On behalf of the undersigned parties, the 3/20 Coalition is petitioning the Centre County District Attorney, Mr. Bernie Cantorna, to drop the charges leveled against a Black student in response to an incident at State College Area high School on February 1, 2022.  

According to various sources,  prior to the incident, the Black student had been repeatedly harassed, bullied and threatened with hate speech and symbols over the course months by a White student of approximately the same age. On February 1, a physical altercation transpired between the two boys. Due to SCASD's lack of intervention and protection, the Black student was forced into a situation where he had to stand up against ethnic intimidation. Neither boy was seriously injured and both walked away under their own power.

Allegedly, the Black student had been charged. The severity of the charges have yet to be determined. While the 3/20 Coalition does not condone violence, we believe that it is important to recognize that this incident stemmed from ongoing threats leveled by the white boy towards the Black student, including using the N- word and displaying swastikas. Hate speech is not free speech and has no business in an institution of learning.

It is well-documented that students of color, Black boys in particular, are disproportionately disciplined in school and that this overrepresentation is a central factor in what is known as the “school to prison pipeline.” State College is no exception to this pattern with Black boys receiving 6 times more disciplinary referrals than their White counterparts. 

The egregious and overzealous prosecution in this case does nothing to address this systemic and institutionalized pattern of racial profiling. Indeed, he is further entrenching the superpredator myth while unjustly destroying the life of a young man. A fist fight should not end up with the DA. Help us get this case back to the principal's office, and out of the prison system!