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A high school student who was suspended for an antibullying video that went viral was told Thursday that she could return to classes.
Jessica Barba, 15, wrote, produced, and starred in a video about 12-year-old Hailey, a fictional character who was bullied so much that she became depressed and then committed suicide. She also created a Facebook page for her main character, used to illustrate cyber-bullying, as well as the character's own status messages that read "I hate myself" and "I wanna be dead," the New York Daily News reports.
A parent, not knowing that the message was fictional, notified police and school officials. The Facebook page, combined with the video caused such an uproar at Longwood High School in Middle Island, N.Y., that Barba was suspended for five days and the Facebook page was taken down.
Several students came out in support of Barba, and after her suspension hearing Thursday, school administrators lifted her suspension. The punishment will also be wiped from her records.
"I just created the video in order to raise awareness of the major issue that's bullying," she said on the Today show.
Her video is below:
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