Asians tell of anguish over S. Phila. attacks

Hao Luu's troubles began Dec. 2 when, Asian activists say, he was accosted in the hall of South Philadelphia High by a student who yanked the earphones out of his ears.

After school that day, Luu was followed by 10 to 15 students and beaten so badly that he vomited.

What followed over the next two months outraged Asian advocates: Luu was ordered transferred from the school, despite having won his case at a disciplinary hearing. He was accused of being in a gang, an allegation strongly denied by his family. At one point, officials accused Luu of taking part in a fight in 2008 - a time when he was living in Virginia, according to his family and supporters.

The case of Luu, a 17-year-old immigrant student from Vietnam, shines light on how the school district is handling students accused of playing a role in the violence that enveloped the school Dec. 3.

Yesterday, Luu's grandmother Suong Nguyen testified to the School Reform Commission, seemingly stunned by how her grandson's life has unfolded since Dec. 2. She was one of 19 to address the commission on the attacks on students at South Philadelphia High.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen," she said tearfully, speaking through a translator, "reveal Hao's case and help him clear from the wrongful accusations. . . . We would like to request for Hao's reputation to be restored."

She said that principal LaGreta Brown had promised to send a letter clearing Luu of any wrongdoing or gang affiliation, but that none had been received.

Commission Chairman Robert L. Archie Jr. told about two dozen Asian students who crowded the hall that the district had met "virtually all" their requests for change.

Then Archie apologized, saying, "No student should go to school to be attacked or harassed ever, in any classroom, or hallway, or staircase, or lunchroom in this district."

Commissioner Johnny Irizarry appeared troubled by the students' testimony. He asked each if he or she had been interviewed as part of the district inquiry conducted by retired federal judge James T. Giles. Most said they had not.

"Mr. Archie, I would just like to request that the staff provide us an explanation for this," he said of the accounts by the Asian students and Luu's grandmother.

"Rest assured, they will," the chairman responded.

After the meeting, Archie declined to comment further on Luu's case and all others.

Ellen Somekawa, executive director of Asian Americans United, thanked Archie for his apology, but said more was needed. "The school district response has been to distort and minimize, dismiss, deny, and obscure the scale and nature of these attacks," Somekawa said.

One student, sophomore Bach Tong, described the difficulty of being told by school officials to move on.

"It's not only about the physical problem that we had by violence, it's about fear," he said. "The fear of being isolated and ignored, the fear of not knowing when is my turn to be attacked."

On Dec. 3, about 30 Asian students were beaten in a daylong series of assaults by groups of mostly African American classmates. Seven Asian students went to hospitals. A district inquiry blamed the violence on racial tensions and unsubstantiated rumors that arose from altercations between Asian and African American students the previous day.

But Luu's family and supporters say one of those incidents was no rumor - it was an attack. They say Luu has no criminal or disciplinary record. They contend that officials suspended him and ordered him transferred based on the Dec. 2 incident.

The account of Luu's case was detailed to The Inquirer by his attorney and supporters.

His story was also outlined yesterday to the commission by his grandmother.

About 1:30 p.m. Dec. 2, they said, Luu and his friends were walking to class when the African American student confronted him. The boy said something; Luu didn't understand.

The other student gathered a large group and followed Luu and his friends, but security guards blocked the group. After eighth period, Luu and five friends reported the incident to school police.

After school, at 3:15 p.m., Luu, his brother, and three friends were walking home when they noticed that they were being followed by 10 to 15 students, including some who had harassed them earlier.

As the Asians were attacked, Luu and his brother ran to a drugstore, where they were chased and beaten again.

The next morning, Luu's grandmother went to school and filed an incident report.

Neither she nor Luu was contacted by school administrators, advocates said. Luu told his family that he believed he could identify at least three attackers.

Capt. Larry Nodiff, commander of South Division detectives, said last night that while he could not comment on crimes involving juveniles, police had no report that matched the circumstances as described on Dec. 2.

"Anyone who is a victim of any criminal conduct should dial 911 immediately, and allow a Philadelphia police report to be made," he said. "We'll conduct a full and complete investigation."

On Dec. 3, the school issued a suspension notice against Luu - but it did not reach the boy or his family, they said. His suspension began the next day.

A suspension hearing took place six days later, but Luu did not attend because he didn't know about it.

He returned to school Dec. 16, but was denied admittance.

He returned to school Dec. 18 only to learn that he faced a transfer hearing.

At home, the family received a notice, in English, about the hearing - which Luu struggled to understand because of limited language skills.

The hearing was held Dec. 21, but Luu didn't attend, confused about the date, his supporters said. His disciplinary transfer was approved effective Jan. 6.

During class that day, Luu was called to the main office and told that he could no longer attend the school. Wali Smith, a community liaison at the school, told Luu that students had identified him as being involved in a fight Dec. 2.

Two days later, Luu and his family retained legal representation through the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Staff attorney Cecilia Chen contacted Rachel Holzman, the district assistant general counsel, to request a full hearing.

On Jan. 29, the hearing officer overturned the school's decision and reenrolled Luu, effective Feb. 2. Luu returned to school with his grandmother that day, but was told he wouldn't be allowed back. Instead, he faced a forced, non-disciplinary transfer.

When Chen, the attorney, reviewed the transfer documents, she saw that the Dec. 2 incident report was described as the "reason for transfer."

On Feb. 4, Chen e-mailed Holzman saying that what was described as a non-disciplinary transfer was in fact disciplinary - and already overturned.

Holzman responded that Luu was reenrolled at the school, advocates said. But later that day, they said, Holzman contacted Chen and requested a meeting with Luu's family about "his safety."

The next day, Holzman told Chen that she had been informed that Luu and his companions were part of a gang. And that if Luu returned to school, he would suffer gang retaliation.

On Feb. 16, concerned about the loss of his academic year, Luu enrolled at a private religious school.

Luu's grandmother demanded to see school administrators. At that March 2 meeting, officials said they had evidence that Luu had been involved in a fight outside school in 2008. They backed off from that assertion, Asian advocates said, when told that Luu was living in Virginia at the time.