School 'Downplaying' Fight That Hurt Son: Wheaton Warrenville Mother

WHEATON, IL — The mother of a junior who was injured in a recent altercation in a bathroom at Wheaton Warrenville South says she believes there were "egregious things" in the way the school handled the incident. The woman, who requested anonymity, told Patch her son was unconscious after he was "beaten" in the bathroom on Feb. 28 by two other male students and that adults who became aware of his condition did not immediately call 911.

The boy's mother said she believes school officials and Principal Lorie Campos are "downplaying" the incident, something she and other parents tell Patch has been an ongoing pattern.

"This is not just because of my son, but because this is not isolated and the way they are trying to push this under the rug is not unique to this situation with my son," she said.

On Feb. 28 and March 2, Campos emailed parents to address what she called "physical altercations" that have taken place on campus and were "targeted."

A spokesperson for Wheaton Warrenville South confirmed to Patch that "the altercation" occurred Feb. 28. Wheaton Police Chief P.J. Youker told Patch "there was a fight between male juvenile students in a restroom on or about Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at approximately 11:30am which resulted in reported non-life threatening injuries."

Related: 'Physical Altercations' At Wheaton Warrenville South Raise Concerns

"School personnel who were there with my son that were not getting him medical attention," the teen's mother told Patch.

A reader shared a video with Patch Tuesday that appeared to show a male student lying on the floor of a bathroom as he was being kicked and hit by two other students. A subsequent video shared with Patch appears to show other students lifting the same student, who appears to be unconscious, and dragging him out of the bathroom into a common area of the school.

The students are then approached by what appears to be a staff member, who asks for someone to "get a nurse."

The boy's mother said, "They didn’t call 911 right away, and he could have died." She added that she has requested surveillance footage with time stamps, so she can see how many adults interacted with her son and how long he was unconscious before someone called 911.

According to the mother, the initial 911 call was made by a school resource officer, who she believes was "downplaying" the incident.

“Why are they downplaying it when they’re calling it in?” she said. "So the record doesn’t show how serious it is?”

She said her son was "knocked out" and that "he was shaking at one point."

She added that he "regained consciousness when someone was touching his face, which [sic] was an adult."

According to the boy's mother, he was taken to the emergency room, where he was treated for a concussion, "multiple contusions" and bruising. She said he was released later that day.

The teen's mother told Patch the altercation began after one student called her son a name, which she says prompted him to ask the boy if he wanted to go into the bathroom. According to the mother, fights often happen in the bathrooms at Wheaton Warrenville South.

She said another student followed her son and the boy into the bathroom. The video footage obtained by Patch does not show this initial encounter.

According to the mother, Campos spoke with her son by phone Friday and suspended him for 10 days. The boy's mother told Patch that her son said that Campos implied that the fight was his fault because he invited the other student into the bathroom.

Patch spoke with another parent Tuesday, who said her daughter, who is a senior at Wheaton Warrenville South, had been attacked in the bathroom earlier this year.

The girl's mother said she is "horrified at the lack of safety and security at the school and what they do have, doesn’t seem to be utilized properly. We question what the [school resource officer] is there for. My daughter says they have bathroom attendants sometimes during busy times, but that the students know when they can get away with bathroom antics anyway, so it doesn’t matter."

She added, "What I have noticed with the staff and administrators is that they try to downplay incidents and hope they can just smooth things over with you or, in my opinion, make you feel like what they say is the bottom line and there’s not anything you can do about it."

The mother of the boy told Patch she hopes any attention surrounding this incident will give voice to other students who may have experienced "similar" incidents.

"To me, it’s a consistent, pervasive minimizing, and some of these poor kids have endured things very similar to this."