Online threats made against transgender student
LGBTQ advocates are expressing support for a female student in a small southeastern Oklahoma school district following a series of threatening social media posts made by parents and other members of the community.
The local superintendent said the social media posts do not represent the school district.
In now-removed posts on an Achille school district parents group Facebook page, dozens of derogatory statements and threats were made against a female middle school student who is transgender.
“If he wants to be female, make him female. A good sharp knife will do the trick,” one person wrote.
Other posts appeared to encourage students to use violence to intimidate the student and said the girl was not welcome at the school.
“Just tell the kids to kick ass in the bathroom and it won’t want to come back,” wrote another person.
Several individuals posted on the Facebook page that they planned to lobby the school board to take action against the student.
Screenshots of the Facebook post and comments were widely shared over the past three days, drawing the attention of several LGBTQ advocacy groups and supporters who shared words of encouragement for the female student and her family.
“It’s been pretty eyeopening as a transgender adult who grew up in a town not very different from the one where this is happening to see that, yes, there are those people who are siding with those who are making the violent comments, but there have also been hundreds and hundreds of Oklahomans who live in these same communities who are saying this is not okay,” said Ari James, an LGBTQ advocate who works in southeastern Oklahoma.
The student’s name has been shared online, but is not being reported because The Oklahoman has been unable to reach her family.
Located a few miles from the Texas border in Bryan County, Achille schools serve around 360 students, according to the state Department of Education.
Superintendent Rick Beene said he could not talk specifically about the targeted student, but told The Oklahoman the school takes the social media comments seriously.
“Achille schools and administration take the safety of every student very serious,” Beene said in a statement he read over the phone. “Private discussions held on the social media do not reflect the views of Achille school, staff, administration or school board. Achille school believes everyone should receive a safe and free education. We have a very talented staff that cares about each and every student.”
Another school official, who was not authorized to speak for the district, told The Oklahoman the district has been in contact with local law enforcement concerning the matter.
The Oklahoman called the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday, but a dispatcher said the sheriff would not be available until Monday.
A protective order was filed in Bryan County court on Friday against a person with the same surname as one of the parents who made derogatory statements against the student. The plaintiff on the protective order had the same surname as the student.
The Oklahoma City chapter of PFLAG, an LGBTQ-friendly outreach organization, announced in a statement it planned to reach out to the school district and offer support for the girl’s family.
In a letter to the Achille district, Sara Cunningham, executive director of Free Mom Hugs, another LGBTQ support organization, offered “our resources and connections with mental health professionals, to create a time for LGBTQ sensitivity training among your board, staff and/or student body.”