A t l a n t a ’ s P r e m i e r S o u t h A s i a n N e w s p a p e rJune 2013 Free Copy Tel: 404-235-4998 www.NRIPulse.com

Dekalb School District Agrees ToAddress Bullying Of Sikh Student

NRI PULSE NEWS DESKAtlanta, GA: In an unprecedented victory for

victims of school bullying, the U.S. Department ofJustice (DOJ) entered into a landmark settlement agree-ment with the DeKalb County School District (SchoolDistrict) in Atlanta, on behalf of a Sikh victim.

Students andteachers at PeachtreeCharter Middle Schoolwill soon undergo anti-bullying and harass-ment training, after astudent from the Sikhcommunity was bul-lied repeatedly.

For years, thevictim was reportedlytaunted, mocked at,verbally abused within school premises and onthe school bus traveling to and from home to school,with terms like “Osama,” a “terrorist,” and “curryhead,” told he has a “bomb on his head,” and“Aladdin” – because of the turban he wore on hishead– and to “go back to your country,” reportsAmerican Bazaar.

The United States Attorney’s Office for theNorthern District of Georgia and the Justice De-partment in Washington, D.C. have reached asettlement agreement with DeKalb County (GA)School District to resolve the Department’s in-vestigation into allegations of religious and nationalorigin harassment of a Sikh middle school student.

The Counsel for the Sikh Coalition filed the com-plaint with the Department on behalf of the Student,alleging that he had been repeatedly targeted with verbaland physical harassment because of his Sikh faith.

The complaint alleged that the school districtfailed to respond appropriately to numerous inci-dents, that disciplinary measures had been inef-fective in ending the harassment, and that the Stu-dent feared continued harassment. The school dis-trict denied the allegations but agreed to work co-operatively with the Department to resolve the

complaint and protectthe Student.

The settlementagreement, which willbe in effect until theend of the 2014 2015school year, requiresthe school district towork with a consult-ant to develop andimplement anti ha-rassment training that

addresses religious and national origin bias at boththe Student’s middle and high school. In order toprepare for the Student’s transition to high school,the agreement also requires the school district tomeet with the student, his family, and administra-tors from his middle and high school to identifykey school personnel who can support the Stu-dent should any incidents of harassment occur athis new school.

“Every student should be able to attendschool without fear of being harassed and bulliedbecause of his skin color or religious beliefs,” saidUnited States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Iam encouraged by DeKalb County’s willingnessto take immediate steps to ensure that studentsattending DeKalb County schools are free of thistype of harassment and bullying.”

Ranadive Buys Sacremento KingsWashington: (IANS) Indian American soft-

ware magnate Vivek Ranadive, whohas become the first person of In-dian descent to become the ownerof a major US basketball team, plansto build the Sacramento Kings intoa global brand.

“It’s going to be exciting,” hetold the USA Today after securingan agreement to buy 65 percent ofthe Kings from the Maloof familyfor a National Basketball Associa-tion (NBA) league-record valuationof $535 million.

“We’re going to build a global

brand with the Kings. We’re going to give the fansthe product that they deserve,” theminority owner of Golden State War-riors said on achieving his longtime goal.

Ranadive, who left India as a 17-year-old to attend MIT and laterfounded his $4 billion company in Sili-con Valley, Tibco, has the sort of com-petitiveness and deep pockets thatcould lead one of the league’s mostpoorly run franchises back to respect-ability, the USA Today said. “I’m goingto do what I do in my business, which issurround myself with people that are waysmarter than me,” Ranadive said.