WINDSOR, Ont. — About 20 Tecumseh, Ont., high school students could face discipline after a red-headed schoolmate was kicked repeatedly Thursday as part of a bullying campaign inspired by the animated TV show South Park.
Gwendolyn Russell, 14, was kicked more than 20 times during Kick a Ginger Day, her mother said.
"I'm infuriated," said Samantha Russell. "There should be zero tolerance for something like this where students gang up on a kid."
Russell said she was travelling to her human resources job in Chatham, Ont., when her daughter called in tears around 8:20 a.m.
The Grade 9 student suffered bruises to her legs from blows that ranged from hard kicks to taps, Russell said.
Gwendolyn left school in mid-morning when she was picked up by her grandmother.
The large majority of kids involved in Thursday's incident were believed to be in Grade 9. Russell said at least four other red-haired girls also were kicked.
Gwendolyn, whose long bright red hair frames her pale, freckled skin, had problems with Kick a Ginger Day when she was in elementary school, her mother said.
Gwendolyn, whose long bright red hair frames her pale, freckled skin, had problems with Kick a Ginger Day when she was in elementary school, her mother said.
She stayed home from school last year on the designated day that her peers had assigned on Facebook or through online conversations.
What's 'Kick A Ginger Day'
"I think they get into a mob mentality and when in Grade 9, people are just trying to find their identity and not stand up," Russell said. "(Gwendolyn) is upset, she hoped this kind of thing wouldn't happen when she started high school."
Russell, who has not complained to police, said she hopes all the students who kicked her daughter will be suspended from school — not just a football game — to send a strong message.
What's 'Kick A Ginger Day'
- A Person with pale skin and red hair, who gets kicked or hit on the 20th of October.
- A kid is in school and someone kicks that kid for having the characteristics of a Ginger. Therefor it must be "kick A Ginger Day."
"Kick A Ginger" Day
Darcy Wintonyk
A nationwide event that encourages students to harass kids based on the colour of their hair is garnering serious attention from anti-bullying groups and parents.
The Facebook event "Natiaonal Kick a Ginger" day has almost 4,700 members across Canada and has sparked a rash of opinions in support and against on the social networking site.
The movement was started after an episode of the controversial animated show South Park advocated "Kick a Ginger" day Nov. 20.
The episode refers to red-headed people as "nasty" and "born with a disease."
Ottawa mother Juanita McNairn said she let her 13-year-old son stay home Thursday because he was so afraid.
"My son was beside himself," said McNairn. "He was delaying getting out of bed and when it came down to the crunch he just burst into tears and told me about the whole ginger thing."
McNairn said the students in her son's class told him all week they were planning to kick him when he arrived at school.
Anti-bullying advocate Rob Frenette said he was shocked when he found out about the group.
"We are very taken back that students would pick a certain group of people to harass due to their hair color," he told CTV News from New Brunswick.
Frenette said attacking someone based on their physical appearance could be considered a hate crime. He adds that social networking sites like Facebook that allow young people to group quickly makes a potential problem escalate quickly.
"This is definitely something that is growing globally unfortunately," said Frenette. "I think this needs to be looked at closely and quickly before it gets out of hand."
Irene Lanzinger, the president of the B.C. Teachers Federation, agreed.
"This is sometimes excused as a joke and we have to make sure we understand that it is never funny or acceptable to harm or harass another person," she said.
Lanzinger said that even though most kids may treat the "Kick a Ginger" day as a joke, some kids may escalate the level of violence. But she says there can be an opportunity to use this day as a lesson for kids.
"Teachers can ask kids what they think of it and make it into an acceptable debate," she says. "It's a good way to encourage each other and kids will always come to the conclusion on their own that you need to be respectful of each other."
A nationwide event that encourages students to harass kids based on the colour of their hair is garnering serious attention from anti-bullying groups and parents.
The Facebook event "Natiaonal Kick a Ginger" day has almost 4,700 members across Canada and has sparked a rash of opinions in support and against on the social networking site.
The movement was started after an episode of the controversial animated show South Park advocated "Kick a Ginger" day Nov. 20.
The episode refers to red-headed people as "nasty" and "born with a disease."
Ottawa mother Juanita McNairn said she let her 13-year-old son stay home Thursday because he was so afraid.
"My son was beside himself," said McNairn. "He was delaying getting out of bed and when it came down to the crunch he just burst into tears and told me about the whole ginger thing."
McNairn said the students in her son's class told him all week they were planning to kick him when he arrived at school.
Anti-bullying advocate Rob Frenette said he was shocked when he found out about the group.
"We are very taken back that students would pick a certain group of people to harass due to their hair color," he told CTV News from New Brunswick.
Frenette said attacking someone based on their physical appearance could be considered a hate crime. He adds that social networking sites like Facebook that allow young people to group quickly makes a potential problem escalate quickly.
"This is definitely something that is growing globally unfortunately," said Frenette. "I think this needs to be looked at closely and quickly before it gets out of hand."
Irene Lanzinger, the president of the B.C. Teachers Federation, agreed.
"This is sometimes excused as a joke and we have to make sure we understand that it is never funny or acceptable to harm or harass another person," she said.
Lanzinger said that even though most kids may treat the "Kick a Ginger" day as a joke, some kids may escalate the level of violence. But she says there can be an opportunity to use this day as a lesson for kids.
"Teachers can ask kids what they think of it and make it into an acceptable debate," she says. "It's a good way to encourage each other and kids will always come to the conclusion on their own that you need to be respectful of each other."
No comments:
Post a Comment