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Internet wants identities of Adriana Kuch's bullies revealed, but penalties loom

The video of the attack shows Adriana walking down the hallway when a girl attacks her and begins walloping her in the face with a water bottle

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

BERKELEY, NEW JERSEY: Following the tragic death of Adriana Kuch, who died by suicide after being bullied at Central Regional High School in Berkeley, Internet wants the names of the girls who attacked her to be revealed. However, they have not been publicly identified since they are juveniles.

Four girls have been suspended indefinitely after Adriana died by suicide hours after a video of her being bullied surfaced online. This was confirmed by District Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides on Thursday, February 9. The 14-year-old died by suicide at her Bayville home on February 3.

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The video of the attack, which surfaced on social media, shows Adriana walking down the hallway when a girl attacks her and begins walloping her in the face with a water bottle. Adriana is seen falling to the ground as she continues to be set upon by the girl. Cheering is heard in the background, according to NJ.com. By this time, the 14-year-old was lying bruised and bloodied on the floor.

'Who’s protecting these kids?'

Some Twitter users suggested that the four girls should be identified and held accountable. Some even questioned their races. "Where are the 4 bullies' identities? Where's Adriana Kuch's justice?" one user wrote. "What were the demographics of those attacking? I’d like to know," another said. "Such a tragic, tragic story. Someone needs to be held accountable! Bullying should have severe consequences. Who’s protecting these kids???" said one user, while another wrote, "school didn't take her to hospital or call police because the district thinks that wrong. name/shame the 4 N.J. family, students demand change after 14-year-old Adriana Olivia Kuch dies by suicide after getting beat up by 4 students who put it online". "4 of the bullies, along with the school's principal and the teachers, they too also responsible for this as they're sweeping this under the carpet. Where are their identities? Where is Adriana Kuch's justice?" wrote one user.

Adriana's father slams race angle

Unproven claims started circulating on social media about the color of the girls who bullied Adriana. People began bringing race into the conversation around the attack, but Michael set the record straight. In a Facebook post, he wrote, "People are sending me garbage like this, I am not here to make it about race. Adriana was beautiful and she loved everyone. she did not care about race, the world would be a better place if everyone was as colorblind as she was."

What does the law say about identifying juveniles?

Journalists are often ordered by school administrators to not identify minors who were involved in bullying and other wrongdoing. Many have questioned the legality of these restrictions considering the serious consequences the students' offenses have led to.

Here's what the court says, according to The Student Press Law Center: "In a unanimous 1979 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Smith v. Daily Mail that the First Amendment protects the right of journalists to use the names of minors in newsworthy stories as long as the information is “lawfully obtained” and “truthfully” reported. In that case, the Court struck down a West Virginia law that had been used to prosecute two West Virginia newspapers that printed the name of a 14-year-old junior high school student alleged to have shot and killed a 15-year-old classmate."

After the ruling, other courts too followed the example. Many of them ruled that "newspapers can publish the name of a minor charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and hit-and-run driving, the name of a 7-year old boy who was brutally beaten, the name of a high school student viciously attacked by his classmates at school, the name and photograph of a 12-year-old who was charged with the attempted murder of a police officer, the names of juveniles who testified in a trial in which the adult defendants were charged with supplying alcohol to minors, the photograph of a minor child taken while in the arms of her mother on the courthouse steps following a much-publicized paternity hearing, and the name and course of mental health treatment of an individual convicted of sexual assault when he was 14, but who was no longer a minor at the time of publication."

However, juvenile court proceedings and records in several states can be closed to the public, and in some states, judges are allowed to "close down the portions of adult trials that require juvenile testimony or evidence." In cases like these, a judge gets to decide whether or not to allow access. "In such cases, judges have occasionally placed conditions on reporters’ access to otherwise closed juvenile proceedings by allowing reporters in — but only after they have promised not to disclose certain information about minor participants that might be revealed during the proceeding. Such conditions are probably valid," the website says.

Even in sealed cases, however, the judges' power to restrict press coverage is only limited. The website gives an example, saying, "A California appellate court struck down an order that prohibited reporters admitted to a juvenile custody proceeding from revealing virtually any information about the minors involved, including a ban on interviewing the minors without an attorney present, interviewing their caretakers with the minors present, interviewing any mental health professional to whom the minors had been referred or “doing any act in the future that might interfere with reunification or have a negative impact upon the providing of reunification services.”

What is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act?

Despite the above rules, an act called The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which was enacted in 1974 protects the privacy of student education records. This applies to any public or private elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school.

The act "gives parents or eligible students more control over their educational records" and "prohibits educational institutions from disclosing “personally identifiable information in education records” without the written consent of an eligible student, or if the student is a minor, the student’s parents," according to Public Health Professionals Gateway.