HOW WE SEE IT Bullying Case Gets Its Day In Court

WHAT’S THE POINT? We’re glad the Billy Wolfe school bullying case will get a public trial and a jury decision, whatever the outcome.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

— T he Billy Wolfe school bullying case is finally getting its day in court.

We’re glad. Apparently, there’s no other place that can get to the bottom of this.

William “Billy” Wolfe would have been a graduating senior this year if he’d successfully completed his courses in public school. He contends he suffered verbal and physical abuse from other students because he didn’t conform to their sexual stereotypes of masculinity.

Wolfe’s attorneys said the school district did nothing to stop the harassment even though they signed an earlier agreement with the federal government promising to investigate and stop all forms of sexual harassment, regardless of the sex of the victim or the accuser.

Wolfe’s family is suing for $2.5 million. His story made the New York Times in March 2008. There’s been a lot of talk since then about how there are two sides to every story. Wolfe’s student records are private. Court testimony won’t be. We’re finally going to hear the full story in a public trial.

Attorneys for the school dispute Wolfe’s version of events, contending every incident reported was investigated and offending students were disciplined. In some instances, they were found to be baseless or both parties were found to be at fault, they say. Several times school officials called police and parents.

Wolfe, according to the school district’s attorney, had disciplinary problems and low grades when he moved into the district. The district lists more than a dozen incidents allegedly instigated by Wolfe against other students, including some of those accused of bullying Wolfe. Wolfe also had disciplinary issues with teachers and served a variety of in-school suspensions, according to the district.

We wonder whether the full disclosure of Wolfe’s case will reflect credit upon anyone.

Let’s suppose Wolfe provoked all of this right up to being knocked unconscious, as happened on one occasion.

We submit the young man was one determined victim if that’s the case.

Any provocation by Wolfe that was that serious - whether it was insults, sneers, or just keeping a really big chip on the shoulder - would have been serious enough to be subject to school discipline. If serious enough, the provocation could have served as grounds for expulsion.

If provocation was the problem, the district should have gotten a handle on it. Even somebody looking for trouble shouldn’t be allowed to find it in school. Billy Wolfe has the right to go to school and not be harassed. If he forfeited that right through provocation, then the other kids in his school had the right to not be provoked.

On the other hand, we note with interest the district’s claim that Wolfe’s parents didn’t raise their concerns in meetings with Wolfe’s special education teachers, appealed only two of Wolfe’s suspensions and didn’t report sexual harassment or the use of sexually related name-calling that allegedly happened at school.

We suspect this is not a black and white, truth or lies case that’s been brought to federal court. We’re glad it’s going before a jury. That appears to be where this belongs.

Casualties Of War

To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, the Benton County Daily Record is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.

Sgt. Robert J. Barrett, 20, of Fall River, Mass., died April 19 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when a suicide bomber attacked his unit. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment, Fall River, Mass.

Command Sgt. Maj. John K. Laborde, 53, of Waterloo, Iowa, died April 22 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered from a non combat-related incident. He was assigned to the 649th Regional Support Group, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 05/08/2010