In a nonviolent protest on Monday, hundreds of students at a high school in Oklahoma stated they were being bullied and protested for the LGBTQ+ community in response to the demise of a non-binary adolescent who had been the victim of a brawl in the school toilet.
As per local law enforcement, 16-year-old student Nex Benedict, who claimed to be non-binary and employed the pronouns they/them, passed away on February 8 following a “physical?.9ltercation” with friends in the Owasso high school bathroom.
Benedict described an argument with 3 girls who were making fun of them and several colleagues in body camera footage that was eventually made public by the authorities.
According to NBC, a minimum of 40 students at Owasso High School staged a walkout in criticism of what they saw as a widespread bullying culture with no consequences. “I only want to convey to the youngsters that we’re here,” Owasso graduate Cassidy Brown, who organized the protest, said to KTUL. “There is an organization that exists in this city; we can see them, and people are loved.”
Hundreds of people gathered at Redbud Festival Park in Owasso on the evening of Sunday in respect of Benedict, who is the teen. Vigils have been organized in his honor around Oklahoma and the nation. LGBTQ+ organizations hosted a large number of the events in outrage of the bullying that nonbinary teenagers experience on a regular basis.
Things has to change because our kids are so afraid to go to school on a daily basis,” stated Susie Eubank, a mom from Owasso. “My child has received explicit threats.” Names that are directly insulting.
In an interview with the Independent, Sue Benedict, Benedict’s mother, revealed that her daughter had been bullied by other kids because to their gender identity. Bullying started soon after Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt approved a bill that forbids transgender children attending public schools from accessing the restroom associated with their gender identity.
According to the early autopsy results, Benedict’s death was not caused by injuries sustained during the altercation in the restroom, according to the police. In relation to Benedict’s passing, no one has been taken into custody.