A kid got beaten up at my school because his sister is a lesbian

[Fantasy Panda Dreaming 0]

Second Teen in Two Weeks Attacked in Ohio School

For immediate release November 2nd, 2011

Westerville, OH -- A second teenager in just two weeks was beaten in an Ohio public school by a another student because of homophobia. On Tuesday, November 1st, a student at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, was called “fag” and “faggot” by another student, before that student punched him in the head several times. The victim has a possible concussion and is currently undergoing emergency medical testing; the student is unable to attend school for at least one week. The victim does not identify as gay, but he does have a lesbian sister and has been harassed about that for four years.

A teacher at the school broke up the assault and took the victim to the school nurse. The attacker will be suspended from school for five days, and his schedule will be altered so it does not overlap with the victim’s.

This incident comes only a week after a 15-year-old teenager in Chillicothe, Ohio was severely beaten in his high school class room for being gay. That attack occurred at Unioto High School and was caught on camera as fellow class members watched one teen wait for the victim to enter the room, push him to the ground and continually punch him in the face.

Unlike Chillicothe, the Westerville City School system does have a bullying policy that prohibits bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity, among other characteristics. The Westerville incident, however, demonstrates the need for comprehensive, age-appropriate instruction on bullying and harassment. The School Day Security and Anti-Bullying Act (HB 116) would amend sections 3313.666 and 3313.667 of the Revised Code to require age-appropriate instruction on and parental notification of public schools' policies prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The bill has passed the Ohio House of Representatives and has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee.

The student’s mother, Stacey G., explains that her son has been harassed for the last four years with little response from the school system. Stacey says: “Ever since the 5th grade we’ve been dealing with the bullying and harassment. The school is brushing off it’s responsibilities by just suspending the bully.”

Equality Ohio Executive Director, Ed Mullen, explains that the incident proves that policies and training are needed to help end the bullying epidemic in our public school systems. Mullen says: “All students -- gay or straight -- need to be protected from attacks and harassment in schools. Our elected officials in Ohio need to pass comprehensive anti-bullying reform to ensure that students, teachers, and administrators are trained to identify and end bullying and harassment in our schools.”

Equality Ohio advocates and educates to achieve fair treatment and equal opportunity for all Ohioans regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. For more information visit www.equalityohio.org or give us a call at (614) 224-0400 .

http://www2.nbc4i.co...ool--ar-813118/

http://www2.nbc4i.co...89337-vi-34345/

The bully got off with a 5-day suspension, even though he gave another student a concussion and that he needed medical attention.

Even without considering that it was a blatantly homophobic act, the fact that he gave someone a concussion alone justifies more than a 5-day suspension.

I'm seriously pissed about this, and I'm glad to say that so are a lot of other people.

My school claims to have a "no bullying" policy, but there's so much shit that they don't do anything about. All they do is give the people a little tap on the shoulder and tell them to never do it again.

It doesn't squidding work, and I'm amazed they haven't realized it by now.

[Princess Valhalla Hawkwind 39]

I saw this on the news and it was all over my twitter. What I don't get is how did it get this bad? I mean, do you guys still have cops at South or has it changed since I graduated? I can understand the kid getting beat up, (as awful as it is, shit happens) but where were the school cops when the fight turned into a hospital issue?

[Chimetals 344]

reminds me of when my school made the news, a (white) friend of mine had basically been smarting his ass off to these (black) kids on our bus (i was driving to school at that time) and they basically beat the crap outta him. they called racism on it, though really, it was just my friend being a dick. i only bring this up because my friend had no concussion, but the two kids that beat him got expelled, while my friend got random crap from people on the internet, a long break from school, and was able to sit back and enjoy the media.

the fact that my friend had a more leisurely time of it, and his attackers got harsher punishments than this kid disgusts me. that, and my kid brother got picked on for most/all of jr high for no real reason, and the school didnt do jack about it. so this story is basically the two combined, and with the reasoning being that his sister was a lesbian....im four kinds of pissed off right now. your school, just.....how can they what is this i dont even

[Arachne 25]

This sickens me. That is all.

[Teto 2609]

Thought the same thing when I saw that picture on tumblr, LL.

[Cirt 612]

This is under "serious discussion." I'm getting annoyed about seeing inappropriate posts in this forum, especially those that are not even pertinent to the topic. They are called TOPICS for a reason — to talk about the subject in the topic. So yes, I did delete them, because they were contributing nothing.

This forum is becoming a massive mess and god smite me if I'm just trying to clean it up a little before I leave here for good. You know, I'm trying out the "actually being a moderator" role here.

[Aethix 129]

The assailants should be arrested. This is obviously a crime. If the victim presses charges, there aren't many juries that wouldn't convict.

[Chase 390]

Cirt take it from me. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Grandmaster Phoenix 26]

This is literally the most pointless and entirely redundant thing anyone could do to anyone for this reason. Like, it isnt even a reason.

[Chimetals 344]

Is this considered a hate crime? Like, the assailant is not targeting the actual lesbian

(serious question)

yeah, its the reasoning behind it and that the target was the family of the lesbian--family tends to be close enough to count in most situations/reasoning, im p sure.

This is literally the most pointless and entirely redundant thing anyone could do to anyone for this reason. Like, it isnt even a reason.

not entirely sure what youre saying here

[Princess Valhalla Hawkwind 39]

From what I've heard, the kid was accused of being gay himself as well. So yeah, probs a hate crime.

[Chase 390]

I wonder if we even know the whole story. What if they were fighting? Or what if he beat him up for an entirely different reason?

We talk about things without knowing a single thing besides what the media says. We shouldn't really have an opinion on this, or anything we're not at least a little invested in.

[Princess Valhalla Hawkwind 39]

I know the story pretty well because i heard it from people who were there. I know the kids at that school because I went to that school.

[Chimetals 344]

its a good point though, my friend getting beated was basically called a reverse-racism thing by the media, when it really had nothing to do with race at all.

that said, since were p much getting this story from the source, i think it probably was a hate crime. but in general, its a good precaution to have, just dont swing the other way and completely write off the story.

bottom line: someone got beat up to the point of having a concussion, and their attacker only got suspended for 5 days, and a schedule change. and i find even THAT irritating.

[Chase 390]

Re-read the story again. He called him a fag and hit him. The story itself even admits that the kid probably isn't homosexual. The fact that he has a lesbian sister isn't even mentioned by the bully and doesn't make any sense in context. How many bullies do you think call everyone they attack faggot?

His sister has nothing to do with it. He probably just called him a fag because that's what bullies do cuz they're dicks. I don't think this is a hate crime, and, again, we weren't there and do not know the entire story.