School suspends SC teen for raising drug and violence concerns on Snapchat, advocates say
Local activists and a Conway High School student’s mother says her daughter was suspended after she posted on Snapchat about issues at the school like drugs and potential violence.
After hearing about drug use and students talking about bringing a gun to school, 15-year-old freshman Aniya Owens posted her concerns to Snapchat, according to her mother, Abbey Owens.
Horry County Schools (HCS) declined to comment on Aniya’s situation, citing federal privacy regulations.
Aniya’s original post from Nov. 18 has been reviewed by The Sun News. Owens said the post wasn’t threatening, but instead communicated Aniya’s concerns and frustrations with the school.
Owens said incidents of students smoking in the bathroom and talking about bringing guns to school had taken place shortly before Aniya’s post.
Aniya’s post read “First ppl getting caught smoking blunts in school … NOW F---ING GUNS … y’all b-----es stupid asf … i’m done with conway.”
The post was circulated by other students who allegedly added threatening text to the original post, according to Owens. New text was clearly overlaid on Aniya’s post, Owens said.
One post The Sun News reviewed suggested violence. Another post read “We really thuggin at Conway” over Aniya’s original post.
Aniya didn’t post either of these messages, her mother said, but since the original post was traced back to her, administrators punished her. It’s unclear if other students were disciplined for the posts following Aniya’s.
Was student threatened with criminal charges?
Conway High School administrators, including the principal and assistant principal, accused Aniya of making up the situation and posting for attention and likes, her mom said.
The school resource officer also threatened Aniya with criminal charges, Owens said.
“They just criticized her for expressing her concerns, they threatened her with criminal charges,” Owens told The Sun News. “The officer said that he would find charges to press against her.”
HCS spokesperson Lisa Bourcier wouldn’t answer any questions about the situation, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
An incident report submitted by a Conway High School assistant principal and reviewed by The Sun News indicates the investigation of Aniya’s post was concluded after she admitted to making the original post shared by other students.
“The investigation was concluded at that time identifying the post as unsubstantial,” the incident report reads. “This incident of disturbing schools caused a major disruption; resulting in multiple parents contacting the school to remove their students’, parents contacting the district office, and CHS faculty being extremely alarmed.”
It continued to say Aniya would be suspended “pending a hearing along with being charged by Conway Police Department.”
Aniya hasn’t been charged with a crime, according to online records.
Aniya was suspended from school and given a disciplinary hearing last week, where it was decided Aniya would be sent to the district’s alternative school, SOAR Academy, her mother said. She also said HCS administrators tried to keep Aniya from bringing witnesses forward on her behalf during the hearing.
“They’re punishing her because of the fact that she was a whistleblower,” said Abdullah Mustafa, president of the group New Century Justice Network, which is working with Owens.
Teen is ‘very depressed’ during suspension
Owens said the school and district should focus on the concerns Aniya had, instead of zeroing in on punishing the people who talk about them.
“She just expressed her frustrations with it, she said she’s sick of Conway,” Owens said. “They need to address the real issues that are happening, they need to listen to the students and not just put them down when they speak up.”
Owens says her daughter was “treated like a criminal from the very beginning” and throughout the district’s disciplinary process, and she’s been depressed and unmotivated as a result. Since being out of school, she misses her friends and attending class in person.
“She’s been very depressed,” Owens said. “(It’s) hard to even get her up.”
Aniya plays softball and volleyball and likes to hang out with her friends. Her mom worries she’ll miss out on all of this if she can’t get her school record resolved. Aniya has played softball since she was young, and she was looking forward to the season starting. Depending on how long the appeal process takes, she could miss tryouts and potentially the whole season, Owens said.
“I would like her to be back in school,” Owens said. “They need to apologize, they need to clear her name from them making her out to be a liar. I don’t know how this can be fixed with what it’s caused mentally already.”
Owens is in the process of appealing the district’s decision, she said.
Prior to being referred to the alternative school and pending her disciplinary hearing, Aniya was suspended from school for “major disruption,” according to a letter to Owens from HCS sent Nov. 30 and reviewed by The Sun News.
“During the suspension, the student cannot be on the grounds of any school in the District except for a prearranged conference with a school administrator, cannot attend school or any school program or activity at any time, and cannot ride a school or activity bus,” the letter read. “A violation will result in further disciplinary action.”
An October ruling by a U.S. District Court in Charleston states students can’t be criminally charged for disturbing or boisterous behavior, which the American Civil Liberties Union called “a victory for students’ rights.”
Problems for Black students aren’t new, advocacy group says
Owens and representatives of the New Century Justice Network say Aniya’s situation raises broader questions about how HCS treats students of color, particularly Black students, when it comes to punishment.
Mustafa called on government agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Justice to investigate HCS and its treatment of Black students. Owens and the New Century Justice Network could file a lawsuit against the district, he said.
“(We want) an internal investigation in regards to how they go about punishing African-American students for no reason at all,” Mustafa said. “It’s totally unjustified … This is not the first time.”
A Sun News analysis from October 2017 found Black students were six times more likely than their white counterparts to be kicked out of Horry County Schools.
The Sun News sent a list of questions to HCS spokesperson Bourcier, including a question about the treatment of Black students and other students of color in Horry County Schools. Bourcier only cited FERPA and said “we are not at liberty to discuss any student-related matters.” She didn’t address the general question about treatment of students of color.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 11:45 AM with the headline "School suspends SC teen for raising drug and violence concerns on Snapchat, advocates say."
