A Wichita father is taking unusual steps to teach his daughter that bullying is not to be tolerated after finding out she was involved in an incident near Truesdell Middle School last week. And at least one victim’s family supports the disciplinary action.
“All my friends was going to see me and, oh my gosh! This is just so embarrassing,” said Deonna Anthony Tuesday afternoon.
“It's just something that I had to take a stand on with her,” said her father, Deondre Anthony. “To teach her a lesson.”
Deondre Anthony and his daughter Deonna stood just down the street from Truesdell Middle School when classes let out on Tuesday holding handmade signs calling for everyone to step up and help end bullying.
“My daughter, unfortunately to say, she was part of the... the bullying,” said Anthony.
She's been suspended and faces expulsion for an incident last week involving Rian Brown's children.
“They were walking home. They witnessed an attack on another child and from there this large group of children came after them and attacked them as well,” said Brown. “Hit numerous times in the face and in the head… pushed to the ground and kicked several times in the abdomen and the rib area.”
“Cause we wanted to go around and just mess with people and think we wouldn't get in trouble about it,” explained Deonna.
Once Anthony found out about the incident thought, he couldn't just let it go.
“It was to teach her that it is just something that we don't do,” he said. “It's just not tolerated.”
He called Brown, who had started a similar demonstration outside the school on Monday, to let her know what he was making his daughter do. The Anthony's would have joined Brown immediately outside the school, but because of Deonna's suspension had to stay down the street.
Brown approves of the steps Anthony took.
“I think that it's an amazing and courageous thing that he's doing,” she said. “And he's teaching his daughter something that a lot of these other kids aren't going to learn.”
She also hopes other parents learn from his example. Anthony’s daughter says she's certainly learned something from all this.
“I'm going to tell them to think twice about the whole situation,” she said. “Cause you don't want to be embarrassed like I am now.”
It’s a lesson Anthony hopes she won't soon forget.
Deonna Anthony isn't the only student in trouble for the incident. At least one other has also been suspended and both could be expelled.
Brown has also filed a report with police.
