ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) — It started on Tuesday with chants of “no more sexual assault” outside of Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores. A walkout continued for a second day on Wednesday with about a dozen ninth grade students.
A post on social media caused the walkout, saying the name of the girl allegedly assaulted and the name of the boy accused. They alleged the girl’s chest was groped.
“We were standing up for what happened to that girl,” Arson Lee, a ninth grader, said outside of the school.
Her mother Melissa Piaseczny told 7 Action News, “I'm very proud of them. Honestly, I'm proud that they walked out yesterday. I wish she talked to me about it before doing it.”
“Yesterday when the school called me, they said that they were protesting due to sexual assault that happened on Monday and that the police were investigating it. So, the school is handling it,” Piaseczny said.
Her daughter and other students protesting say this is not the first case of groping and bullying, and it is not taken seriously.
Another mom, Maria Dardina, also told 7 Action News outside of the high school, “I tell my kids all the time if you're going to have a problem, try and speak to the authorities, try and represent yourself, speak up on their behalf. And they do and they get in trouble for it.”
We could not reach the St. Clair Shores police chief about this.
We got this statement from Lakeview Superintendent Karl Paulson:
Lakeview Public Schools is extremely proud of our Administration and teachers who continue to provide our students with a safe and nurturing learning environment every day. Lakeview takes every allegation, report or information brought to our attention seriously and conducts timely, appropriate investigations and follow up. When needed, discipline is meted out. In more serious instances, our staff will work closely with police authorities when the need arises.
Lakeview protects student privacy and will never comment on an individual student situation or discipline history. Finally, Lakeview wants to assure families we will continue to investigate any information provided to us that may be of concern and provide timely, accurate follow-up as appropriate.
