Geneva mom reports son is victim of hate crime in middle school

GENEVA – A Geneva District 304 mother spoke to the school board Monday night about her son being the victim of a hate crime when he was physically assaulted in a middle school restroom and called a racial slur.

“I have worked in Geneva for 10 years. My family and I have been residents of Geneva for almost six years,” the mother, identified only as Kendra, said at the March 22 special meeting.

“My child attends Geneva Middle School South and this past week, he was the victim of a hate crime while in school,” Kendra said. “He was physically assaulted by two fellow students and called a derogatory term that is historically used when referring to Black Americans. After further conversation with my son, I discovered that he was called (the racial slur) for almost a month by this student.”

The mother said she was in communication with the principal about this issue and how it will be handled, but it was not the first time this has happened to her son.

Last November, she said her son “was accosted in the restroom by another student that had a comment regarding Black Lives Matter. My son has expressed concern about being bullied more because of reporting of the incident.

“This concerns me and makes me wonder if this has happened to any other students in the Geneva school district and is not being reported because of fear of being retaliated against,” Kendra said. “In the meantime, I don’t want this to be taken lightly or swept under the rug. There needs to be transparency. We deserve to know that our concerns are not taken lightly and that those behave this way are held accountable.”

The mother told the board that the district’s principals and deans should learn the proper interventions when these situations occur.

“And maybe we shouldn’t be intervening – we should be proactive instead of reactive in these situations,” Kendra said.

Geneva resident Martha Paschke, who ran unsuccessfully for state representative last year, said she was motivated to speak up after learning about the racially motivated bullying against Kendra’s son.

“Six years ago, my friend’s son was bullied in the same exact way with anti-Semitic slurs – continuously – in the same school with the same principal, and it was not addressed properly, then,” Paschke said. “This is six years later and it’s still a problem. ... Not to mention that the response was lacking enough as to leave the parents upset and meanwhile use of the slur was continued.”

Paschke said with everything that has happened in the past year, students who overheard or saw the bullying still did not know the right thing to do is to report it immediately.

Paschke said the Illinois State Board of Education has new teacher preparation standards that will address the issue – but that is still years away.

“We need to do something now in our community and in our schools,” Paschke said. “We can’t keep sweeping this under the rug and pretending racism doesn’t exist in our town. It does. And we are all complicit when we don’t call it out when it occurs and openly work to address it as a community.”

Commenting on behalf of the district, Superintendent Kent Mutchler stated in an email, “While we cannot comment on any specific incident, racism has no place in our schools and is not tolerated.”

“In Geneva 304, we are committed to providing students with a safe and comfortable learning environment,” Mutchler’s email stated. “If such incidents occur, our response is based upon these principles and handled through the appropriate procedures. We also use the actions of students as opportunities for education for the students involved and for others.”

“We take a proactive approach by teaching respect, value, and dignity for everyone,” according to Mutchler’s email. “All individuals are encouraged to report concerns to a staff member so that appropriate and immediate action can be taken. Concerns also can be reported through our Safe Schools Tip Line on our website.”

The Safe Schools Tip Line, at geneva304.org, urges that, “If you suspect or become aware of anyone planning or acting in any unsafe manner, please let us know. This includes, but is not limited to, the use or possession of drugs, knives, or guns and/or a threat to bully, assault or injure self or others.”

Those with legitimate and genuine concerns can call a building principal by phone or email or call 630-463-3990 and complete a form that asks what school is involved, an area to describe a concern and the option to give a name and contact information.

The Safe Schools Tip Line is not monitored 24/7 and the person reporting should call 911 if it is an emergency, according to the website.