Schools

Protesters Call for Tougher Stance on Bullying in Valley View Schools

A Lockport pastor organized a protest outside Bolingbrook High School Monday after a student walk-out against bullying was canceled last week.

Five protesters gathered across the street from Bolingbrook High School to demand a tougher stance on bullying Monday morning. 

Rev. Pat Green, a Lockport pastor, organized the protest after a group of students canceled a walk-out against bullying following threats of suspension from the BHS administration.

Green and fellow protesters Amy Studer, Jacob Weinert and Karen Thompson, held signs and spoke with residents from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thompson's daughter, who was also at the protest, is home-schooled because of bullying at past schools, according to the Bolingbrook Reporter. 

Police squad cars and school officials were already at the planned protest spot when Green arrived, he said. Leroy Brown, security director for Valley View, asked Green if he would speak with BHS Principal Michael White after the protest. 

Over the next two hours, cars honked as they passed and drivers gave a thumbs up to the group. Those who supported their efforts, and one mom who disagreed with the protest, spoke to the group.

After the protest, White told Green what the school was doing to address the situation. White said that if students don't report incidents of bullying, the school cannot take action. BHS provides anti-bullying resources on its website, as well as an online bullying reporting tool and an anti-bullying hotline. 

But some communication problems remain, and when students report bullying, they're not taken seriously or teachers or staff do not take action, students said. 

"In mid-April, I accompanied a fellow student to the counselor's office after they were bullied in the ROTC halls," BHS junior Cheyenne Hensley told the Bolingbrook Reporter. "The counselor said that the two of us should deal with it, and would not give us the time of day."

Hensley helped organize last week's walkout. She has organized an anti-bullying Facebook page and appeared on the Bolingbrook television program "Bridging the Gap" with last month to discuss the issue. Hensley began taking action after her friend and fellow BHS student Kenyatta Parker took her life after being bullied on Facebook this year. 

Patch contacted both Bolingbrook High School Principal Michael White and Valley View School District 365U Superintendent James Mitchem for comment. Neither official responded as of post time. 

Valley View Communications Director Larry Randa told the Bolingbrook Reporter that a walk-out would "impede classes and cause a security issue."


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