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From being bullied in Dunwoody
to honored in New York
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
C onsidering his role in
bringing policy change
to more than 100,000
DeKalb County students,
his experience with bullying, his
religious and cultural affiliation,
his portrait being featured in an
upcoming New York art gallery, and
his willingness to stay positive, it’s
safe to say Japjee Singh, 17, is
not your average Dunwoody High
School senior.
Singh follows Sikhism, a religion
founded in the Punjab region of
Asia more than 500 years ago.
Today, Punjab covers parts of
eastern Pakistan and northern
India. Sikhs—someone who
practices Sikhism—have played
major roles in American history
since arriving on the United States
shores in the early 1900s.
While Sikhism’s founding
principles seem to be easy to relate
to—meditation on God (prayer),
earning an honest living (truth), and
sharing with others (kindness)—
Sikhs have faced discrimination due
to the color of their skin and type of
dress, as Singh’s story attests.
“Everyone’s middle school
is crazy,” Singh said. “It’s full of
drama. Things are changing.
People are changing. Everything is
overdramatic. But in eighth grade,
for me, it escalated.”
As a Sikh, Singh wears a
turban. Before that, he tied his hair
into a top bun. According to Singh,
these are signs of both religious
pride and generosity.
“All religions talk about hard
work, selflessness and honesty,”
Singh said. “We just display it
publicly and we’re proud to do it.
The Sikh identity is to dress for
success. You shine your turban and
beard out and we can always tell if
someone does not tie it neatly.”
In October 2012, his eighth
grade year, Singh’s turban caused
him to be the victim of bullying. A
student repeatedly berated him
in front of class. He did not stop
throughout the day. After lunch,
the same student was waiting for
him in front of his next class and
a confrontation was the ultimate
result.
“This particular day, he
happened to come right in front of
me and slap me in the face,” Singh
said. “I’m remembering the ridicule
and then he slapped me. But the
way you react is what fuels the
next minutes. I just stood there.
Little did I know, it made him more
aggressive and was escalating it
further. Before I knew it, a group
surrounded me and I was being
pushed back and forth. Eventually
he got tired of it, snapped, tackled
me into the class, and hit me.”
Singh was immediately knocked
out. His aggressor hit him several
times before getting up and leaving
as if nothing happened.
Singh sustained broken
bones and bruises on his chest,
face and torso. He was forced
to miss approximately 40 days
of school and go through two
surgeries. Before that, however,
he was suspended for being the
aggressor and forced to sit through
questioning.
“My dad’s first thought was,
‘Why haven’t you sent for the
ambulance yet?”’ Singh said. “They
did not react to the policy the way
they were supposed to.”
While the aggressor was
suspended for five days, DeKalb’s
student code of conduct suggests
more action should have been
taken. The minimum punishment
for battery, which states “students
will not cause substantial or visible
bodily harm such as substantially
blackened eyes, substantially
swollen lips or other facial or bodily
parts,” calls for a mandatory 10-day
suspension with a contract.
See Singh on Page 19A