Mother demands action after viral video shows son being bullied on school bus
REDDING, Calif. — On January 28, mother Samantha Jo Hodgkin posted a video of her son, Manix, appearing to be bullied by several students on their school bus.
Within hours, the video went viral on Facebook, racking up thousands of views with Facebook users demanding action from the school.
Manix is a student at Buckeye School of the Arts in Redding and, according to his family, this is not the first time they have run into issues with bullying.
In the video, Manix is seen being struck in the head and pushed. Despite the physical abuse, he doesn't appear to retaliate.
The video that has gone viral online doesn't show the events that led up to the bullying, or what happened afterward.
Manix says his mother has told him that violence is not the answer.
"I have been through a lot of stuff, that shouldn't have been done, so I learned that if you hit back, two wrongs don't make a right," said Manix.
A lesson well learned but at times is hard to follow, even for his mother.
"When I watched the video, honestly I started crying and I started to run out the door to go confront people," said Hodgkin.
An understandable reaction from a mother who says she has alerted the school countless times to bullying but until now never had physical proof.
"This is a chance, to get it out there, and handle things a different way. Just like I promised my son, when I told him that you don't have to fight back anymore, there is a different way to handle things, I can follow through with that and I can show him that there is a different way to do this," said Hodgkin.
Manix's mom pulled him from Buckeye School of the Arts for the remainder of the year and Hodgkin tells us the school is aware of the incident and they are investigating the situation.
Jim Harrell, the Superintendent for Gateway Unified School District, says the first step is to always report the incident to a school site. Then as a school system, they launch an investigation and speak with everyone they believe is involved.
On Wednesday, parents told KRCR this has been an issue in the past but Harrell says, "Bullying goes on in every school."
"I would say that Buckeye School of the Arts is a typical public school that could have any incidents like this pop up just like my other schools. This just happens to be one that and was videoed and brought to the light and I don't have a problem with that, it's just that we will deal with it as we would deal with any other situation," added Harrell.
Harrell says he has spoken with the Principal and Vice-Principal of Buckeye School of the Arts along with the district's Transportation Director.
The district did decline to comment on the possible disciplinary actions for the students involved.
Moving forward Hodgkin hopes for a fresh start at a new school for her son.
"I would like to build a relationship with a school that is willing to put responsibility where responsibility is supposed to be put," said Hodgkin.
Despite all that Manix has been though, he still shows a sense of hope that can't help but be admired.
"I was mad, I was sad, but now I am not. Because now they are not bulling anyone anymore," said Manix.
