Racially motivated attacks taking place in Philadelphia high school

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Last week, a series of attacks took place in and around South Philadelphia High School, with Asian students as the target of the violence. Ten students were suspended, and several were injured seriously enough to be treated at a nearby hospital..

On Friday, over a dozen Asian students, along with leaders of Philadelphia’s Asian business community appeared at a press conference and said that they feel very threatened and fear for their safety at the school. They also claim that school security guards will not get involved to protect them.

Xu Lin of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. said: "When Asian students were picked out, they simply turned their back and when students reported to them, they did not document the incident.”

Lin continued: "We are outraged. The parents are very, very concerned."

Student and president of South Philadelphia High School’s Chinese-American Student Association, Wei Chen, claimed that black students have been bullying their Asian counterparts because of cultural differences.

Ninth-grader Chaofei Zheng, who came to the news conference with a black eye, said: "We are very afraid and feel helpless. We don't know what to do."

City officials though, have been quick to downplay the violence. James Golden, the school district's chief safety administrator said: "Despite what happened this week, that positive learning environment prevails."

However, South Philadelphia High School, which is 70 percent black and 18 percent Asian, has a very violent history.

There were 371 violent incidents reported by the school last year alone. During the 2007-2008 school year, the school reported 480 such incidents.

The school has been branded by the state of Pennsylvania as "persistently dangerous."

Regional superintendent Michael Silverman told the Associated Press the racial tensions "started in the community and came into the school. I don't know how you separate the school from the community."

Silverman also said that some of the suspended students may soon be facing criminal charges.

 

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