Protests After Northwest ISD Student's Book
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - There were about 50 people -- many were parents and students -- protesting outside of Tidwell Middle School in Fort Worth early Monday morning. This comes after a boy wrote a graphic book online about killing some of his own classmates.
The protesters said that they do not like how the eighth-grade student was able to return to class, all while others live in fear of the gruesome killings described in the book. The group gathered outside of the school just before classes began.
A couple of parents whose children were specifically named in the online book, want the district to consider taking that writer out of school. They consider his work to be violent threats.
Those parents are also upset because this issue was first brought up about a month ago. They think that school officials within the Northwest Independent School District have waited too long to address the concerns.
"When this first became knowledge to our district, we took immediate and prompt action working closely hand in hand with law enforcement," Northwest ISD superintendent Karen Rue said during a Monday morning news conference. "All actions we've taken since that time have been to secure a safe learning environment."
While the group protested, three people -- including a woman with a lone sign -- were among those supporting the boy, saying that he made a mistake and is now being bullied. "I think that the bullying, period, needs to stop," stated Belinda Roper on Monday. "I don't think he needs to be bullied for his mistakes. I don't think the other kids should have to live in fear for his book."
"The environment just feels so much more different, and it feels like, at any moment, something bad will happen," said seventh-grade student Jenae Zieman on Monday. "It feels just horrible knowing that there's a kid like that who actually wants to hurt people, and it's just scary."
The boy who wrote the book was not in class on Monday. But his father said that his son has no intentions to harm any students or teachers. The child writes frequently and has been encouraged to continue his writing.