Just lately, issues got here to a head on the college. In accordance with Melanie Davies, the mum or dad of a buddy of Lillis, the identical group of friends continued bullying the brazenly homosexual excessive schooler. Her daughter confronted one of many bullies by yelling at him. In accordance with Davies, the bullies shoved her daughter, who shoved them again, and the bully in query then punched her within the face. Davies says she wasn’t notified in regards to the battle although her daughter later needed to go to the emergency room due to a damaged nostril ensuing from the hit.
In accordance with Davies, the varsity responded to the incident by giving all college students concerned a five-day suspension that, in response to the scholars, contains lacking homecoming. Sure, that features each Lillis and Davies’s daughter. “The varsity dropped the ball,” Davies instructed the outlet.
With that in thoughts, college students at Lee’s Summer time Excessive Faculty protested on Monday by holding a walk-out. Lillis instructed native outlet KSHB that college students determined to stroll out to “present motion in direction of our faculty an[d] administration for the shortage of motion towards these repeated and a number of occasions which have been taking place to me and my associates.” Lillis added that he’s “terrified” to even enter the varsity given the current assault on his buddy.
In chatting with native outlet KSN, Lillis mentioned he’s been going to the administration in regards to the bullying since August. “This might’ve been stopped inside the first three days of me coming to them,” Lillis acknowledged, including that he feels the bullying might have been stopped “each time.”
So, how did the protest go? In accordance with each information reviews and movies shared on social media, it was profitable and included of us waving Satisfaction flags and holding up anti-bullying indicators exterior of the varsity. The protest lasted for about half an hour and directors monitored it.
The varsity district has launched a statement promising that they’re investigating the bullying incident, although they cite privateness legal guidelines by way of not sharing particular particulars. “We will share that faculty and district directors are conducting an investigation and taking motion to make sure the security of all college students and workers,” the assertion reads, including that it’s a “prime precedence” to have an “inclusive tradition” for college kids, workers, and household.
Curiously, this isn’t the one time the highschool has made nationwide headlines. When else? You would possibly keep in mind that in 2020, the varsity gained attention when Dennis Carpenter, the district’s first Black superintendent, resigned. Why? Carpenter wished to make the district extra equitable for college kids of shade, together with holding variety coaching for employees members and lecturers, and, one way or the other, this brought on a disturbing quantity of rigidity and points.
You possibly can try some transient footage of the protest, in addition to an interview with Lillis, beneath.
