Many Hispanic students are targets of bullying
Many Hispanic students are targets of bullying in state
By Devona Walker
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64
Published: April 22, 2008
Mayra Sigala lives in a two-bedroom mobile home on a remote road behind Frontier City. The door to her room is wrapped in red and pink Valentines Day paper. Cupids and hearts encase her name. At times, she seems amazingly mature for her age. At others, she seems more insecure than most 15-year-olds.
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Bullying at other schools
The problem isn't specific to Edmond Memorial High School. Community leaders say this school year has been noticeably difficult for many first-generation students. Many students have to translate and navigate cultural complexities for their parents; the language barrier means their parents are unable to advocate for them at school. Rey Madrid, youth organizer for the League of United Latin American Citizens, says Hispanic youth are reporting these things across the metro area. It's something all the children of the youth council speak freely about when they meet. The head of the youth council told him she has been targeted because of her race at Westmoore High School.
"These children are getting bullied and they are getting angry,” he said. Madrid warned that for some kids bullying pushes them to drop out, join gangs or use drugs.
"Whenever kids at school pick on somebody, that child that gets picked on is going to look for security,” he said. "Kids don't always know how to work things out for themselves, and they turn to gangs for security. They turn to drugs to ease the pain.”
‘Supposed to be here'
Mayra Sigala was born in Oklahoma. Her parents were granted amnesty in 1986, as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act signed by President Reagan.
The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit undocumented immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before 1982 and had resided there continuously.
Contributing: Staff Writer Jesse Oliverez.
Related Topics:
Culture and Lifestyle, Language and Linguistics, Crime, Domestic Policy, Social Policy, Political Policy, Special Interest Groups, Politics, Social Issues, Immigration Policy, Hispanic and Latino Issues, Spanish Language, Gang Violence, Immigration
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But the reason this story isn't about black kids in white schools or white kids in black schools or Christian kids, or fat kids or mentally retarded kids, or poor kids, who have been and are still bullied in public schools is because the Oklahoman doesn't have an agenda that leans in their favor. The Oklahoman is owned and operated by liberal Democrats who want nothing more than to sell the citizens of this state on embracing and taking pity on people that have illegally invaded this state. The author of this article wants every citizen to feel guilty that HISPANIC kids are getting bullied, not all kids, just HISPANIC kids. The Oklahoman wants HB 1804 thrown out and its editors know that the ONLY way to accomplish that is to get the public to feel sorry for Hispanics. Wake up you easily manipulated drones!