Mother calls on school to battle bullying, after assault on student
By Jeremy Lee
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EWA BEACH, Hawaii (KITV) — Yvette Uekawa arrived to pick up her daughter at the everyday meeting spot across from Honouliuli Middle School.
A man contacted her to let her know, “Someone just came and started punching on your daughter, we don’t know what was going on, nothing was said,” Uekawa told KITV 4.
Video of the attack on social media shows the special needs student being assaulted. The mother says the incident started earlier in the day, when two special needs students were being teased at recess, with other kids crudely asking personal questions about their relationship.
“They kept harassing them with this line of questioning until he started crying,” Uekawa described the bullying of her daughter’s male friend.
Parents have been sign waving in front of the school, calling attention to the fact that the conflict started at the school.
“The group of friends came back, harassing them, saying things like why is your friend crying now? Why is he at the office? And that is when she said leave me alone,” Uekawa said acknowledging that her daughter cussed at her tormenters.
Then, at the end of the school day, the attack took place across the street from the middle school.
A statement from Honouliuli Middle School’s principal reads:
“Harassment, bullying, assaults, and physical violence are taken very seriously, and we do not condone such behavior. But because this incident occurred off campus, the school does not have jurisdiction to enforce any Department of Education policies in this matter.”
The student’s mother says she will keep hosting the sign wave, calling on the school do more. She says it isn’t the first incident with the student who committed the attack
“If they had a zero tolerance policy with that case, it never would have got to my daughter,” Uekawa said, “I am just so disappointed and angry with them. But also the district and Superintendent above them, because they have met about it. And they continue to stand the line that it happened off campus, so it’s not our problem.”
Uekawa has filed a police report for the assault.
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