Injured GSA president describes a year of brutal school bullying

A 17-year-old senior at a high school in Chino, California was assaulted after a meeting of the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance club. Citing year-long bullying and harassment, the student and his mother are now fighting to ensure administrators are held accountable for alleged inaction.

According to The Advocate, the assault occurred on September 6 at Ruben S Ayala High School following a “club rush” event to foster interest in school organizations. It was as the GSA president (who is remaining anonymous to protect his privacy) was cleaning up that a male student flipped the GSA table, causing the president to fall backwards into a potted plant, injuring his back.

He was later taken to urgent care, where doctors diagnosed him with back strain. As a result, he has had to take time out of track and field practice and weight training.

The assailant was suspended, but the school has given no information beyond that. “They won’t tell us what really happened to him,” the student’s mother, Veronica Garcia, said. “It’s been the same story for the past year — no transparency, no accountability.” The sheriff’s department has confirmed they’re investigating the incident.

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Garcia went on to detail the student’s year-long struggle with bullies. Starting shortly after he had become comfortable being out as gay at school, the student endured months of verbal abuse, and he found little support from staff. Despite securing a no-contact order, the student was placed in the same classroom as his bully. It took multiple calls from the student and his mother to get the school to honor the no-contact order.

In another notable incident, the band director pulled the student into his office to discuss his dating life. He was interrogated over a rumor that he was dating another male student and told that dating was not allowed, despite other straight band students openly dating. This led Garcia to make a Title IX discrimination complaint, and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights confirmed the merit of their allegations.

Both the student and his mother trace the hostile climate to the school district board president Sonja Shaw, who has pursued an anti-LGBTQ+, so-called “parental rights” agenda. “The school district is pushing this anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, and that’s trickling down to the school,” said Garcia. “My son’s safety doesn’t seem to be a priority for them.”

“Sonja Shaw and people like her are making it harder for us to be ourselves at school,” the student added. “They say they want to protect kids, but what they’re doing is making school more dangerous for LGBTQ+ students like me. It feels like they don’t care about us, and that’s scary.”

Despite the attack on the GSA, the president is not backing down in advocating for other students. “I know other kids at my school look up to me, especially those who aren’t ready to be as open about who they are,” he said. “I feel like I have to be strong for them, to show them it’s possible to be yourself even when it feels like the world is against you.”

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