Students demonstrate at Lakewood High School in support of sexual assault victims

Lakewood, California – Lakewood High School student are expressing their support to sexual assault victims through demonstrations on campus.

According to school official, the demonstrations were sparked after anonymous individuals posted allegations of inappropriate behavior by their classmates on a social media account.

Officers were sent to the high school to a report of a fight between the demonstrators on campus, according to Lakewood Sheriff’s Department. No injuries were reported as a result of the fight.

Students staged the walkout from their classes, according to Venice Gamble, the father of a freshman who took part in the demonstration, to protest the administration’s lack of commitment to protect its students, especially from sexual and physical assault.

Long Beach Unified School District spokesman Chris Eftychiou stated the district has no “indications” of any current possible sexual assault incidents at Lakewood High School.

Eftychiou previously stated that the administration gave space for students to “exercise their right to demonstrate.”

“The demonstration aimed to bring awareness to the issue,” Eftychiou said in an email.

Students’ worries began in 2018, according to Gamble, when a 19-year-old male jumped a fence and sexually assaulted a student in a restroom shortly after attacking another woman on a Bellflower street. For the two attacks, the individual was eventually sentenced to more than 29 years behind bars.

“The administration is negligent. They don’t follow through on safety. Students are driven to the point where they have to demonstrate,” said Gamble.