A former student at the New Jersey high school where Adriana Kuch was bullied before taking her own life is sharing her own similar “humiliating” experience there.
“I went through physical assault in the same school when I was a freshman, and the humiliation, the bullying,” Olivia O’Dea told CBS2 this week of her time at Central Regional High School in Berkeley Township.
Olivia, whose family has sued the district over her experience, told the outlet she was attacked by two fellow students at the school in January 2022 and that a video of the incident was shared online.
Her experience is eerily similar to that of Adriana, 14, who died by suicide Feb. 3, two days after she was beaten in a school hallway and footage of the confrontation circulated on the Internet.
Olivia O’Dea and her mom, Rachael, spoke to CBS2 about their lawsuit against the district.
Adriana’s death has sparked widespread outcry about the district’s alleged failure to address the school’s rampant bullying issue.
Repeated criticism from both Adriana’s family and student protests last week prompted school-district Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides to abruptly resign over the weekend.
After initially avoiding punishment, the four girls allegedly involved in the attack on Adriana were also charged last week with various offenses, including aggravated assault.
Central Regional High School is embroiled in controversy over the suicide of Adriana Kuch earlier this month. Stefan Jeremiah for NY Post“It’s a travesty that [the bullying is] continuing,” Olivia’s mother, Rachael O’Dea, told NJ Advance Media of Adriana’s death.
O’Dea claims that CRHS did not call authorities when her own daughter was assaulted. She subsequently removed Olivia from the school and filed a lawsuit on her behalf against the Central Regional School District in October.
“There’s no accountability [from the school], there’s no changes being made. This isn’t something new to them,” she lamented.
Adriana Kuch, 14, died by suicide Feb. 3. Facebook/Jennifer FerroThe family’s civil suit alleges that Olivia was threatened by another student by text before she was attacked in the hallway, according to NJ Advance Media.
She reportedly shared the troubling messages with a teacher, a guidance counselor and administrators, but no actions were taken.
“This goes on in other districts. But in this particular school, there’s a real pattern of events like this, and this should never have happened with this young girl,” the O’Deas’ lawyer, Jonathan Ettman, told the outlet.
Olivia O’Dea says she was beaten at CRHS in January 2022 and that a video of the attack was shared online.
Ettman’s description of CRHS mirrors online stories that emerged in the wake of Adriana’s suicide claiming administrators’ complacency has exacerbated the school’s serious bullying problem.
“As a teacher there and a parent there who dealt with intense bullying, we would often plead with administration to get things under control, and only one of them ever tried,” former educator Daniel Keiser wrote in a Facebook post.
“They were notorious for brushing things under the carpet.”
Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides resigned over the weekend.
Ettman added that the prevalence of social media brings a new, disturbing element to the culture of bullying.
“Now we’re in a time when every single thing is videotaped and put online. It has changed the face of bullying,” he told CBS.
While Berkeley Township officials have reportedly vowed to reinforce the high school’s zero-tolerance bullying policy, Adriana’s father, Michael, has said he will not be satisfied until the entire district in revamped.
“I want that entire administration gone,” he told The Post on Saturday.
Adriana’s sister-in-law, Jennifer Ferro, added, “We just want the school to start changing and taking accountability.”
