Bullying ‘Victim’ Speaks Out
The alleged victim of a school bus bullying event is speaking out. Lexi Brody said she is embarrassed by the incident that happened on Bus 95 last Thursday and her parents are tired of the continued accusations from the general public that her daughter somehow brought on the attack.
Lexi, an eighth-grader at Lakeview Middle School, was approached from behind on the school bus by a sophomore girl who berated Lexi and dumped a bottle of water over her head as she sat silent in her seat (See related story and video). The girl, who seemingly planned with at least two of her friends to video her attack on the younger girl, has thus far ignored our request to interview her and her parents.
Today, Lexi and her stepmother, Shannon Brody, sat down with StaceyPageOnline.com to talk about the incident and how they feel Warsaw Community Schools are not taking the matter seriously.
Lexi said she never called the older girl names, but did admit to laughing when another girl, a seventh-grader, did. Lexi said that girl had her assigned seat on the bus moved to the back, near the sophomore. She reasoned, “I think she was afraid of what would happen to her so I think that’s why she told her I was saying it.”
While Lexi did admit she talked about the sophomore with the seventh-grader, she insisted, “I never said anything to her (the sophomore).” Lexi said she is not concerned about what any official bus video may contain because she is steadfast that she never bullied anyone.
Brody is upset that the assault on her stepdaughter qualifies as an act of bullying by WCS policies, but that the administration seems to be ignoring her and her husband. She also said the punishment for the alleged bully is nothing more than “a slap on the wrist,” and that the girls who took part in the videoing are not being punished at all.
Brody said the video of her daughter being humiliated was immediately sent to a number of kids and appeared on Instagram and Facebook the same day. “They planned it from the high school to here,” Brody noted of the incident.
“If (Lexi) is a bully, I would like the proof of it. I would like the facts,” Brody added. “If my kids were doing anything wrong I would be the first to say hey, let’s get them disciplined through the schools, at home.”
“This story has to do with physical, verbal and cyber bullying and how the school system has not done what they should have,” said Brody. “The school should be dealing with it. It doesn’t matter who you are, what sport you play or what side of the tracks you come from. Wrong is wrong.”
Warsaw Community High School Principal Troy Akers told StaceyPageOnline.com Tuesday that he planned to look further into the matter and see if the punishment that was handed down to the accused bully was enough. Although Akers could not say what the exact punishment was, he did say it involved a bus suspension. WCHS students say the sophomore girl was also suspended from school Monday and Tuesday but will be allowed to return to school Monday. Warsaw Community Schools are on fall break Wednesday through Friday of this week.