Central Regional HS officials: No students were arrested for staging walkout to protest bullying

Officials say that six students were told to go back to class after leaving school to memorialize the life of a 14-year-old girl who died by suicide.

News 12 Staff

Feb 9, 2023, 6:30 PM

Updated 687 days ago

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Officials at Central Regional High School in Bayville say that no students were arrested on Thursday for walking out of school in protest, despite what some parents who called News 12 New Jersey have said.
Officials say that six students were told to go back to class after leaving school to memorialize the life of a 14-year-old girl who died by suicide. The teen’s parents say that she was a victim of bullying.
“They scared the kids into staying in school today. It’s a little bit of an abuse of power,” says father John Galifi.
Galifi says he has two children in the high school. He says students had a plan to leave class at 8 a.m. Thursday and rally outside, but he was told by text from one of his sons inside that they weren’t being allowed to leave and that they were threatened with disciplinary action.
Students were allowed to leave class and rally on Wednesday. After the rally, school Superintendent Dr. Triantafillos Parlapanides sent a letter home to parents and students stating, “there will not be any rallies in the future without prior administrative approval otherwise action will be taken in accordance with policy.”
The statement continued, “All students must be in classes and respect rules, procedures, and adhere to the direction of staff members within our school community.”
This protest took place after 14-year-old Adriana Kush died by suicide. She was brutally attacked by a group of girls inside the school. Her parents say she endured bullying before that fight.
Bre Cullson was friends with Kuch. She goes to another school, but says she chose to join the protest.
“I never knew how far it was going, but I know her and one of the girls were going at it for a while and she was getting threatened,” Cullson says.
Several parents have told News 12 that their children have also had serious issues with bullying at the high school and that some have been forced to change schools.
“We are always hearing stories as parents, and it’s usually overlooked by a lot of people,” Galfi says.
Some parents say they are hoping Kuch’s death, and the outcry raises awareness about bullying. They say they hope it leads to policy changes as to how these situations are handled.