Gay Student Told the Bullying He was Subjected to was His Fault for Acting so Gay

The Indy Star reported Wednesday that a Tech High School Student, Darnell "Dynasty" Young faces expulsion  for carrying a stun gun to school.  The expulsion hearing was set for sometime Wednesday afternoon.

I'm sure Darnell probably got expelled.  You carry a weapon like a stun gun to school and you're going to get expelled, no matter you're reasons.  Even if he felt he was in danger, the school has to take the "two wrongs don't make a right" approach and hand down a severe punishment.

But that's not what you should care about in this story.  You should care about the fact that the bullying was allowed to continue, without any apparent intervention.  You should care that the bullying was allowed to continue without any apparent investigation into it, despite the fact that the school was informed about it, at the bare minimum, 10 times.

But mostly you should care about the way Tech Principal Larry Yarrell handled the situation.  You should be outraged that, when confronted with information about the bullying, Yarrell turned the tables and told young Dynasty that maybe he should just "tone down" his gayness a little bit by not accessorizing his outfits as much.  You should be outraged that Yarrell, much like an uninformed masogynist saying that a raped woman was "asking for it" because of what she was wearing, seemed to think that Dynasty was somehow at least partly to blame for how he was treated at school.

In a world where the LGBT community is, albeit slowly, becoming more accepted by our society, you would think that a high school principal would know how to handle these situations just a little bit better.

Some of the quotes in the Star article from Principal Yarrell and the school are enough to infuriate and disgust you with his ignorance.

"If you wear female apparel, then kids are kids and they're going to say whatever it is that they want to say," Yarrell said.

 'If you're going to dress the way you're dressing, people are going to say things. If you could tone it down as much as possible, then people won't have as much to say.' 

His behavior and the way he dressed called attention to himself, they said. He accessorized his outfits with his mother's purses and jewelry. (second hand quote)

 Obviously, Yarrell is out of touch with how to deal with one of the most common causes of bullying in today's teen society.  If he is so out of touch that he can't properly deal with this major issue...so out of touch that he blames the victim...then Yarrell needs to consider another profession.

I hope you will join me in calling for the resignation or termination of Tech High School Principal Larry Yarrell.  Our youth don't need to be told that it's their fault.  Our youth don't need those leading our schools to turn such a blind eye to what's going on in their building that parents feel the need to arm their students to protect themselves.

Larry Yarrell is completely out of touch.  And he needs to go.

You can contact Tech High School, including Principal Yarrell, via the contact information on this page.

You can contact IPS via the information on this page. Their switchboard number is 317-226-4000.

Please also leave your comments on the Star article linked above.