An 11-year-old Texas girl recalled feeling “really sad” and embarrassed after she was targeted in what her family has called an extreme act of bullying by a classmate.
A’Myah Moon attends Bowman Middle School in Plano, Texas, where she has suffered constant teasing over her new appearance, local station WFAA 8 reports. The sixth grader was diagnosed with a rare cancer last year, and lost all her hair as a result of chemotherapy.
A’Myah Moon, 11, was diagnosed with a rare cancer last year and receives bi-weekly chemo treatments for her illness. (Photos: WFAA/video screenshots)Moon’s mother, Syreeta Smith, said she got A’Myah a wig to instill in her a sense of security and confidence when she returned to school last October. That security was snatched away, however, when a schoolmate ripped the wig off her head and called her offensive names in front of other students.
Smith decried the incident as a “humiliating prank” committed by one of her daughter’s classmates.
“A little girl chased her around the gym,” she told the outlet. “Someone she thought was a friend, chased her around the gym, and pulled her wig off in front of everyone.”
Afterward, Moon said she locked herself in the restroom and cried.
“I got really sad, and I got dizzy and I left,” she said.
Officials with the Plano Independent School District addressed the incident in a statement saying the safety and well-being of its students is of utmost importance.
“Bowman Middle School and Plano ISD administrators have been responding to the situation and are working closely with all involved students and their parents” the statement read in part. “While we cannot discuss disciplinary measures as it relates to a specific student or students, our response to any behavioral concerns is always in accordance with district policy and the Plano ISD Student Code of Conduct.”
Moon’s family members and other parents were less than pleased with the district’s response, however, and argued that school leaders had not acted swiftly enough. On Friday, dozens of protesters gathered outside Bowman Middle School for an anti-bullying rally in the wake of the incident.
“Stop the bullies,” the group chanted. “Save a life!”
Moon’s family said they just want her school to be a place where she can thrive as a normal child and not worry about her illness.
“She’s just trying to be a normal 11-year-old and it’s hard when you’ve got to fight a fight on top of fight,” her mother said.
A close relative of the student who reportedly committed the “prank” has since issued an apology to A’Myah and her family.
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