Gay student expelled after bringing stun gun to school

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indianapolis school district has expelled a 17-year-old boy who contends he took a stun gun to his high school to protect himself from bullies who tormented him because he was gay.

Indianapolis Public Schools issued a statement Tuesday confirming the expulsion of Darnell Young from Arsenal Technical High School through the fall semester. Officials said he may return to the school on Jan. 7.

The openly gay student was suspended April 16 after he brought a stun gun to school, raised it in the air and fired it to scare away six students who threatened to beat him during a passing period.

"While the district does not condone bullying, it also does not allow weapons to be brought on our school campuses for any reason. Students who violate this rule will be held accountable," the IPS statement said.

Young's mother, Chelisa Grimes, said she gave her son the stun gun to protect himself from students who repeatedly called him names and threatened to beat him up. She said she and her son repeatedly complained to school staff about bullying, but staff members told them that Young called attention to himself by accessorizing his outfits with Grimes' jewelry and purses. She expressed shock at her son's expulsion.

"I couldn't believe that they did it. They really kicked him out," Grimes told The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/IS3KgB).

Grimes and Young can appeal his expulsion to the school board and the courts, but Grimes said they haven't decided what to do.

Young, a junior, will miss the first semester of his senior year. He said he plans to get his GED and go to college.

The Indiana Youth Group, which advocates on behalf of gay youth, issued a statement calling the expulsion "the latest example of the school administration's failure to take the problem of bullying seriously."

"We must prioritize creating a safe learning environment, rather than punishing students for actions that result out of our failure to do so," Mary Byrne, executive director of the group, said in the statement.

Some of Young's supporters in Indianapolis are planning a rally before a school board meeting May 15 to pressure officials to do more to prevent bullying. School Board member Samantha Adair-White has called for an independent investigation into the incident, but she said last week that she wasn't sure if enough school board members would support her request.
------
Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com