Students at Norman High School walk out of classes in Norman, Oklahoma November 24, 2014 to protest what they said was a failure by school administrators to take care of three girls who have accused a male classmate of sexually assaulting them. 
 
 Students at Norman High School walk out of classes in Norman, Oklahoma November 24, 2014 to protest what they said was a failure by school administrators to take care of three girls who have accused a male classmate of sexually assaulting them. 
 
 NORMAN, Okla. Hundreds of students at an Oklahoma high school walked out of classes on Monday to protest what they said was a failure by school administrators to take care of three girls who have accused a male classmate of sexually assaulting them. 
 
 The girls have all stopped attending Norman High School due to what they say is bullying by friends of the alleged assailant, who was suspended after he was suspected of posting a video of one of the sexual encounters online. 
 
 "I hope it stops," said Rachel Capshaw, a ninth grader at the school. "Public schools should be a safe place." 
 
 The protest at the Norman school comes after several major U.S. colleges, including the University of Virginia, began investigating high profile accusations of sexual assault on their campuses. 
 
 In September, a female student in at the Norman school accused another student of rape, spurring at least two other girls to accuse the same male student of sexually assaulting them. 
 
 One of the girls said that on the day she came back to school after the alleged rape, she was verbally assaulted by a group of students who bullied her about the incident. She has not returned to the school after that. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Norman Public Schools said as soon the school system became aware of the rape accusations, it acted swiftly. 
 
 "The idea that we would punish a victim for being a victim is reprehensible," said Shelly Hickman, communications director for Norman Public Schools. 
 
 She said the district has been working with police. Norman police said the case is being investigated and offered no further details. 
 
 (Writing by Jon Herskovitz) ||||| Hundreds of students, parents and supporters lined the street in front of Norman High School on Monday to protest the school’s handling of the bullying of three female students who allege they were raped by a former male student. 
 
 The protest was held in response to allegations from a 16-year-old who said she was raped Sept. 19 and bullied when she tried to return to school. After the girl made her accusations public, two other girls said they were raped by the same student. 
 
 Norman police said they are investigating the case, and Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn said his office is waiting until police complete their investigation. 
 
 “We want to make sure we file the right charge on the right person,” Mashburn said, adding that such a decision likely would not arrive soon. 
 
 Police are investigating 
 
 Monday, many students lined Main Street early, rather than going to class, while the majority walked out of school at 9:20 a.m. to rousing cheers from those already waving signs, wearing buttons and crowding the sidewalks across the street from the high school. 
 
 Representatives of the newly formed group YES ALL Daughters carried bullhorns and led students in chants, including “No justice, no class” and “No more bullying.” 
 
 Norman Public Schools spokeswoman Shelly Hickman acknowledged Monday that one of the alleged assaults was reported to have happened on school grounds. 
 
 Norman police Capt. Tom Easley said an investigation into the alleged assaults is “active and ongoing,” but no arrests have been made. 
 
 School officials have been transparent, prompt and forthcoming, Easley said. Police were not initially notified of the alleged sexual assaults. 
 
 As soon as they were reported, police launched an investigation, he said. 
 
 The 18-year-old suspected in the alleged assaults has been suspended for the school year, Hickman said. That man was not identified by police or school officials. Another teen accused of leading bullying was allowed to return to school. 
 
 Students at the school said the alleged victims are no longer attending classes at Norman High School. 
 
 Nothing is prohibiting the girls from returning to school, Norman Superintendent Joseph Siano told The Oklahoman. Siano also said much of the accusations being made on social media about the school’s handling of the incidents are untrue. 
 
 ‘They don’t feel safe’ 
 
 Danielle Brown, a Norman High School student helping to lead the protests, said Monday that bullying is prohibiting the students from returning to the school. 
 
 “They don’t want to come back because they don’t feel safe to come back,” Brown said. 
 
 Brown said school administrators told one of the alleged victims the student reportedly responsible for much of the bullying could only be suspended for three days and have suggested the girls transfer schools. 
 
 Brown and other students submitted a list of demands to Norman High School Principal Scott Beck on Monday morning, which include new training and education for faculty and students on bullying and sexual assaults and the implementation of a full-time victim’s rights advocate on campus. They also asked the school to form a committee to oversee the changes. 
 
 Siano said most of those demands are in line with the school’s goals and said a similar committee has been established in recent months. 
 
 The school system confirmed Monday students and parents now will be added to that committee. 
 
 Attorney Elton Jenkins said he is representing the 16-year-old girl and her family to ensure that their rights are protected. 
 
 The 16-year-old girl has not returned to school since she said she was bullied on the day she tried to return, Jenkins said, because the alleged bullier was allowed to return to school. 
 
 “School administrators say they can only suspend him for three days. We think they can — and should — transfer him to a different school,” Jenkins said. 
 
 Jenkins was at the student walkout, along with the 16-year-old and her mother, neither of whom wanted to talk to the media. 
 
 “But she’s very grateful and thankful for the support being shown her,” Jenkins said. “Frankly, what happens most of the time is nothing.” 
 
 The girl and her family are disappointed in the school administration’s “lack of concern” about the bullying allegations, Jenkins said. 
 
 Tara Eppler, a junior, stood with her classmates along Main Street as supporters drove by honking. 
 
 “I think it’s a really good cause,” Eppler said. “It’s about rape and bullying and how we don’t stand for that.” 
 
 Senior Chloe Day held a sign up that asked, “How will just ignoring it keep us safe?” She said that was a reference to a counselor’s advice that students ignore bullies. 
 
 “That does not keep us safe,” Day said. “It’s not something that should be ignored.” 
 
 Most of the students spoken to Monday said they were excused by their parents to attend the rally all day, side-stepping the truancy mark school officials said they would give to students who did not return to their second class of the day. 
 
 Freshman Chandler Smith said he was disappointed in the school’s lack of response, noting the reported bullying of the girls was severe. 
 
 “I think they’ve handled it pretty poorly, to be honest,” Smith said. “They haven’t really been talking about it much.” 
 
 Effort drew support 
 
 Norman police initially closed Main Street in front of the school so student protesters could rally. But students soon chanted for the street to be opened so those driving by could see the protest. 
 
 The street was reopened about 10:15 a.m. to loud cheers. Motorists driving by shouted support and honked horns. 
 
 The number of students participating in the protest dropped off after a 10:20 a.m. call to return to the classroom if they didn’t have permission from their parents to continue. 
 
 Still, several hundred students remained. Students participated in interactive chanting, with one student yelling, “Whose school?” and the crowd answering, “Our school.” 
 
 Jennifer Mason, a friend of one of the alleged assault victims, said she came to support the protest but had no idea it would be so big. 
 
 “It’s an amazing thing,” Mason said. “It feels good to see this many supporters behind this tragedy.” 
 
 Mason and other women handed out bottles of water to protesters. At lunchtime, people dropped off pizzas for them to eat. One woman walked up and down the line of protesters offering a cheese and snack platter. She said she was a rape victim and just wanted to show her appreciation for what they were doing. 
 
 Another woman, Lauren Lackey, said she was a concerned resident who just wanted to help. 
 
 Lackey said the protest mainly was about “what happened after the rape, and the fact that students should feel safe in their own school.” 
 
 Lackey said she wants to see prosecution in the case, “But I leave that to the police. This is about the school and how officials have reacted.” 
 
 The YES ALL Daughters Facebook and Twitter accounts have attracted support from people worldwide, Lackey said. 
 
 “We’ve heard from people in England, Ireland and Australia. All kinds of people have come out in support of this,” Lackey said. “I’m so proud of the students participating in this. To see them all come streaming out of the school the way they did, it’s empowering.” 
 
 Students praised 
 
 The protests ended promptly at 4:20 as scheduled, with the roughly 200 remaining protesters yelling “Solidarity” before dispersing. Norman police had no reported arrests or incidents at the end of the day. 
 
 “We applaud Norman High students for conducting themselves in a mature, respectful manner today,” Siano said in a news release emailed after the protest. 
 
 “We continue to be very concerned about victims of sexual assault and are committed to doing what we can to support them and ensuring our schools provide a safe, secure and supportive environment for our students,” Siano wrote.
– High school students in Oklahoma walked out of classes yesterday in solidarity with three classmates who say they were raped by a fellow student and then bullied by the alleged attacker's friends. Hundreds of teens at Norman High School participated in the protests, which accused school officials of failing the three girls, Reuters reports. Protesters chanted slogans like "No justice, no class" and "No more bullying," the Oklahoman reports. All three of the alleged victims have stopped attending school, classmates say. "They don't want to come back because they don't feel safe to come back," says one protest organizer. She says the school suggested the girls switch high schools. A 16-year-old girl first reported the alleged attacker; afterward, two other girls said the same student had raped them. Police are investigating, they say, though the Oklahoman notes that officers weren't immediately told about the allegations. Still, a police captain says that school officials have been clear and open about the case. "The idea that we would punish a victim for being a victim is reprehensible," says one administrator. The alleged perpetrator, 18, has been suspended from school for the year, while a student said to have led the bullying has also been barred from school. Students are calling on the school's principal to implement new training programs and to install an advocate for victims.