Over the past thirty years, school discipline tactics have hanged drastically. According to a study out of Texas called, Breaking School Rules, the number of student suspensions in the U.S. increased from 1.7 million in 1974 to 3.3 million in 2006. 

Part of the increase is due to legislation, like the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, and the Gun Free School Zones Act. Both went into effect in the 90's, and schools saw a rise of zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools. However, researchers, educators, and policymakers are looking at the current suspension numbers and seeing problems with the population of students that is hit the hardest by these suspensions.

According to the Texas study, the rate of black students suspended at least once rose from 6 to 15 percent, while the rate of white students suspended rose from 3 to 5 percent.

A recent Washington Post article reports that more than 35,000 students in the Washington suburbs were suspended or expelled from school last year, and more than half of them were black students. In addition, 71 percent of all suspensions for insubordination were given to black students, which means the offenses were more likely to be subjective, as opposed to offenses like being caught with a firearm on campus.

The federal government recently announced the “Supportive School Discipline Initiative” to address the high numbers of suspensions and the “school to prison pipeline,” by ensuring that discipline practices in schools maintain students’ civil rights and keep students in school as much as possible.

Danny Whittaker is a school counselor at Lovonya DeJean Middle School in Richmond, CA who sees the problem first hand. In 2008, DeJean had a violence-suspension rate of 41 percent. When Whittaker accepted the position, he thought he would be doing academic counseling, but has accepted his role as school disciplinarian. “Honestly, I don’t have time to do both... If kids need to talk to me about personal stuff, sorry I don’t have time.” said Whittaker. At the beginning of this school year, there was at least one fight per week, he said.

As I helped my seventh period class get started on their journal entry, I heard a commotion in the hallway. I was twenty-three years old and it was my second year teaching eighth grade English. I looked outside my door to see the Dean of Students walking towards my room, accompanied by the eighth grade science teacher.

Apparently, one of the students in my classroom had stolen several kinds of birth control from the sex-ed lesson.

Everyone stopped writing their journals. “I’m going to wait here until someone gives it back,” said the science teacher. They waited. And waited.

I could see shifty eyes all around the room. Everyone knew who had taken it.

“Okay, everyone take a piece of paper, and anonymously write down WHO stole the pills.”

But no one wrote anything down.

 Since the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Richmond, local politicians have submitted two proposals that would change the age of the witness responsibility act. Currently the act makes it a crime to not report attacks committed on kids under 14 years of age. 

Seven people have been arrested in connections to the Richmond gang rape back in October. The seventh suspect, 43 year-old John Crane, turned himself in on Tuesday night after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Police say he raped the girl while she was unconscious.He was booked on felony sexual assault in connection to the brutal gang rape and beating of a 16-year-old Richmond high student.

Three juveniles have been charged as adults with rape by a foreign object while acting in concert.

"Ortega has been charged with forcible rape while acting in concert, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, and robbery. Montano has been charged with forcible rape while acting in concert and rape by a foreign object while acting in concert. Torrentes has been charged with rape by a foreign object of a person unable to resist due to intoxication, rape by a foreign object while acting in concert and rape while acting in concert..."

(via KTVU)

 Previously:

State Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco has announced a proposal that would grant jail sentences for witnesses who do not report sex crimes or violent attacks on victims under the age of 18. This is the second proposal of this kind proposed in recent months. The proposals come after the gang rape that took place in Richmond, CA in October where almost twenty people watched without calling the police while a girl was raped, beaten, and robbed.

The first proposal was from Assemblyman Pedro Nava, and requires people to report any crime regardless of the age of the victim. Nava’s bill is set to undergo its first hearing on Tuesday by the Assembly Public Safety Committee. Currently, California law requires people to report a violent crime against children ages 14 or younger. The penalties for not following the law, which would remain the same under Nava's proposal, is up to six months of jail and a fine of $1,500.

The difference between Yee and Nava's proposals is age. Yee’s proposal states that the victim should be under 18, meaning a crime committed on a 19 year-old would not fall in this proposal. Nava’s proposal does not include an age limit. In the Richmond attacks, the bystander law was unenforceable because the victim was 15-years-old.

What do you think -- should there be an age limit?

21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez was one the young people first taken into police custody in connection to the Richmond gang rape, but he was later released by police. Now Rodriguez, a key witness to the rape, is missing.

Rodriguez has been missing since Dec 6th. Family members of Rodriguez say that he received death threats after speaking to ABC 7 news. He told reporters he was skateboarding the night of the incident and saw the rape take place. He said he tried to help the victim after the assault was over. Richmond Police Sergeant Bisa French told KCBS news that they are concerned and that searching for Rodriguez is not easy because he does not have a permanent residence.

Check out the interview Rodriguez did with ABC 7 news. The interview also includes another witness—who doesn’t show his face because he is afraid something may happen to him.
 

State Assemblyman Pedro Nava, Democrat from Santa Barbara is sponsoring legislation that would make it a crime to not report a violent attack if you witness it. This proposal was inspired by the gang rape that took place in Richmond, CA in October where almost twenty people stood around and watched a girl get raped, beaten, and robbed without calling the cops. Currently the law requires people to report a violent crime against a 14-year-old child. The law was unenforceable in the Richmond case because the victim was a 15-year-old.

According to Nava, the new law would require people to report any violent crime regardless of age. The penalties would be the same as the current law-- six months in jail and a fine of $1,500. Nava's proposal is expected to be looked at by the assembly committee as early as January. Nava was quoted by The San Francisco Chronicle as saying, "I cannot imagine any reasonable opposition to it - when you think about it, spectators at a dog fight face heavier penalties than witnesses (to a rape) do under the current law."

I still find it hard to believe though a child is still under their parents' supervision until the age of 18, our current law only protects kids under 14.

Previously:

CQ Press has released its annual rankings for the most crime-ridden cities in America, and the results show that mid-sized cities are earning the top non-honors this year. The rankings- complied from FBI data- are based on per-captia incidents of aggravated assault, rape, robbery, murder, burglary, larceny, arson and motor vehicle theft.To make the cut a city had to have a population of at least 75,000.

Oakland, CA- where our headquarters are located- has the distinction of ranking 3rd, the same position that it held last year. Also cracking the top 20 in the Bay Area is the City of Richmond coming in at #14. Longtime observers of the Bay Area's underworld will note that these rankings will likely add fuel to the fire of the long-term Oakland/Richmond criminal bragging rights rivalry.

SYNDNEY, AUSTRAILIA-- A group of former and current students from the University of Sydney created a “pro-rape” group on Facebook. The group was created under the sports and recreation section on Facebook. The group describe themselves as “anti-consent.” The group’s page was taken down in October but had been up and running since August.

“The male students, mostly from the elite, all-male St Paul's College, initially ensured the ''Define Statutory'' group had an open, public profile, and proudly displayed their membership on their personal Facebook pages.” via The Sydney Morning Herald

It’s disappointing to hear there are actually young people bold enough to display these feelings towards rape. Facebok allows users to stay connected and inform people throughout the world, but is this taking that concept to the extreme?

This year we’ve learned about a 15-year-old being raped, beaten, robbed by as many as 10 people while more than a dozen other watched and captured the raped on their phone—without calling 911.

I’m not sure what part of rape is intriguing to those students but it’s definitely something it requires some kind of therapy.
 

Students at  Richmond High, where a 15-year-old girl was gang raped, are condemning their peers' comments that "it’s her fault.”

At a vigil for the victim of the October 24th rape and beating, some students, including young women, hinted that they fault the victim because of rumors about her sexual history. Some students, like 17-year-old Luis Gastelum said if a girl, “...goes to a dark alley, you’re basically, not asking for it, but something was gonna happen." Sixteen-year-old Briseida Rodriguez also questioned the circumstances leading up to the rape. “Why would she be over there with all them guys? Knowing that the homecoming is in the gym, not over there, so that’s why I think it’s her fault.”

And they're not only faulting the victim for her own troubles, but they're pointing to the entire incident as one that will put a damper on their high school experience. Rodriguez said her parents have become more strict after the incident, and she feels it's unfair. Fourteen-year-old Perla Posadas' parents are also restricting her freedom because of the incident. "It doesn’t feel good because these are my school dances and to not be able to attend them, that wouldn’t be cool with me.”