Teen editorial portrayed girl incorrectly

In regards to the Teen Editorial by Kate Gressitt-Diaz on the tragic death of Athena Harris — What were you thinking, printing such a thoughtless, possibly even vicious letter? I am appalled that someone who admittedly spent only one evening in the company of Miss Harris was given license to expose her so publicly. Miss Gressitt-Diaz seems to have no qualms about letting the community know that Miss Harris used drugs, although she is very quick to assure us that it is the only time she, herself, ever did. Her depiction of that event as though it were adorable and innocent does a disservice to every teen reading this editorial. My son witnessed the accident that took Miss Harris’ life. He found her, after being ejected from the car, and had to scrape the mud and debris away from her face so she could breathe. He had to find the pulse in her ankle because her wrists were too bloody to grasp. Perhaps Miss Gressitt-Diaz’s depiction of the perfect afterlife for Miss Harris being a place where she can “run around kissing boys and smoking” as though that was all she was, some flighty, boy-crazy airhead with no aspirations, hopes or dreams, was thoughtless to the point of being cruel to the mother she “can’t imagine what she must be feeling.” I suggest, in future, eulogizing be left to those who truly knew, loved and respected those who are gone.