Frank DeAngelis?

Thoughts on him?

He should have been more aware of the bullying that was going on in the school and not let the jocks get away with everything.

I don't think Columbine was a worse school than every other. But let's face it, school is a miserable experience for many, many teenagers. DeAngelis doesn't appear willing to acknowledge that in his interview in The Columbine Killers. I agree with what CatherineM813 said, DeAngelis seems clueless.

There's a lot of debate right now about the whole "bullying" thing in schools. But I'd be interested to know what other people think the answer is? Do you think schools, as they are now, are a healthy place for your children?

I think they are so-so. I did get bullied A LOT in school and there wasn't anything much the school could do. Yes, they could move me to a different class, but, like most of the times that it did happen, they couldn't protect me from what happened outside of school be some people inside it.

Do you guys feel it was unfair of him not to allow any of Dylan and Eric's friends back to the school once it reopened? Like Chris, Nate and Brooks?

Yes!! I honestly don't believe they had anything to do with the shootings. But at least they got to graduate with their class. What a sad graduation that must have been though.

Jenn wrote:

Do you guys feel it was unfair of him not to allow any of Dylan and Eric's friends back to the school once it reopened? Like Chris, Nate and Brooks?

Yes. It is pretty much a further testament to the fact that people were/are lumped into categorizations they don't necessarily deserve within that school and community's "culture".

CatherineM813 wrote:

Yes!! I honestly don't believe they had anything to do with the shootings. But at least they got to graduate with their class. What a sad graduation that must have been though.

I entirely agree; it must have been a horribly sad graduation ceremony.

You bring up an excellent point about people being lumped into categories that aren't apart of the school and the community's culture even though it shouldn't be that way.

In the Basement Tapes, E/D discussed and predicted graudation would most likely be a very sad event with many people crying. I cant even begin to imagine how devastating it must have been on those four families who were looking forward to that day for years and it never came. And I know people might not agree but I do think Mr. DeAngelis should have mentioned Eric and Dylan's with Lauren and Isaiah. Even though they did a horrible thing they were still part of the Class of 99.

Jenn wrote:

Do you guys feel it was unfair of him not to allow any of Dylan and Eric's friends back to the school once it reopened? Like Chris, Nate and Brooks?

I don't think it was fair, but I think in the end it may have been the best thing for them. School would have been hell for them if they had gone back. Whether DeAngelis took that into consideration or not, who knows? He has always struck me as a very proud man who believes that appearances are everything, although that is purely based on media and public statements.

I really wish we would hear more from Chris, Nate and some of the others. Brooks has spoken pretty frequently. They don't even have to talk specifically about Eric and Dylan. I would be happy to hear about the treatment they received from the community and police after 4/20, how it's affected them personally even now, etc. Of course, if they did want to talk about Eric and Dylan, I'd gladly listen to that too.

tfsa47090 wrote:

Jenn wrote:

Do you guys feel it was unfair of him not to allow any of Dylan and Eric's friends back to the school once it reopened? Like Chris, Nate and Brooks?

Yes. It is pretty much a further testament to the fact that people were/are lumped into categorizations they don't necessarily deserve within that school and community's "culture".

CatherineM813 wrote:

Yes!! I honestly don't believe they had anything to do with the shootings. But at least they got to graduate with their class. What a sad graduation that must have been though.

I entirely agree; it must have been a horribly sad graduation ceremony.

This is off topic, but I've sent you a PM. Please let me know your decision, either way.

I hope this doesn't sound off topic, but I attended a thing called "Challenge Day." (it was really cheesy.) At Columbine in November, and I was paired with Mr.De and the topic was what are you thankful for. He kept talking about how much he loves Columbine and how proud he is that he runs it. I feel like he definitely made a lot of mistakes, and now he looks back on it and realizes how bad it really was, and at one point he said "I wish I could have been there for those students 14 years ago." He really has gotten Columbines shit together since the 90's though.

DeAngelis should have been a lot more aware that his school provided a toxic environment for all his students. Then again, I wonder how involved he really was in the everyday events at Columbine and how aware he was about everything that was going on. At my high school, we rarely saw our principal and solved everything with our teachers and guidance counsellors in case of trouble. I'm not sure if ours was ever aware of the weird environment surrounding the class I was in at the time, or of the huge extent of bullying that happened inbetween classes and during breaks. If DeAngelis distanced himself from the ins-and-outs at the school, too, then I can imagine that he wasn't there for his students the way he should've been.

DeAngelis is a liar. I don't trust him at all. I wonder what E/D thought of him. They never mention him.

-eulogy- wrote:

DeAngelis is a liar. I don't trust him at all. I wonder what E/D thought of him. They never mention him.

What makes you think that he's a liar? (not trying to be bitchy, but just wondering.)

Yeah. He can be a cool dude but sometimes he can be a douche.

I think he's a good person, but a gutless coward and out of touch school apparatchik as far as his tenure during that unfortunate period goes. I'm surprised he didn't get more heat from angry parents after the shooting. I mean, this was his school, this happened under his watch, there was a toxic environment that contributed to this tragedy. He gives these speeches about unity and healing after 4/20 which is bollocks in part considering the fact that some students committed suicide or became drug addicts after going through all that, and some repugnant alumni still breathe in this world completely guilt free while some really nice kids had their dreams and lives cut short. My 2 cents on this figure.

My opinion of him is not favorable. He is an outright liar on what happened that day. His description of events do not fit the evidence and he has given many interviews where he puts himself into a larger role that day. I do not care for that

As far as the books go, I'd say Cullen likes him way too much, Ralph Larkin is probably a bit smarmy about him ("unimpressive" was the word he used, I think) and Brooks Brown told what I suspect to be a whopper about him--that he walked up to DeAngelis at the graduation ceremony and accused him flat out of ignoring the culture of cruelty going on at the school, and told him off. I don't know if I dislike Brooks the way some people here do, but if I had to point to one thing he said that seems like an embellishment, it's that.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

I don't think Columbine was a worse school than every other. But let's face it, school is a miserable experience for many, many teenagers. DeAngelis doesn't appear willing to acknowledge that in his interview in The Columbine Killers. I agree with what CatherineM813 said, DeAngelis seems clueless.

There's a lot of debate right now about the whole "bullying" thing in schools. But I'd be interested to know what other people think the answer is? Do you think schools, as they are now, are a healthy place for your children?

good post.

Bullying is unfortunately a part of our society and especially in the case of young children and young adults. Along with many other disgusting facets in our world, bullying will not be going away.

Bullying also can have long lasting affects beyond what some people can understand.

It's embarrassing but I am well out of HS and feel the affects of what I went through now and in how I interact with people.

I can see how bullying can push some people to the edge, there can be a lot of 'little" things that build on a persons psyche.

Not a big fan of how he swept the accusations of bullying under the rug after the shooting. Put his fingers in his ears and la la la'd while heaps of students were complaining about the culture there. However, much respect for staying at the school for as long as he did. Seems like most of the student body over the years respected him, and having him there for another fifteen or so years after the event would have been great for their morale.