Bullying in the news...

Bullied teen charged with assault

Student strikes back after being hit, taunted -- and finds himself charged with assault

By BRETT CLARKSON, SUN MEDIA

A 15-year-old Grade 9 student from Ontario's Keswick High School - who can not be identified - speaks with Brett Clarkson of the Toronto Sun, Monday, April 27, 2009. The student, who has a third degree black belt in martial arts, has been charged with assault after he defended himself after having racial slurs hurled at him by another student. (Sun Media/Jack Boland)
KESWICK -- Hundreds of students at the local high school here rallied yesterday to support a 15-year-old Asian boy who was the only one charged in a high-school fight in which the other boy allegedly started the scrap after racially taunting him.

The Grade 9 student at Keswick High School, who can't be identified, is charged with assault causing bodily harm after breaking another student's nose in a gym class last Tuesday. He is also serving a suspension and could face expulsion.

The other boy, who required hospitalization, was also suspended but wasn't charged. Neither boy can be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

"I am confused and angry at the same time," said the Asian boy, who has a martial arts black belt and who maintains an average of 80s and 90s in his classes. He said that if he is facing a charge of assault, then the other boy "definitely" deserves to be charged as well.

The boy's parents said the other student's taunts were the first incident of racism experienced by the family since they moved to Canada from their native country in 2004.

York Regional Police couldn't comment yesterday afternoon as the investigating officer wasn't available.

According to the accused boy and several friends, the other student called the Asian boy a "f...ing Chinese" and after a shoving match broke out, punched the Asian boy in the mouth, causing him to bleed.

The Asian boy retaliated by punching the other boy and breaking his nose. He said he used his left hand in order to control his punch and aimed for his opponent's jaw. But because the other boy turned his face, the punch landed on his nose.

"I kind of feel bad for breaking his nose but I didn't start the fight," the boy said yesterday after school let out.

The boy, whose marks included 96% in science, 94% in French, and 90% in math, must now appear in a youth court on May 13.

At his school yesterday, hundreds of students skipped classes to rally against racism and to protest the criminal charge laid against the boy, who they said was acting in self-defence.

"My friend is Asian and they were calling him terrible racial comments, like, I don't want to say them," said Timothy Barnett, 16, who organized the protest with a few other students including Kim Drimmel, 16. "Right now he is in the suspension room serving his suspension."

A suspension is reasonable but a criminal charge is not, Barnett said.

"Rules are rules and he did fight so I guess suspension is fair, but being charged, no, he was defending himself," he said.

Drimmel said the boy is unassuming and not prone to fights.

"He is a very quiet kid, but whoever he gets close to, you know his personality," he said.

"He's a black belt so I know that's probably a little intimidating, but he's a nice kid. He's Asian. He has a different background from everybody else -- some of the other kids just think it's different."

The protest organizers also wanted to protest bullying, claiming the Asian boy had been the victim of bullying and racism all year.

ONE INCIDENT

However, the Asian boy refuted this and said other students know he's a black belt.

The one incident of racism that sparked the fight was the only discrimination he's faced this year, he said, adding he's never been in a fight in his life until last Tuesday.

Still, he welcomed the overwhelming show of support from his fellow students and appreciated the stance they were taking against racism.

The school's administration, including principal Catherine McGinley, weren't commenting yesterday. Instead, York Region District School Board spokesman Ross Virgo handled media questions.

"When something like this happens, our requirement is that the police be called immediately and certainly they were," Virgo said.

Virgo said the province's Safe Schools Act calls for mandatory suspensions for students considered for expulsion. He wouldn't confirm that either student had been suspended or was facing expulsion, but said that any student facing possible expulsion is given the chance to appear before a disciplinary hearing.

"During that process the student would have a complete opportunity to tell his or her side of the story," Virgo said.

Keswick, with a population of about 21,000, is part of the Town of Georgina but is also on Lake Simcoe, where reports of racist attacks against Asian fishermen have surfaced in recent years, prompting investigations by York Regional Police and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

BRETT.CLARKSON@SUNMEDIA.CA