The following story on bullying really got my undies "in-a-bunch", especially since my own daughter was recently the victim of a bully at school.
The Clovis Unified school board voted unanimously Wednesday night to expel a Buchanan High student, concluding that a wrestling move he used on a teammate during practice constituted sexual battery and bullying.
The expulsion came the same day Hill appeared at a pretrial hearing in Fresno County Superior Court, where he faces a criminal charge of sexual battery. Sources say prosecutors want to resolve the case before Hill's trial on Jan. 27.
The alleged victim told Clovis police that Hill rammed two fingers into his anus during wrestling practice in July. Hill, however, told police he was employing a legitimate wrestling move called a "butt-drag" when he grabbed the boy's butt cheek -- not his anus. Buchanan wrestling coach Tyrell Blanche and several teammates said Hill never would have intentionally hurt another teammate.
But the alleged victim and his parents testified that Hill had bullied his younger teammate, made a threatening gesture during weight lifting, and then rammed two fingers up the boy's anus during practice to humiliate and abuse him. Fortunately another wrestler submitted a sworn declaration that he saw Hill make a threatening gesture during weight lifting.
So unless I miss my guess we are talking about a stand out senior wrestler and his coach and teammates coming to his rescue, rather than investigating the freshman's claims of bullying. How can we expect schools to identify and confront bullying if certain administrators aren't willing to look at both sides of an issue?
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