New York City’s school system is failing to provide a safe learning environment for Sikh kids, half of whom said they have faced bullying, name calling or unwanted touching in their schools, according to a survey released last week on Vaisakhi.

Take the case of Harpal Singh Vacher. In March, a jury found his attacker, Umair Ahmed, guilty of felony hate crimes because he forced Harpal into the school bathroom, threatened him with physical harm and cut off his kesh.

At the time, Harpal was a 15-year-old student at Newtown High School in Queens. He said he complained many times to school officials, but to no avail.

According to the year-long survey conducted by the Sikh Coalition, only 40 percent who said they were bullied also complained about it to school officials. And of those who complained, like Harpal, one-third said the schools did nothing to help them.

“We would have to know the exact situation, look at each case,” said Margie Feinberg, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Education. Feinberg was not aware of Harpal Singh’s case, and she said she could not comment on any case that is still pending in the courts. A sentencing hearing is expected in June.

Feinberg said students are encouraged to report any problem to their principals. And if the problem is not solved, the student should report it to the superintendent of schools.

But the survey data show a striking gap between the education department’s protocol to address bullying and the reality of what Sikh kids are experiencing daily.

“They point fingers at us and call us ‘Afghani’ or ‘terrorist,’” said Harpreet Singh, a junior at Richmond Hill High School in Queens. “They treat us like terrorists (even though) they know (who Sikhs are). They do it on purpose.”

Richmond Hill High School principal, Frances Desanctis, did not return our call for comment.

According to the survey, three out of five Sikh children who wear turbans or patkas to school, like Harpreet, said bullying and teasing were part of everyday life for them. Many of them, 38 percent, said they were either hit or touched because of their appearance.

The survey of 1,021 Sikhs, including about 439 children, was conducted mostly at local gurdwaras from December 2006 to November 2007. Adults and children had separate questionnaires.

All bullying is unacceptable, but bias-based bullying is different, said Neha Singh, Sikh Coalition’s advocacy director. “The problem goes much deeper and leads to consequences beyond that of the child, it affects other children and an entire group of people.”

“We have a no-tolerance ban on bullying for all students to abide by,” Feinberg added. She pointed to the department’s Discipline Code, a guide that gives a range of possible punishments for students who behave badly. “All students are given a copy of the Discipline Code at the beginning of the school year.”

But the city’s legislature thinks the code is impotent, especially in cases of bias-based discrimination.

“What a joke,” said Councilman John Liu. Just handing out a copy of the Discipline Code is “same as saying we got better things to do” and “fosters a climate where Sikh kids get harassed, like what happened in May (2007 to Harpal Singh).

“There is a need to educate people, especially school children, because there are substantial numbers in New York City,” Liu said. “The Sikh Coalition offered to work with the DOE to implement programs to educate (students), but the DOE was not for it,” he added.

Liu suggested a three-pronged solution: First, the DOE should understand that there is a great level of ignorance about Sikhism. Second, the DOE needs to track incidents. And third, the education department should provide support to victims and punish the perpetrators with full force.

Liu’s suggestions are covered by the Dignity for All Students Act, a bill that the city council passed unanimously back in 2004 over Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto. But the education department has yet to implement it.

Bloomberg’s office did not respond to our phone and email requests for comment.

The department does more than just hand out the Disciplinary Code, Feinberg said. Every school has guidance councilors, and there is a list of outside groups, such as the Council for Unity, that meet with students and provide peer mediation and conflict resolution.

But the non-profit Council for Unity has not dealt with many bias incidents concerning Sikh students, said Sean Dino Johnson, its director for school-based initiatives.

“Our objective is to address gang intervention and prevention,” he said. “But we would be glad to help out.” The council has programs in 46 of the city’s more than 1,400 schools.

Meanwhile, Sikh kids are stuck in an inadequate system that does not recognize their acute problems.

Some kids, like Aman Singh of Jackson Heights, find that the only solution is to switch schools. Just after Sept. 11, when he was a 10-year-old at Renaissance Charter School, he remembers being called names like ‘terrorist’ or ‘Osama’s son.’

Now 16, Aman attends the Baccalaureate School for Global Education. “The school is diverse and has students from other countries,” he said. And the students understand and accept other cultures and religions.

Aman is fortunate because this is not an option available to everyone.

“We don’t really talk about (bullying),” Aman said. “People have forgotten that (there is still a problem).”

Note: April 28: The sentence, "...the Council for Unity has not dealt with many bias incidents...," was amended with "concerning Sikh students." A paragraph about the survey was also added to the original story.

By Anju Kaur
Sikh News Network staff journalist