Bully Problem At Oate High School?

A Las Cruces mother told ABC-7 her daughter was threatened and bullied for about seven months finally before being attacked physically.

She said it’s a classic case of bullying all because of a fight over a boy at Oate High School.

“You don’t get jumped from behind by two people for things like that,” the mother, who did not want to be identified for her daughter’s safety, told ABC-7. “It’s appalling, all the violence in the school. I mean, it’s working itself into a worse situation.”

The mother said she filed several reports with Principal David Day about the threats made against her daughter. Day would not comment on this specific case or even confirm there was a fight on campus last week.

“Actually, we haven’t had any fights in the last six weeks that I know of,” Day said.

The mother said the fight was captured on camera by one of her daughter’s friends.

“My daughter was walking to her first period class with her friend, and they came up from behind and started hitting her. They beat her to the floor. One girl jumped on top of her, hitting her,” the mother said.

Day said the school has a zero tolerance policy on bullying.

“When we hear a threat regarding a student, we get on it right away. We bring in the student, and if we have witnesses of the bullying, we try to interview as many kids as we can, find out what’s really going on,” Day said.

Day said school administrators do their best to keep the school safe by having teachers and security guards in the hallways, as well as having a police officer on campus. He said the punishment for bullying ranges from short or long term suspension to actually arresting students.

A senior at Oate told ABC-7 he was jumped by a group of students just off campus last Friday. The evidence of the attack is clear on Erik Narvaez’s face, which is covered in scabs and a bandage.

Narvaez said the kids who attacked him were not punished.

“They didn’t really do anything since it was off campus. They didn’t get suspended or anything,” Narvaez said.

On top of the scar on his face, Narvaez says he’s left with a fear for his safety.

“I didn’t want to come today, but due to absences, I had to if I’m going to graduate,” Narvaez said.

The mother said her daughter feels the same.

“It makes her feel scared. Her self-esteem is lower. She’s worried about being jumped again,” the mother said.

But the mother of the two girls who started the fight last week defends what her daughters did. She said what her daughters did is not okay, but the girl they attacked provoked them for months through Facebook messages.

She provided ABC-7 with a transcript of Facebook messages between the girls and emails she sent to the school administrators.

She said the school never responded or attempted to stop the cyber-bullying.

What both mothers do seem to agree on is that the school didn’t do enough when they told them about the bullying that was going on from both sides.