Dozens of students at Homewood-Flossmoor High School showed their support for a fellow student who alleges she was raped inside the school Monday, and the girl’s mother said the protest will be helpful for her daughter in her healing process.
About 200 students poured out of the building at 1 p.m., during the day’s lunch break, streaming onto Kedzie Avenue on the west side of the Flossmoor school’s property. They chanted “2, 4, 6, 8, stop the violence stop the rape” as they crossed Kedzie, and at one point Flossmoor police shut down traffic on Kedzie as the protest spilled into the street.
The mother of the 17-year-old junior at Homewood-Flossmoor said daughter hasn’t returned to school, and that she had sent her daughter video of the protest.
“This helps today,” she said.
The girl was hospitalized for several hours after the alleged attack, which took place as students in a theater class were paired up to rehearse lines. Her mother issued a statement Wednesday at a Chicago law office saying she is considering legal action against High School District 233.
Flossmoor police said that a male student was taken into custody Monday before being released to his father, and that the department’s investigation is continuing.
Some students and parents said they do not believe security measures at the school are adequate.
“They need more security, they need more adult supervision,” the mother of the girl told reporters.
As students gathered on the west side of Kedzie, some people held signs reading “We won’t be silent” and “We stand with the victims.”
It was not the first mass walkout by students at the school, with students in March leaving the building to protest what they said was poor handling by High School District 233’s response to student complaints about sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Cori Burgess, whose 16-year-old daughter is a junior, said “this could have been my daughter, easily.”
Her daughter, Saniyya Burton, said she does not always feel safe in the school.
“Doors are always left open,” she said. “Sometimes security people are watching TV.”
District 233 said 85 students gathered after school Tuesday to talk with social workers, school counselors and school psychologists.
Topics that were covered included relationships with school staff to build a sense of safety as well as district safety measures and enforcement of them, according to the district.
At Thursday’s protest, Aaron McIntyre, a 17-year-old senior, said he will be part of a student ambassador program the district plans to implement in which students will hopefully have a more open dialogue with school and district administrators about student concerns.
“We aren’t being let in on the conversation,” he said. “We don’t know what is going on.”
McIntyre said students had previously been told they would have more input in policymaking and addressing concerns, but that it has not yet happened.
“If we keep this pressure up we can make things happen,” he said.
The mother of the girl said Thursday’s protest “makes my daughter feel empowered,” and that she hopes the demonstration will lead to more conversations between students and administrators.
“This is bigger than her,” she said.
The mother said her daughter is taking several medications and is slowly on the road to recovery.
“She’s trying to cope as best as possible,” she said.