District stands by its handling of violence

A grandmother who testified yesterday before the School Reform Commission said that her grandson was brutally beaten at South Philadelphia High School on Dec. 2 but that the 17-year-old was suspended and not let back into school because of incorrect rumors that he was in a gang.

But school officials painted a different picture of the student, Hao Luu, a native of Vietnam. They say that Luu was a troublemaker who got into a fight with another student and chose not to come back.

"The school has to clear Hao's record," the grandmother, Suong Nguyen, said through an interpreter. "[Security official Wali Smith] accused Hao of being in a gang. This makes Hao's parents and grandmother very sad and disappointed because of your inaccurate accusation."

Nguyen said her grandson was beaten up in one of the attacks on Asian students in early December that have drawn the attention of several state and city agencies.

About a dozen Asian students and community organizers testified yesterday that a retired judge who probed the incidents for the district failed to interview all victims and witnesses, and wrote an inaccurate report of what had been said by those he interviewed.

The district stands by the findings of the report.

Before the statements were given, SRC Chairman Robert Archie apologized for the students' ordeal, then reminded the group how the district had complied with their requests to ensure their safety in the wake of the attacks, including adding security cameras and personnel.

Seven students were sent to hospitals after the daylong attacks in and around the school on Dec. 3. Rumors of an altercation between Asian and African-American students from the previous day sparked reprisals, according to the probe's report.

Eight of the 18 students who were suspended are Asian, although two of the suspensions have been overturned, said a district spokeswoman.

Luu, one of about 30 students who boycotted the school for eight days in protest of the district's response, had been transferred to an alternative school for his reported role.

His grandmother, Nguyen, said that school officials said he couldn't return because of a rumor that he had been in a gang.

Nguyen said that Southern's principal, LaGreta Brown, later told the family that she would clear Luu of any involvement in the incidents. They are still waiting, Nguyen said.

"Review Hao's case and clear him from wrongful accusations," said Nguyen, who claimed that Smith said that the school couldn't keep Luu safe.

A district spokesman said that they will look into Nguyen's complaint.

But Smith, the security official, who met with Luu and his grandmother, said that the district had offered Luu the right to come back but that he had refused.

"[Luu] is playing this part that he's an innocent guy," he said. "Everybody knows if he went in there tomorrow, they would go after him."