http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/cair-wants-sensitivity-trainin g-for-schoolchildren/
<http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/cair-wants-sensitivity-traini ng-for-schoolchildren/> CAIR Wants Sensitivity Training For Schoolchildren Kids will be kids. Name calling and food fights are a just a part of growing up. We have all experienced events like these, but, of course, we didn't have CAIR making a Federal case out of every little incident. Rights group seeks harassment inquiry A Blaine middle school says it will investigate allegations that Muslim students were taunted and that their complaints were mishandled. By Pamela Miller, <http://www.startribune.com/614/story/1162348.html> Star Tribune A girl who wears an Islamic head scarf says a fellow student at Blaine's Westwood Middle School called her a terrorist. Two other Muslim students say food and milk were thrown at them in the cafeteria. And an assistant principal who talked with a Muslim student about the lunchroom spat allegedly made inappropriate references to Islam. CAIR-Minnesota, a civil rights group, raised the allegations Thursday and asked the school to investigate. The request got a swift reply from Don Helmstetter, superintendent of the Spring Lake Park School District, who called the allegations "serious" and said an investigation began minutes after he got a copy of CAIR's letter. According to CAIR chairwoman Lori Saroya, on Sept. 11, 2006, a student who wears the hijab was told by a boy she didn't know that "Muslims are terrorists." She reported the incident to a counselor but no action was taken, Saroya said. Westwood Principal Paula Hoff and a counselor met with the girl's parents and told them that it was an isolated incident and that sensitivity training would be considered. "The kids are friends now, but the boy told the girl that he hadn't been disciplined," Saroya said. The girl's parents also had asked to meet with the boy and his parents. No meeting or sensitivity training took place, Saroya said. Two other Muslim students say they have been taunted about their religion through the school year, and last month had food and milk thrown at them in the cafeteria, Saroya said. When a confrontation followed, only one student - a Muslim who had "tried to defend her friend" - was sent to the office, Saroya said. There, "the assistant principal said, 'Do Islam and the Qur'an say it's OK to call people bad names?' " Saroya said. "It's hard to imagine a Christian kid hearing that about the Bible." When parents complained to CAIR, Saroya wrote to Hoff seeking an investigation and sensitivity training for students and staff. Hoff was unavailable for comment Thursday. But Helmstetter said the allegations would be "actively investigated," with "appropriate action against any pupil, teacher, administrator or other school personnel" who has violated district policy calling for religious tolerance. He said the district's Muslim population has grown during the past 10 years but had no numbers because districts do not track students by religion. "It would be folly to say that there haven't been racial and cultural tensions that come up from time to time, because the kids are representative of a broader population," Helmstetter said. "But we take something like this seriously." Saroya said she was "very pleased" with his response. She said that although CAIR has received no similar complaints, she suspects Muslim students statewide are occasionally harassed. "Some sensitivity training at schools could really help head off this kind of thing," she said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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