Norman community to honor death of nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict with candlelight vigil
Norman community members will hold a candlelight vigil Saturday at Andrews Park for the 16-year-old nonbinary student who died in early February.
The vigil is in honor of Nex Benedict, who died on Feb. 8, the day after a fight in the women’s bathroom at Owasso Public Schools. On March 13, the medical examiner released its ruling that the manner of Benedict’s death was suicide.
The vigil will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Candles will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, according to a comment on Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant’s Instagram post about the event.
Nex Benedict struggled with bullying at their school for being nonbinary, their mother Sue Benedict said in an interview with The Independent. Following the fight, Sue Benedict took Nex Benedict to Bailey Medical Center in Owasso. They were discharged, but collapsed the next afternoon and were pronounced dead at the St. Francis Pediatric Emergency Room on Feb. 8.
A statement released on Feb. 21 by the Owasso Police Department indicates Nex Benedict’s death was not related to physical trauma, but the exact cause had not been determined.
The investigation is ongoing.
Since Nex Benedict’s death, PFLAG Norman’s Jerry Arias-Watson said the group has received a massive influx of emails and phone calls asking for a variety of resources, from mental health help to information on how to contact legislators about 2SLGBTQ+ rights.
Arias-Watson and Grant said the vigil’s purpose is to both honor Nex Benedict and spread awareness about 2SLGBTQ+ rights in Oklahoma, especially rights for trans youth.
“(The vigil is) for us to bring more awareness about the hatred that our leaders have right now towards our community and how it’s transferring to the children,” Arias-Watson said.
The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 55 anti-LGBTQ bills in the state, including 16 directed healthcare-related issues.
Another 17 bills are targeted at education, predominantly for K-12.
Arias-Watson said PFLAG Norman will have a table set up with educational materials. He said he believes educating people on the topic will help 2SLGBTQ+ people find the support they may need.
Grant said education for allies, particularly parents of 2SLGBTQ+ youth, can go a long way toward improving the lives of members of the community.
“I feel like there are people in our community, parents especially, who want to support their kids, but struggle because they’re human,” Grant said. “The world changes faster than some of us can change with it.
Which doesn’t make us bad people, it just makes us human.”
A study conducted by The Trevor Project in 2020 found that 52% of 2SLGBTQ+ youth enrolled in middle or high school were bullied either in person or online. A study published in JAMA, a peer-reviewed medical journal, found that transgender and gender diverse people have a higher overall mortality rate than cisgender people.
An Oklahoma law passed in 2022 requires public school students to use the bathroom associated with their assigned gender at birth. Another law passed in 2023 banned gender transition surgeries and hormone treatments for people under the age of 18.
