TIPTON, Iowa (KCRG) - On Monday, parents and students took their concerns about bullying in the Tipton School District to school leaders.
School staff said two students posted a video describing the bodies of young women and staff, but the issue isn’t solely in the Tipton District.
“Disbelief that there was something of this magnitude,” said Amy Wethington.
Wethington sat on her living room couch and described the pain her daughter felt after being 1 of 57 people named in the social media post.
“Making fun of them, their weight, their anything and everything, even down to calling them the “R” word,” Wethington said.
Wethington said this wasn’t an isolated incident. She said her oldest daughter was also a victim of bullying.
“When you’re constantly told that you’re not worth anything or you’re a this or a that, it takes a toll on you,” she said.
At a school board meeting several parents and grandparents expressed their concerns about bullying behavior, especially considering how easy it is to spread cruelty with the push of a button.
“Now, when these 57 ladies wake up and get ready for school in the morning, there are some that will think a little bit harder about the clothes they pick out for the day,” said At-large council woman Abby Cummins.
The two boys who made the social media post spoke at the school board meeting and apologized for their actions. They too expressed incidents of bullying that they experienced.
Superintendent Brandon Borseth said this is an issue schools are facing, and one that’s becoming more difficult to monitor and prevent.
“Having cell phones absent for the entirety of the school day not only helps our kids interact better with each other and with their learning, but it also diminishes a number of issues the school was having to deal with previously,” he said.
Tipton has already banned phones during school hours; something Borseth called a first step to addressing the issue. He said the district had “addressed” the matter with those behind the video but couldn’t go into details.
“We can’t just talk about it and then let it go,” said Wethington. “This is something that needs to be in the forethought of every one of everybody’s minds, and we need to keep talking about it.”
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