Nex Benedict was a 16-year-old sophomore at Owasso High School in Oklahoma. Nex identified as non-binary but was forced to use the girls’ bathroom at school. It was in the bathroom that three classmates attacked Nex on February 7th. Three girls knocked Nex to the ground, causing them to hit their head on the floor.

The school failed to call an ambulance for Nex. On top of that, when Nex’s mother picked them up from school, she was informed that Nex was suspended for two weeks. 

Ms. Benedict took Nex to a hospital for treatment, and they were discharged that night. The next morning, Nex collapsed to the floor in their living room. Owasso Fire Department medics arrived when Ms. Benedict called for an ambulance, and they found that Nex was no longer breathing. They were taken to a pediatric emergency room, where they were declared dead.

Trans people face a lot of struggles, and we’d all like to believe that progress is being made. But this high school student was forced to use the girls’ bathroom and is now dead because of the bigotry of their classmates. It is difficult to be optimistic when things like this are still happening; we should have moved on from hate like this a long time ago. 

It is important to remember that Nex isn’t just a news headline. They were a living person with friends and family, and they deserved to keep living.