OWASSO, Okla. — At least 40 students at Owasso High School walked out Monday to protest what they describe as a pervasive culture of bullying with little accountability, which they believe led to a student’s death at their school.
Nex Benedict, 16, died Feb. 8, a day after a fight in a school bathroom on Owasso High School’s West Campus. In body camera footage from a police officer’s interview with Nex, he described how three students “jumped” him after he threw water on them because they were bullying him and his friend over the way that they dressed.
Nex’s mother, Sue Benedict, previously told the Independent that Nex told her he faced bullying due to his gender identity. Friends said Nex primarily went by he/him pronouns at school but also used they/them pronouns, which Nex’s family also used. Several other friends said Nex preferred he/him pronouns. In the body camera footage, when the police officer asked Nex if…
