Posted on 07/08/2009 10:18:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Gurnam Singh, 13, of Richmond Hill told of bullying and harassment at his school during a rally by Sikhs and other civil rights advocates last week in Lower Manhattan. Sikhs said the city Department of Education is not enforcing regulations against such behavior. Photo by Philip Newman
Sikhs, many from Queens, rallied last week to protest what they said was the failure of school officials to enforce rules against bullying and harassment in schools, some of it by teachers, staff members and security guards.
“We are concerned that the Schools Chancellor Regulation [against harassment] is a promise that is not being fulfilled, a piece of paper that is having little impact on city schools,” said Sundeep Sonny Singh, a community organizer for the Sikh Coalition.
Sikh activists, civil rights advocates and dozens of Sikh schoolchildren singing and chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” demonstrated outside the Tweed Courthouse near City Hall June 30.
The Sikh activists issued a report card in which they graded the performance of the city Department of Education on action against harassment. The grades indicated school officials were passive toward the issue.
“Sikh kids have a really tough time at my school,” said Gurnam Singh, 13, of Richmond Hill, a seventh-grader at MS 72 in Queens.
“Other students have threatened to cut my hair and have tried to pull my turban off. Two weeks ago another student cut me with a hair clip and said he was going to smack my turban off. I told a teacher about it, but nothing was done.”
The Sikh religion prohibits the cutting of hair, which males wear arranged under a turban.
In the past, Sikhs, including both schoolchildren and some adults, have reported being called Arabs and terrorists.
The report found:
• 76 percent of students do not know they can report harassment anonymously by e-mailing respectforall@schools.nyc.gov
• 80 percent of students have never attended a training or presentation session to discourage harassment
• 16 percent of students who reported experiencing bias-based harassment said the harasser was a teacher, staff member or security agent
City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein announced the special regulation against harassment and bullying in September 2008.
The rules prohibit bullying or harassment based on ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
The report found 34.5 percent of all types of bullying and harassment are in Queens schools and 25.5 percent of those targeted by harassers are Sikhs.
Many schoolchildren reported they did not know who to report bullying or harassing to and others said they had no confidence anything would be done about it if they did.
Harpal Singh Vacher, a student at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, was forced into a bathroom by a fellow student who cut his hair in 2007. A Muslim classmate from Elmhurst was found guilty of a hate crime but avoided jail.He was sentenced to community service and probation.
Sikhs, many from Queens, rallied last week to protest what they said was the failure of school officials to enforce rules against bullying and harassment in schools, some of it by teachers, staff members and security guards.
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Prisons and government schools share much in common. Bullies , cliques, and gangs serve a purpose in prisons, and they serve a purpose as well in government schools.
Ping. (Thought you might want to see this story.)
What makes you think these harassers care about allies of the US? Remember, Queens, NYC is the most diverse county in the nation...wholebunchalotta folk there are not in love with the USA.
“Harpal Singh Vacher, a student at Newtown High School in Elmhurst, was forced into a bathroom by a fellow student who cut his hair in 2007. A Muslim classmate from Elmhurst was found guilty of a hate crime but avoided jail.He was sentenced to community service and probation.”
The muslim POS who assaulted him probably knows Sikhs are our allies.
Isn’t there a federal law that gives school students the same protection as it does adults in the workplace? I believe there is. I’m sure a lawyer familiar with harassment could come to the aid of students who are bullied and could inform the schools of the consequences they face if they don’t adhere to the law.
We should do as Saul Alinsky advises. We should go after the teachers and principal **personally**. Destroy their careers, and sue them **personally** for their homes and savings. The Marxists have been doing this for several decades. It is time that conservative fought back as viciously.
Thanks. So far my grandson hasn’t had any problems that I know of. My grandson’s hair is cut & I’ve never seen a turban on him. My daughter isn’t talking to me again . Last I heard she was moving to India for at least 6 months. I just pray they are safe over there.
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