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LISBON -- School board president T.K. Hiscox said there will be an investigation into allegations of bullying in Lisbon schools after hearing high school senior Angelina Lewis describe how she and her friends have been treated.
Lewis addressed the board Thursday night while wearing a T-shirt listing all the words she said she's been called, such as "annoying," "ugly" and "mistake." She said she was prohibited from wearing the shirt to school after being told it was inappropriate, saying it was her attempt to speak up.
"I will not be quiet until something is done," she said.
Reading from a prepared statement, Lewis said there are cases of both students and teachers alike being bullied and "highly disrespected" and that she and some of her friends have been victims of bullying and harassment.
She said they are each dealing with different people as their bullies, but that male athletes are a major issue, throwing things into other people's bags, such as phones, AirPods, trash, ripped up paper assignments, broken pencils and even food.
She also said they make fun of a teacher and call others racial slurs, homophobic slurs, sexist slurs and harmful and foul language.
According to Lewis, one student told a girl to leave the lunch table because nobody liked her and "told her to go kill herself."
She said some female athletes are also bullies.
A close friend of Lewis was also told to kill herself and was harassed online, making her afraid to come to school. A new student was also harassed and everyone made fun of him. She said there's body shaming.
"Is this how we want this generation to act?" she said.
Lewis said teachers and parents and officials have been told but nothing has been done. She said they want a safe environment for their school and said even in the elementary school, there are friend groups body shaming each other, calling each other names and judging each other for how they dress.
"I will not be part of a generation where violence and bullying is normal," she said.
District resident Shannon Owens addressed the board, saying she was there as a parent on the opposite side, saying that she wasn't told about any complaints against her son.
"As a mother, why was I not advised?" she asked, saying it would have been addressed if she had known.
She wanted to see documentation.
"I don't know how we're supposed to address it if we're not told," she said.
Another mother, Rebecca Meredith, talked about the bullying her daughter has had to endure from a group of boys at David Anderson Jr./Sr. High School constantly mooing at her and defacing photographs of her with the word "moo." She told her mom she didn't want to go to that school anymore.
She called their behavior ignorant and said "their cruel comments hurt."
Meredith spoke highly of Athletic Director Kyle Bing, saying he fully supported her daughter and did his job.
Hiscox said this was the first time any of the board members were hearing in-depth about what was happening and said it was "shocking."
Board member Martina Grimm asked Lewis if her friend was aware of how to report an incident or get help.
"I believe she knows but she's too scared to ask," Lewis said, adding "I'm more than willing to be her voice."
A woman in attendance recalled how she was bullied in school back in 1985 and it's still happening in schools. She said "if you do say something, you're treated as if you're tattling."
A man in the audience said there's been a lot on social media about what's happening and a lot of parents are speaking out, commenting "it's an eye-opener."
Hiscox said he can't go off of hearsay, but he again said the board will be looking into the situation. He thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and telling them everything.
Superintendent Joe Siefke said he had no comment when approached after the meeting.
mgreier@mojonews.com