Teen reportedly expelled for kneeing boy who entered school bathroom to protest transgender rights

Elise Solé
A teen at North Pole High School in Alaska was reportedly expelled for kneeing a boy when he and his friends entered the girls’ bathroom. (Photo: Getty Images)
A teen at North Pole High School in Alaska was reportedly expelled for kneeing a boy when he and his friends entered the girls’ bathroom. (Photo: Getty Images)

A teen was reportedly expelled for kneeing a boy who barged into the girls’ bathroom at school to protest transgender rights.

“My sister was expelled for kneeing a guy in the d*** after he was blocking her in the women’s bathroom,” a girl tweeted Friday, linking to a Fairbanks News-Miner story about the incident at North Pole High School in North Pole, Alaska.

A group of male students stormed the girls’ restroom last week, angered by a transgender male student who took a selfie in the boys’ room. One of the boys wrote on Snapchat, “Tomorrow identify as a woman and use the women’s bathroom if you want this s*** to end…we are doing it to boycott this bull****.”

The Twitter user said her sister was washing her hands in the bathroom when eight or nine “men” stormed in, claiming to identify as transgender. The Daily News-Minor reported that the girl, feeling threatened, kicked one boy in the groin, sending him to the hospital.

According to BuzzFeed News, the girl wrote on Facebook, “These guys (and men some were 18) came into the female bathroom and scared me. And in a reaction I kneed him. I didn’t even know what I did till after. I was scared. There was no way for me to leave the bathroom or I would have.”

The girl did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s interview request.

A spokesperson from the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District confirmed to Yahoo Lifestyle that a transgender student went inside the boys’ bathroom and took a photo, claiming on social media that he “was transitioning from the female to male gender.”

“A group of boys decided to go into a girls restroom to take a Snapchat of their own, similar to what the transgender student did, as a form of protest,” the spokesperson tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “On the day of the incident, the boys began to enter the restroom. Only one boy actually proceeded past the door frame. The other boys followed behind him and were not yet in the restroom. A female student (not the transgender student) was exiting the restroom at the time the first boy began to enter. The girl kicked the first boy in the groin. The boys turned around and left the area.”

The district said a Title IX investigation was performed and the girl was disciplined for using “force” (although the spokesperson would not confirm whether she was suspended or expelled). The boys were punished for entering the women’s room. “There was not evidence that the boys were threatening any student or using any type of force toward other students,” the spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle.

“The student’s response to the threat will be evaluated based on the facts and circumstances of the incident, district policies and state law,” the rep told Yahoo Lifestyle. She also said in addition to designated boys’ and girls’ restrooms, North Pole High School has several gender-neutral toilets.

Republican Rep. Tammie Wilson, who has spoken to the girl’s family and represents North Pole in the Alaska House of Representatives, told Yahoo Lifestyle the student in question exhibited self-defense. “If girls feel threatened, they do what’s necessary to avoid injury,” she said. “These boys were upset that someone was using their bathroom, so their reaction was to violate someone’s space. Let’s not forget they were not where they belonged.”

According to Wilson, the girl was expelled for using excessive force. “The details aren’t as important as the district’s overall message,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle. “That girls should worry about discipline when defending themselves. She had a right to get out of the situation.”

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