This whole thing from Goliad High School honestly made me think a lot because situations like these could happen in any school parking lot. Back in the day, when I was in school, two friends almost crashed their cars in the parking zone on go-go home time, so reading this case felt really, really true and somewhat scary, because every moment something could go astray.
In Goliad, a lot has been said since the accusation against a varsity cheerleader, who is also Miss Goliad, for allegedly trapping another student between two cars. The injured girl said she has problems with her knee, and her family feels that the school did not take the matter seriously.
The situation happened when Trinity Popps was putting away her things in a car after school. Several students said they saw another cheer squad member drive forward and trap Trinity between the two vehicles. They yelled at her to stop, but she kept moving and drove away laughing. This has also been posted on social media.
The pressure on her legs moved her knee out of its place, she said, and she developed bruises later. Nevertheless, she first tried to find her cheer coach to explain what happened. Then she went to complain to Principal Charles Henke and Superintendent Holly Lyon.
The school gave the other girl three days of ISS and told her to write an apology note to Miss Goliad Court, the Popps family said. Trinity felt the school did not believe her at all. They told her they would have thought her more if she had had a video of the incident or had called for emergency assistance. She explained that she did not call 911 because she avoids hospitals unless there is a serious problem, since she already had bad medical experiences in the past.
Bobby and Linda Popps filed a grievance against the Goliad Independent School District. It has reached the third level, but the school board rejected it. The family feels that the school is not protecting its students the way it should. Linda said she intends to file a number of additional grievances and may even request that the Texas Education Agency look into the whole matter. Bobby wants the superintendent and the principal to be removed.
After this, it went viral on Facebook. People were posting opinions, and the community seemed split down the middle. Some were trying to defuse the situation, while others were livid.
A resident, Stephanie Liendo, stated that it was a very unfortunate situation and that it should not be aggravated further. She stated that if such a situation arose, she would call her mother, who would call in the emergency services. She said it would be wrong to punish someone just because there was some possibility of wrongdoing.
She further stated that the cheerleader accused in this case has done many good things, from being Miss Goliad, assisting younger cheer squads, attending state pageants, performing in Disney parades, and managing an initiative called The Big Sister Project.
Another commentator, Emili Boniface, staunchly opposed her opinion. Witnesses, she said, had seen it all, and there were medical reports confirming her point; good deeds could never cancel out the bad deeds. Kids can make huge mistakes, and those very mistakes can determine their future.
Another contributor, Patricia Belcher, reminded the public that the victim’s family had already spoken about it on a TV report. Some people were advising the family, such as Joe Valderrama, who said they should contact the police and file an insurance claim.
Others sided with the Popps family’s frustration. Rose Camacho said that if Trinity had done this to Miss Goliad, the reaction would have been totally different, and the other family would have immediately filed charges. She stated that if it were her daughter, she would also be incredibly furious, as this could seriously harm someone.
Stephanie still stands behind her opinion that people are judging too fast.
At this time, Goliad ISD has not made any public statements regarding this whole situation or the grievance.
I think these kinds of things happen when a school tries to control every matter behind closed doors rather than being open with the student community. Back in my school days, I saw a lot of cases when students felt ignored. When something drastic takes place, students basically want their voices heard and seek protection. Quite frankly, I will be panicking if I ever get to witness anything like this happening in my school parking lot because cars are no joke. One split second, and someone could be injured for life. You may also be interested in: Female Food Delivery Driver Arrested After Incident With Fourteen Year Old Boy In Car
