The Youth, United, Will Never Be Defeated! DRUM Youth Statement at Discipline Code Conference

On March 2, 2015, DRUM youth members spoke out at an action coordinated by Dignity in School Campaign before the Discipline Code Hearing. Below is the statement they read at the action:

Today, we reflect on the organizing work of young people of color who have fought to dismantle New York City’s school to prison pipeline and the policies that have negatively impacted our lives.  Along with our allies of the Dignity in School Campaign, we welcome the improvements the Department of Education has made to the Discipline Code. In particular, we recognize how investing in restorative practices and developing measures for increased oversight and accountability through the Mayors Leadership Team on School Climate will chip away at pillars of racism and criminalization of young people of color, especially Black and Latino youth.

This subtle shift from ignoring the hostile school environment that exists becauses of punitive measures to acknowledging the need to do better for our young people is a positive one. It is a small victory that is the product of our organizing and movement work. But this step forward has only made us realize how long the path remains.

We are disappointed and upset that suspension for the infraction B21 for “willful defiance/insubordination” in the NYC Student Discipline Code has not been removed. This infraction is an inherently racist infraction. The fact that 53.1% of suspensions for this infraction are Black students and that it is the highest infraction in the number of suspensions for youth of color suggests that our education system views normal adolescent behavior by students of color as deviant and criminal. This is unacceptable.

We are equally dismayed to know that we will have another school year where guidance interventions will not be mandated and schools can continue to resort to the same Zero-Tolerance discipline policies that push out students into the School-to-Prison and Low-Wage Jobs Pipeline. As Asian students in the NYC public school system, this directly impacts us because of the high rate of bullying and harassment our community faces inside schools. Suspensions and arrests do not address the root causes of a situation and often makes it much worse for all parties involved. As an example in our community — if the person who bullied returns to their school after completing their punishment, often, they increase their animosity towards their victims. They have not learned why their actions or words were harmful. At the same time, students who are victims have also been suspended because they took action/retaliated against those bullying them. Because Zero-Tolerance discipline does not care about the “why” behind an action. And it does not provide lasting resolutions to conflicts. In fact, it creates a vicious cycle of punishment and divisions in our communities.

As Asian students, we are tired of being used as a wedge by our education system against Black/Latino students and the education, dignity and respect they deserve. It is time that our communities and our education system understand that when schools respond with Zero-Tolerance policies first, instead of guidance interventions and allow students to be suspended for “willful/defiance”, then they are sending the message that Black and Latino students are less deserving of an education than other communities. If we are mistaken in our understanding, we challenge the Department of Education to prove us wrong by mandating guidance interventions first for all infractions and remove suspensions for B21. This will be a leap of progress towards justice for all young people.

The youth, united, will never be defeated!

Signatories 

DRUM – Desis Rising Up and Moving

Ugnayan Youth for Justice and Social Change

CAAAV – Organizing Asian Communities

Endorsers

Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund (AALDEF)

CAIR-NY (Council on American-Islamic Relations – NY)

Mekong NYC