People of Ocean Springs rally at Ocean Springs Middle to protest bullying

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - Some former Ocean Springs students, their parents and concerned citizens gathered near the memorial for 13-year-old Aubreigh Wyatt today to protest against bullying.

Vanessa Owens, who attended the middle school back in 2010, says that change begins with the adults.

“I think it’s gonna have to start with administration,” she said. “I know that with my instance, we brought documents and evidence. We even had a psychologist that told them ‘This child needs to leave y’all’s school, or she will not be here tomorrow’.”

Vanessa’s mother, Carla, said that middle school for her daughter was an absolute nightmare. She said what happened during her time there still haunts her.

“She still carries the scars of being harassed, being bullied, being not good enough, being too overweight, being too anything.”

Another former Ocean Springs Middle School student was in attendance at the rally, Kendyl Weiss. Weiss just graduated from Ocean Springs High School. She said she experienced bullying in her time there just like Owens did.

“I got bullied for talking too much,” Weiss said. “I got called annoying, I got threatened in the hallways.”

Weiss said her experience at the middle school was so bad that she cringes whenever she sees it.

“Every time I see it, I look away,” she said. “I’m almost ashamed of going to Ocean Springs Middle School.”

Weiss said that she reported her bullies multiple times. She thought around 10 times. “Every time I reported something....nothing happened.”

Both Owens and Weiss agreed that something needs to done. They were just happy they could be a voice today for bullying victims.

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