Texas police are investigating reports of repeated bullying against a black high school student, whose mother says he was physically attacked, called racial slander and forced to drink urine by classmates.
The boy’s mother, Summer Smith, who serves for Summer Alicia on Facebook, detailed in a post earlier this week that his son, SeMarion, faced several cases of being bullied by colleagues.
Smith said his son’s school officials, Haggard Middle School in Plano, a Dallas suburb, took no steps to deal with the bullying after it was reported.
“Imagine being a happy child who loves to make people smile and have fun … Imagine your classmates and members of the football team turning on you and aiming at you,” she wrote. “Imagine a group of those same members of the football team attacking you in the locker room with a belt … Imagine being hit in a private area and when you say to an adult that says ‘boys are boys’.”
The mother also wrote that her son had his inhaler removed by his trainer, was told he should commit suicide, was attacked by colleagues with compressed air guns and forced to drink a glass of urine.
Smith then included screenshots showing verbal threats and racial slurs apparently directed at SeMarion in the post, as well as a video showing someone who appeared to be his son being forced to drink a glass filled with yellow liquid by another boy.
Plano police spokesman David Tilley said The Dallas Morning News that a student’s mother called the high school resource officer this week, and the officer is now working with a youth crime detective in an investigation into the allegations of bullying.
Local NBC affiliate station KXAS-TV reported that a small group of friends from the SeMarion family and parents of other students held a meeting outside of high school on Thursday, demanding that the local school district take action.
“More needs to be done to make these children feel represented, for these children to feel protected and for these parents to feel protected, and that is not happening,” said Taler Jefferson, a family friend, according to the local news media.
The Independent School District Plan said in a public statement in response to allegations of bullying that it was “working with the campus and local authorities to actively investigate the matter.”
“Our district does not tolerate or tolerate bullying or harassing behavior and is taking immediate and corrective measures to address concerns,” added the statement.
The district continued, saying, “While we cannot discuss disciplinary or intervention measures with respect to a specific student or students, our response to any behavioral concerns is always in accordance with the district’s policy and the Student Code of Conduct. ISD Plan ”.
The family lawyer, Kim Cole, started a GoFundMe page to cover expenses for therapy and private education for SeMarion, as described on the page. The fundraiser had already received more than $ 30,000 on Saturday, the day after the page was launched.
ONE change.org petition appealing to the school district to punish students allegedly involved in bullying was also launched this week and received more than 103,000 signatures.