Video of Maryknoll student’s attack spreads across Internet

Maryknoll School officials are working to remove multiple video postings online of a student hurling an object that struck another student, knocking her to the ground.

The video, posted a week after the incident, went viral with multiple postings. The school has been requesting that websites remove the video to protect students’ privacy.

YouTube has removed six postings since school officials were made aware of it on Oct. 4.

The video shows a group of students talking during their lunch break in a classroom when a female student in the group becomes enraged and picks up a large plastic bin, throwing it across the room. The bin strikes another female student in the head, knocking her down.

The student who was hit appeared to be an innocent bystander eating her lunch. She suffered a slight bruise and was taken to the nurse’s room, school officials said.

Loryn Guiffre, the school’s marketing and communications specialist, said the student is fine and has no major injuries.

Alan Tang, president of Olomana Marketing, which represents Maryknoll, said the student who threw the bin was disciplined as well as the student or students who captured the incident on video and put it online.

"It’s unfortunate, the whole situation," Guiffre said. "That behavior is completely inconsistent with what we do at Maryknoll. It’s absolutely not tolerable."

Faculty and staff have revisited the school’s code of conduct, reminding students to respect one another. They are also teaching students about the power of social media and the need for ethical decision making, said Guiffre.