Brody's Notes... Bullied High School Student Faces Expulsion Over Stun Gun Mom Gave Him

By Brody Levesque | INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- 17-Year-Old Darnell "Dynasty" Young, an Indianapolis High School Student, faced a private school district review board today in an effort to expel him after he discharged a stun gun on school property April 16, to scare off bullies intent on harming him he told school officials and police at the time.

Young- who is openly gay- a student at Arsenal Tech High School told the Indianapolis Star newspaper that his classmates cursed at him in the school hallways and taunted him with homophobic slurs, following him home from his bus stop and threatening to beat him up.

One night, as he walked home from his after-school job, they threw rocks at him. When Young and his mother, Chelisa Grimes, told school officials, she said, teachers and administrators seemed to blame him for being openly gay. His behavior and the way he dressed called attention to himself, officials claimed citing the fact that Young accessorized his outfits with his mother's purses and jewelry.

"They said that the problem was he was too flamboyant, with his bags and his purses and his rings," Grimes said. Desperate to protect her son from bullies, Grimes gave him a stun gun to carry, just in case. "I had to do something," she said. "They throw bottles and rocks at him." Now, reports the Star, Young faces expulsion from school. "It has been a nightmare," Grimes said. "I'm trying to fight for my baby's education."

Recent studies conducted by one advocacy organisation, Stomp Out Bullying, revealed that Nine of 10 LGBTQ students in American schools say they have been bullied at school or through online social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Young's mother told the Star that she knew her son was gay starting at an early age. She said she always was supportive of his sexuality. "Everybody in my family knew he was (gay), so we just loved him," she said. Young lived with his natural father in Arizona for about 10 years starting from the age of 7, returning home to Indianapolis last fall to live with his mother and twin brother Darrell. According to the family, Young, who has been openly gay since his freshman year of high school had experienced minor issues in his Arizona high school with most of his fellow classmates accepting him. The bullying and problems commenced almost immediately upon his return to Indiana last fall and enrolling at Arsenal Tech High.

His outgoing personality and unique accessories made him stand out from the other students. Even some of the other gay students were unfriendly, he said. The bullying started in October, he said. "All day I'd be on my guard," he said. "It never got better. It always got worse." Young broke down in tears when a rumor circulated that he performed sex acts in the bathrooms. He said he thought about committing suicide. His grades already had slipped from A's and B's to F's, and Grimes said he was losing weight. His problems at school seeped into his home life. He said the stress at school did not go away when he got home, so he would fight with his mother and siblings. He moved in with a friend and started missing school. More than a month later, he moved back with his mother and tried to get a fresh start at Tech. But the bullying continued, Young said. It happened every day. Students would bump into him in the hallways on purpose and call him names. Sometimes, they would taunt him in class.

State law defines bullying as: "Words or actions that are intended to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate or harm," which means that students do not have to be physically hurt in order to substantiate being bullied.

Indianapolis Public Schools' bullying policy reads: Bullying is defined as overt, repeated acts or gestures by a student or group of students with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate or harm another student or group of students. Bullying can take the form of spoken words, written or electronic communications, physical acts, or any other type of behavior that fits the definition above.

Students may not engage in bullying on school grounds, or while traveling to or from a school or a school activity, function or event. Further, bullying is prohibited off school grounds while using property or equipment provided by the school, or while attending a school activity, function or event.

The policy clearly states that Principals are responsible for informing students, parents, teachers, and staff that bullying will not be tolerated and will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension and expulsion. Further, principals are encouraged to engage students, staff and parents in meaningful discussions about the negative aspects of bullying. The parent involvement may be through parent organizations already in place in each school. If the complaint is dissatisfied with the process s/he can follow the aforementioned process outlined in the Anti-Harassment Policy.

The policy also says administrators are responsible for investigating "complaints, allegations or rumors of bullying.

According to Young and his mother, they lodged at least 10 formal complaints about bullying incidents but school officials did not formally investigate their complaints except for one which resulted in the bully being suspended. When mother and son asked for help about some students following Young home from the bus stop, officials told the pair they were unable to address that issue since the incidents occurred off school property. Worse according to Grimes was that in most cases, school officials insisted on using Young's sexuality with Larry Yarrell, the principal saying that Young should tone down his appearance.

"If you wear female apparel, then kids are kids and they're going to say whatever it is that they want to say," Yarrell said. "Because you want to be different and because you choose to wear female apparel, it may happen. In the idealistic society, it shouldn't matter. People should be able to wear what they want to wear." However, he said, no one was trying to blame Young for the bullying. "They're just trying to make his transition over here as easy as they possibly can," he said. "They've said, 'If you're going to dress the way you're dressing, people are going to say things. If you could tone it down as much as possible, then people won't have as much to say.’”

Finally after several months, Young's mother decided that the constant stream of complaints to school officials who seemed to be recalcitrant on the non-stop bullying took matters into her own hands to defend her son.

"If they weren't going to protect him," she said, "I'll protect him." One day, Young cried when Grimes asked him how his day was. He said the bullying was constant. She settled on a stun gun because it did not seem as dangerous or illegal as a knife or gun. Stun guns are not classified as deadly under Indiana state law, but they are prohibited on school property. Under Indiana law, a person must be at least 18 to possess a stun gun, and it is a misdemeanor to give a stun gun to a minor. Grimes claims she didn't know that when she bought the stun gun.

"We're not trying to hurt anyone," she told the Star, "we're just trying to protect him." 

Young said he carried the stun gun in his backpack for a few weeks without using it. On April 16, as Young walked between class buildings during a passing period, six students surrounded him. They called him names, cursed and threatened to beat him up, Young said. He pulled out the stun gun, pointed it in the air and fired it so it would make the noise. He said the students backed off, and he went to his next class. Minutes later, school police officers came into his class, cuffed him and found the stun gun. He was suspended and recommended for expulsion.

Young had an expulsion meeting today, which was closed to the public. The school and Young will give their accounts of what happened before an independent arbitrator. The arbitrator will review the case and make a decision within a few days. The decision can be appealed to the School Board and to the courts if necessary. The district also could refer Young's case to the Marion County prosecutor's office. Yarrell said the school doesn't plan to refer Young's case to the prosecutor, even though officials are recommending expulsion. Grimes said that if Young is expelled, she will appeal.

Read more at The IndyStar.Com.