be reading a different headline today if this girl did not have the positive support around her. And shame on the school if they are not doing anything about the kids that were TRYING to make fun of her.
Have a great time Whitney and keep your head up!! :)
So school pranks make national news now ??........
WHITNEY YOU ARE WORTHY! take this chance and shine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! praying for you from birmingham alabama !
She's pretty hot -- I don't get the "joke" ...
To the West Branch students, you are the ones that are laughable. You are nothing but a bunch of hayseeds. How could you all even think you are better than another? If you ever get out of this one-horse town you will discover how insignificant you really are. Whitney: keep your head up and get the hell out of there. There is much more to life for you than this sh*t hole of a town.
If y'all knew ALL the facts surrounding this, then comment. I live in this small town and rumors are everywhere, with it snowballing even more. Prank, yes. Offenders will be disciplined from what I know. However, I also know the mother/daughter told school officials they weren't concerned, just wanted to move on, let it go. And NEVER did suicide come up to any school official when this happened. And prior photos I've seen show her orange colored hair, and now just a trace. Coincidence? It appears that 15 minutes of fame changed the mother/daughter opinion and now they have a FB acct for donations. Yes, it was wrong of the pranksters. But this mother/daughter team are also capitalizing on something they didn't think was such a big deal until the media caught wind and blew it out of proportion. Now I understand network news wants to attend the Homecoming.... c'mon!!! Move on! She's getting free this & that, the pranksters will be disciplined and it's causing all sorts of issues in our local schools which we can't afford given budget cuts. Networks want to help???? Send some money to our county for schools!!! We need help!!!
The brats who cooked up this scheme and those who revealed themselves by laughing at this young woman and making spectacles of themselves should be banned from Homecoming. If they were voted into the so-called court, then too freakin' bad. Brats and bullies don't learn until the tables are turned. And when their bratty parents complain, tell them to hold their own dance. If these people are not sanctioned in some way, they will not learn. And if they retaliate on this girl or anyone else, they should be expelled and forced to attend an alternative school.
Any kid who would vote her as homecoming princess as a joke, must have a severe problem with insecurity. the girl in the picture looks above average and probably better than many of her 'jokester' classmates. there is something to the story that I am not getting.
Let's just eliminate the court positions of homecoming and then we won't have to worry about this ever again.
No king or queen.
And no valedictorian. I mean if we're going after the 'popular' positions, let's go ahead and strike the academic ones while we're at it.Oh I know.. that's not the point, right? The point is someone got bullied.
Or is the point that we're so completely out of news that we can't even find a gay being bullied so have to resort to this crappy homecoming bs story.
Yes, glad she got support. But as for the bigger picture, why have faux glamorization of monarchy in the first place? I know there is voting involved, but the terms and uh, crowns used, kind of obscure that fact don't they? Wonder if there would be similar community and national support if she had as a joke been voted class president? (something much more sensible)? I doubt it, and that's a shame, because high school should not be as superficial as it is here.
I'm wondering if the punchline was going to be some kinda humilation pigs blood sorta thing.
The best way to confound any enemy is to live well. Sounds like you got that part right. Guess the jokes on them.
I see brown roots. Why doesn't some self-esteem guru encourage her to have her natural hair color (to go with the brown eyes)?
Hick Humor. Most people would want to be homecoming king, queen etc., but when you can only get two full heads of teeths out of one hick school, what do you expect. The coolest kid is the one with the biggest pig and tractor. Ye-haw biotches!!!