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Schools Chancellor, Principal Attend Drowned Girl's Funeral
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 27, 2010
Modified Jun 27, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 27, 2010
Modified Jun 27, 2010
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At the funeral of 12-year-old Nicole Suriel, who drowned during a class trip to Long Beach (where no lifeguards were on duty) another student's parent yelled at Columbia Secondary School principal Dr. José Maldonado-Rivera. David Suker shouted outside a West Harlem church, "Tell the truth. Tell the truth... You are the only one responsible in this tragedy. I want to know where the permission slips are, and I want to know why parents weren't told children would be swimming." Suriel's parents claim they never signed a permission slip; Maldonado-Rivera said, "Obviously we are dealing with the family’s suffering and our own suffering." Schools Chancellor Joel Klein did not have a comment, saying, "I'm just here for the funeral." Long Beach opened a criminal investigation.
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columbia secondary school
nicole suriel
School Chancellor Joel Klein
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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