Only Wayne

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Contents

Abstract

Early in 2001, Wayne Crue, a 7th grader, withdrew from Edison Middle School, Champaign, IL to attend Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School on the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota. Wayne is of Indian heritage, a fact he was aware of and eager to celebrate. His hairstyle, clothing and actions often reflected some of his heritage characteristics.
Wayne and his family moved to the Champaign community when he was in the 3rd grade, thus beginning a four and one-half year era of racist bullying. Throughout this era, Wayne was the victim of taunting, name calling and exposure to racist images. His classmates composed the most intimate circle of bullies but later the circle expanded to include teachers and administrators. The resolution to this reign of bullying occurred when Wayne’s family removed him from the local schools so that he could transfer to school in Minnesota.

Introduction

To Preserve the Story: An Experiment With the Wiki Format

This story is part of the Champaign-Urbana community history. Who tells it and which spin is chosen is also part of its history. When a particular researcher/author/journalist spins the story in conventional print media, it is perpetuated in that form (with possible "letters to the editor" and other feedback forums). However, soon the print becomes archived and the stories fade from the collective memory of a locale. The fading of stories is especially relevant in a transitional community like Champaign-Urbana where thousands of students move in, live a while, complete their studies and leave. As each leaves, a part of the story dissipates.
To help remedy these unfortunate trends, this wiki format enables all to read, contribute and keep the story alive. The longevity of this information is unknown, in the same way that it is unknown about any of cyberspace knowledge. Some of us, however, see this case as an interesting example of a frequent occurrence in schools, that is, racist bullying. I intend to keep using it as a focus in some of my masters degree courses at UIUC, and I suspect others will do the same.
This wiki format places an unusual pressure on its audience. Not only is the audience invited to read and acquire knowledge, but also to contribute to the story. If the ideas are unclear, incomplete, missing, erroneous, or whatever, then the audience SHOULD become the contributor. That is, click the Edit This Page button at the top and follow the simple webpage editing procedures. Don’t worry about messing it up since each entry is archived and can be retrieved easily. Even vandal entries are quickly taken care of. Thus, if you are inclined to disagree with information in a WikEd article, resist the temptation to remove it, but rather start your interpretation with something like this, “Another way to explain that idea, is…�?. Or, start a new WikEd topics page and develop your controversial point of view there.

Information Sources

This case study was primed by T. Anderson based on information collected several years ago by three journalists, Kaiser (2001), Southlyn (2001) and Wood (2001). However, the case should not stop with my retelling, rather all who know about the story should contribute, especially the principals. All principals were sent a letter explaining Only Wayne and inviting them to contribute. Hopefully, the story will become richer as principals, auxiliaries and interested audiences contribute. I will monitor this topic for a while under the guidance of two explicit strategies, 1. Seeing that Chief Illiniwek conflict materials are directed into the Chief Illiniwek page, and 2. Helping to resolve any "editing wars" that may develop.
Also, a General Discussion page about this topic can be linked with a click. Feel free to visit and join the flow of impressions.

The UIUC Chief Illiniwek Conflict as Background

An underlying force in this racist bullying story is the ongoing Chief Illiniwek conflict at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana (UIUC). This conflict revolves around the use of an Indian personhood to represent UIUC, especially its athletic teams. (Please note the use of "personhood". I chose this term because the use of "symbol" or "mascot" is part of the controversial underpinning discussed in Chief Illiniwek). This personhood is actually a Caucasian UIUC student who dresses in Indian-type garb and entertains by dancing heritage-type dance routines.
Many in the UIUC community have attributed wholesome characteristics to this Indian personhood, such as loyalty, trustworthiness, etc. Others in the UIUC community see the chief and his actions as demeaning and, in fact, disrespectful of the very peoples he purports to emulate.
For additional information about the Chief Illiniwek conflict, see Chief Illiniwek. The arguments in Chief Illiniwek are primed by contributions from Mr. Roger Huddleston, a local businessman, UIUC alumnus and former Chief Illiniwek, and Mr. Stephen Kaufman, professor of cell biology at UIUC. Their contributions are taken from a UIUC Board of Trustees Dialogue about the conflict delivered on April 14, 2000. Contributions about the Chief conflict entered on THIS page, will be transferred to the Chief page.

Introduction of the Principals

Wayne Crue

Wayne is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock tribe in Idaho and was adopted by Cyd and Ben when 6 weeks old. The family moved to Champaign when he was in the third grade and left when in the middle of his 7th grade. Wayne was the victim of racist bullying for much of the four and one half-year period. He demonstrated at athletic events with his parents and others against the use of the Chief personhood for entertainment purposes.

Cyd Crue

Ms. Cyd Crue is Wayne’s mother and at the time of the conflict was a doctoral student in sociology at UIUC. She was very interactive with the personnel of the two Champaign schools that Wayne attended. She filed racial harassment charges against a teacher at Edison Middle School and won her case. Also, she was head of the Illinois Chapter of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media. She completed her PhD and currently lives near Pocatello, ID.

Lee Roberts

Mr. Roberts was a middle school teacher of industrial arts and technology for 33 years. He has a masters degree from UIUC and has lived in the Champaign vicinity all his life. Lee took a stand against the racist bullying situation that he saw perpetrated on Wayne and declared his classroom to be a racism free zone. For example, students wearing T-shirts with racist insignia were required to turn them inside out in his classroom. Lee was reprimanded by his principal and superintendent for taking this stand and was eventually “encouraged�? to retire from the school district. Mr. Roberts was apparently the only teacher at Edison who tried to intercede on Wayne’s behalf in the racist bullying activities.

Kathy Alexis

Ms. Alexis was one of Wayne’s team teachers at Edison Middle School. She was an ardent supporter of the Chief in the local community and exercised her convictions about the Chief in her classrooms by distributing pro-Chief paraphernalia and engaging in multiple acts of racial prejudice, disparaging remarks and conduct irreparably harmful to Wayne (according to the hearing officer’s report). She had complaints filed against her and was ordered by the hearing officer to complete a racial-sensitivity training program and to expand on her teaching of American Indian history and culture.

Linda Lawrence

Ms. Lawrence was the middle school principal of Wayne, Mr. Roberts and Ms. Alexis. She tended to minimize the scope and effects of the bullying by rationalizing that 'we've just got one (Indian) in the school.' Also, she was characterized as being a person of good intentions and insightful ideas, but often ineffective in implementing them. Ms. Lawrence and Superintendent Michael Cain forced Mr. Roberts to allow students to wear Chief garb to his class even though doing so clearly was insulting, demeaning and dehumanizing to, at least, one of the students, Wayne. However, a consequence of the harassment complaints filed by Ms. Crue, was that pro- and anti-Chief posters and other propaganda in all district schools had to be removed, including the anti-Chief posters in Mr. Roberts' classroom. Also, the Chief issue could not be discussed by teachers in their classrooms.

A Retelling of the Story

Wayne Crue's family moved to Champaign and enrolled at South Side Elementary School in 1996 when he was in the 3rd grade. Even as a 9-10 year old he was teased and bullied by his peers. They would gang up on him, push him around and call him gay boy and barbie doll. Even the teachers looked on him as a deviant. His appearance was different in that he wore long hair that was often in one or two pigtails.
The ensuing discussions between Wayne's parents and the school personnel did not resolve the bullying and Ms. Crue opted to home school him during his 4th grade. In the 5th grade he returned to South Side School and the bullying continued. One boy referred to him as a 'stupid Indian savage' - an action that resulted in a partial day's suspension. Ms. Crue noted that there was a change in his personality over the several years of bullying in that he used to be outgoing but became more reserved and not as trusting of people.
In his 6th grade year, Wayne went to Edison Middle School. The school was organized around teaching teams of 3-5 teachers. It was in this middle school environment that the Chief conflict intensified. Many of the teachers and students were active pro- or anti- chief supporters and the conflict at the neighboring UIUC was heating up. For example, demonstrators, including the Crues, were showing up at athletic events to support their preference. At these events, fans hurled obscenities and beer at the Crues and other demonstrators. Meanwhile, the UIUC Board of Trustees (BOT) was sponsoring a dialogue on the Chief issue. Representatives from the UIUC and CU communities who represented the two positions were given 8 or so minutes to speak to the BOT and an audience of several hundred. Wayne and his mother delivered statements to that audience. See testimony for transcripts of their presentation at the dialogue sessions.
Also, during his 7th grade at Edison, Wayne experienced other racist bullying activities in that students began wearing "Save the Chief" stickers on their foreheads to taunt Wayne. Many of the stickers were distributed by Ms. Alexis, or other teachers. In addition, in a classroom activity when Mrs. Alexis asked the class for suggestions to name a homemade scarecrow for someone who would be a good role model, Wayne suggested Jim Thorpe, the famous Indian athlete. The teacher rejected this idea because "no one knows who he is", and accepted instead the suggestion of Chief Illiniwek from another student. This bothered Wayne in that his suggestion of ESPN's athlete of the century, Jim Thorpe, was rejected in favor of a fictitious Indian personhood. Also, Ms. Alexis was reported to have told him that he was not a very good representative of his people.
After such incidences, the Crues filed several racist harassment charges against Ms. Alexis. A consequence of one of the hearings was a required racial sensitivity training program due to multiple incidents of racial prejudice, disparaging remarks, and conduct irreparably harmful to a student.
Now, the story shifts to Mr. Roberts, the Edison teacher of Industrial Arts. Note, that Mr. Roberts and a few other teachers, such as art and music, were not members of teaching teams, as was Ms. Alexis and most other Edison teachers. However, Wayne and many other students took courses from Mr. Roberts. Thus, Mr. Roberts became aware of Wayne's situation as early as the fall semester of 1999 and declared his laboratory a racism free zone. This meant that students could not wear garb with derogatory words or images, such as portraits of the Chief. The district dress code strictly forbade garments with derogatory language, or those that may disrupt the education process or learning atmosphere. Mr. Roberts was convinced that Wayne's educational process was disrupted when having to sit across the lab counter from a Chief image.
To enforce the racism free zone, Mr. Roberts required all students to either remove garments with Chief portraits, or to wear their garments inside out. Most students complied with this requirement; however, one student refused on several occasions and was sent to the time out room. Consequently, one of the student's parents complained and accused Mr. Roberts of usurping his son's student's rights when he was prohibited from expressing his allegiance to the Chief. The matter proceeded through the Champaign School District administrative channels and resulted in a pronouncement from Superintendent Cain to Mr. Roberts, and all building principals. This pronouncement required that all Chief propaganda be removed from the schools (including some posters in Mr. Roberts’ classroom), but that students could continue to wear garb portraying the Chief. In addition, the Chief was not to be discussed in any classroom.
Approximately a semester later, Wayne withdrew from Edison and one and one-half semesters later Mr. Roberts was "encouraged" to retire.

Exceptions To The Story

The above story is an abbreviated version of those told by Southlyn (2001), Kaiser (2001) and Wood (2001). The author of this retelling tried hard to be faithful to these longer, widely publicized pieces. As expected in a controversial story such as Wayne's, there are other spins to be told. Some of them were told in various letters and columns in local papers. A few of them are referenced below – others will no doubt be contributed by the WikEd audience.
  • Edison parents and friends of Principal Lawrence defend her for her outstanding leadership. (Hagle, J & Hagle, P., 2001)
  • Edison parent defends Principal Lawrence and Ms. Alexis as an effective administer and fine teacher, respectively. Also, this parent accuses Roberts of ridiculing his students and not allowing free speech, and refutes the version of the Jim Thorpe story as portrayed above. (Mathews, Pat, 2001)
  • Edison students defend Principal Lawrence, Ms. Alexis and all of the Edison school. (Edison Students, 2001)
  • A former U.S. Naval Air Corps member accuses Roberts of giving Wayne bad counsel that made matters worse at Edison. (Rojek, Edmund C., 2001)
  • An Edison Librarian portrays Wayne as a young man with long thick hair who gets teased by a few kids, but is no angel and gives as good as he gets. She attributes Wayne's problems to his politically active parents who brought him to Champaign for political reasons. She accuses them of encouraging him to play the racist card with his teachers, by telling him that he didn't have to follow rules or listen to "white racist" teachers. (Corley, Kathy, 2001)
  • An Edison teacher defends Principal Lawrence as a caring and supportive administrator. He accuses Mr. Roberts of having a problem with Ms. Lawrence because she restricts his instructional flexibility and describes Wayne as a personable kid, but troubled. (Bechtel, Dan., 2001)
  • An Edison parent defends Principal Lawrence and the school. (Kelly, Lee A., 2001)
  • A community member thanked Superintendent Cain for his directive that schools remove Chief Illiniwek symbols, posters, etc. to the Champaign Board of Education. (Fleagle, Ruth, 2001)

Some Interpretations and Summaries

Is Wayne’s situation an example of Bullying?

Answering this question will require comparing events from this story retelling to a definition of bullying and see if they fit. Ken Rigby has taken a new look at some of the previous definitions of bullying. In his final analysis, Rigby proposes that “bullying involves a desire to hurt + hurtful action + a power imbalance + (typically) repetition + an unjust use of power + evident enjoyment by the aggressor and a sense of being oppressed on the part of the victim.�? Each of these aspects of the definition will be investigated using evidence from this story.

A Desire to Hurt

The repetition of some actions by Ms. Alexis and the responses of the hearing officer suggest that she knew that they were painful to Wayne, and yet she continued until he was removed from her teaching team. This statement may not be entirely true, in that she may not have been very tuned into her students’ feelings and failed to notice the effects of her culturally insensitive actions on any of her students.

Hurtful Action

Wayne and his parents made reference to certain actions that felt “like a slap in the face�?. In addition these actions were hurtful because they belittled him as a person from a particular, clearly identified culture, thus making it a case of racist or cultural bullying.

Power imbalance

The power imbalance is rather obvious. Wayne seems to have been the only student victim and his bullies were numerous, including peers, teachers and administrators. His only allies seem to have been his parents and Mr. Roberts. Wayne was overpowered by the number of bullies and by the status of many of them.

Repetition (typically)

The bullying started in the 3rd grade and continued until he withdrew from school, nine semesters later.

An Unjust Use of Power

The teachers who were acting as bullies had certain teachers’ rights and responsibilities, including determining the types of instructional materials to use in the classroom. Some abused those rights and powers by flaunting certain offensive materials in a way that was demeaning to the victim

Evident Enjoyment by the Aggressor

It’s not clear that the bullies enjoyed their actions. Perhaps, some did, in that a few people always seem to find amusement in the misfortune of others. Instead, perhaps, a ‘collateral damage mentality’ came into play and the bullies experienced neither amusement nor compassion. Rather, they followed a blind compulsion to do ‘what I’m obliged to do since I must honor the Chief and if it bothers someone, like Wayne, then he’s got to suck it in and get over it. Meanwhile, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do!’
Of course, enjoyment might be in the process of ‘running the victim out of town’. The conflict may not be as disturbing once the victim is not around anymore – thus a pseudo feeling of enjoyment.

Sense of Being Oppressed on the Part of the Victim

There is no doubt that Wayne felt oppressed by the actions of the bullies. He said so, himself, in front of the UIUC Board of Trustees, and an audience of several hundred people.
Finally, there is little doubt that this retelling of Wayne’s story is one about racist bullying, according to Rigby’s definition.

Other bullying Going On?

Interestingly enough, there may be other bullying victims in this story and both involve the teacher, Mr. Roberts. From his perspective, Mr. Roberts might view himself as a victim and his colleagues as the bullies, in that they did not support his racism free zone policy, as if they thought racism was ok in his classroom.
Another possible example of bullying was related to Mr. Roberts’ actions within his racism free zone when he refused to let students wear the Chief insignia. Some parents and other teachers thought that Mr. Roberts’ power was being unjustly applied and was violating students’ rights. There is not enough detail in the stories to determine with any certainty about these bullying claims involving Mr. Roberts.

How Should Schools Respond To Racist Bullying?

As with many social issues, there is not a rich history of research on effective strategies that schools should use to subdue racist bullying. However, even a casual search of the literature turns up several plans and models for doing so. Common characteristics of these plans are presented below in a “should and shouldn’t�? list.
  • The victim(s) shouldn’t stifle the feelings, but rather talk about them and the incidents with responsible adults, like parents and teachers.
  • The victim(s), or supportive adults, should systematically record the incidents.
  • The victim(s) should let the bullies know that they don’t like what they are doing.
  • Parents of victim(s) should remain sensitive to the likelihood of racist bullying and be prepared to discuss the situations with their student, school personnel and community resources, like police and social workers.
  • Schools should have a comprehensive plan that includes an explicit anti-bullying policy (including racist bullying), clearly stated consequences of bullying activities, diversity sensitivity-training opportunities, conflict resolution facilities (like peer and other types of mediation), and banning of offensive garb and propaganda.
When considering the events in Wayne’s story, it appears that most of the items in the “should and shouldn’t�? list were adhered to by the victim, his parents and the school personnel. It’s very apparent that Wayne talked to adults about his feelings of being bullied, that his parents repeatedly discussed the matter with school personnel, that the school had policies regarding bullying behavior and the display of offensive images. In addition, many adults were involved and some of them attended a sensitivity training workshop. In fact, in December 1999, all Edison teachers were required to attend a workshop entitled Root Causes, Faces of Racism. It was designed and facilitated by Bazzell, Imani (1999-2000) for the Champaign Unit 4 School District and covered topics such as racism, multiculturalism, diversity, oppression, discrimination and social power.

Why was the Edison Plan Ineffective?

Main References and Links

Bazzell, Imani, 1999-2000. Root Causes - Faces of Racism, A Workshop, Champaign School District, Unit 4, Champaign, Il.
Bechtel, Dan., 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Corley, Kathy, 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Edison Students, 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Fleagle, Ruth, 2001. Communication to Board of Education, Minutes of Regular Meeting, March 12, 2001.
Hagle, Jim & Pam Hagle, 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Kaiser, Robert L., 2001. Illiniwek controversy gets personal, Chicago Tribune, Page 6 Section 1, March 5. Chicago Illinois. Or see a reprint.
Kelly, Lee A., 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Mathews, Pat, 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Rigby, Ken, 2004. Bullying in schools and what to do about it.
Rojek, Edmund C., 2001. Readers Sound Off, The Octopus, March 23-29, Champaign, Il.
Southlyn, Jenny, 2001. Only One, Cover Story, The Octopus, March 9-15, Champaign, Il
Wood, Paul, 2001. Chief furor leaves boy ostracized, News Gazette, March 11. Champaign, Il. Or see a reprint

Some Interesting, Related Links

  • A Teachernet website sponsored by the UK as part of its information package concerning bullying in the schools.
  • A Childline website designed to give parents and students helpful information about school related problems, including racial bullying.

An Update to the Story

Another Motive for Retelling the Story, and Some Wishful, Possible Outcomes

A Place for Reactions to Only Wayne

Use this slot to react to Only Wayne, and to the replies of others. Also, see Discussion Page associated with this topic.
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