The Kids Know!

[Editorial]

The students at the Oklahoma school where Nex Benedict was murdered know the truth!

Oklahoma students walk out after trans student’s death to protest bullying policies

After the death of Nex Benedict, classmates at Owasso High School say bullying often goes unpunished, causing students to feel like there’s no point asking for help.

NBC News

By Jo Yurcaba

February 26, 2024

At least 40 students at Owasso High School walked out Monday to protest what they describe as a pervasive culture of bullying with little accountability, which they believe led to a student’s death at their school.

Nex Benedict, 16, died Feb. 8, a day after a fight in a bathroom on the school’s West Campus. In body camera footage from a police officer’s interview with Nex, he described how three students “jumped” him after he threw water on them because they were bullying him and his friend over the way that they dressed.

Nex’s mother, Sue Benedict, previously told the Independent that Nex told her he faced bullying due to his gender identity. Friends said Nex was transgender and primarily went by he/him pronouns at school but also used they/them pronouns, which Nex's family also used. Several other friends said Nex preferred he/him pronouns. In the body camera footage, when the police officer asked Nex if he ever reported the bullying to the school, Nex said, “I didn’t really see the point in it.”

Owasso students told NBC News that Nex’s answer is common among their classmates: LGBTQ students and others who face bullying due to their identities feel like when they report the bullying to the school, they either aren’t believed or nothing really changes.

I have to wonder how the autopsy was done. I am not a doctor but this sure sounds like a brain injury. According to AP News,

"Benedict’s mother called emergency responders to the family home the day after the fight, saying Benedict’s breathing was shallow, their eyes were rolling back and their hands were curled, according to audio released by Owasso police."

All the first aid classes that I have taken for in over twenty years all teach about eye pupils being equal and repressive, that if they are not there my be brain injuries.

The walkout is not political, said Kane, a nonbinary student who went to Owasso High School for 10th and 11th grade and now takes online classes for his senior year. Kane, who asked that only his first name be used for fear of being targeted further, led a 5-minute moment of silence in honor of Nex.

Kane said he has gone back and forth between in-person school and online classes since eighth grade in part due to bullying over his sexuality more than his gender identity. When he was a sophomore, a student called him and his partner “f------,” and he said students casually use the N-word often with no repercussions.

To me this seems like the school violated the First and the Fourteenth Amendments and probably a

Title IX violation at the very least for ignoring the law where schools must provide a safe learn space and created an unhealthy learning environment.

Ahead of the walkout on Monday, one counter-protester made anti-LGBTQ statements using a megaphone. As he made comments about AIDS and how Jesus Christ was the “real man” lesbians need, students holding signs stating “trans youth belong” surrounded him to block him from sight. 

[…]

“Even if something did happen, there’s no point in going to any kind of administration or teachers about it because absolutely nothing will be done,” Ally said. “And I’ve seen it time and time again with my friends.”

Now the school has been caught and can’t hide or sweep their death under the rug. I hope the parents sue the school, it seems like the only way to bring change is through the school’s pocketbook with fines and lawsuits.

[/Editorial]

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Wednesday there will be a vigil for Nex Benedict inside the Capitol at 6PM.