A new study finds an alarming number of Fresno County Sikh students are being bullied in school.
The National report was released Thursday and presented to Congress.
It surveyed hundreds of kids in four metropolitan areas across the country, including the Central Valley.
Fresno had the second highest percentage of students who claimed to have been victims of bullying.
The Sikh community is now urging school officials to be a part of the solution.
24-year-old Bachittar Singh, proudly represents his Sikh heritage.
He grows his hair long and wears a turban, but there was a time when he was forced to hide his religion.
"I was actually bullied to such an extent that my dad forcefully cut my hair," said Singh.
Singh grew up in Fresno County and attended Central Unified Schools.
He said the daily bullying and teasing started in fifth grade.
"To look at yourself in the mirror and realize that you had forgone your own identity just because someone couldn't accept you, that's very traumatizing to a child," said Singh.
And according to a new report by the Sikh coalition, that same type of bullying is still happening.
The study was conducted in four areas across the country.
In Fresno County, 180 Sikh students were surveyed, and nearly 55 percent reported being bullied in school.
Valley Sikh activist Ike Grewal said the problem has grown since nine eleven.
"The Sikh students wearing turbans are being mistaken for terrorists and Sikhs are peace loving citizens of the United States," said Grewal.
A majority of the students also claim nothing was done after the bullying was reported to school officials.
Singh and many others now hoping this latest report will spark some action.
"I want the teachers to be more responsive because that's one thing that i feel they failed me on," said Singh.
We did reach out to school districts in Fresno County, both Clovis and Central Unified responded, they said they do have anti-bullying policies at all schools.
The Sikh community though hopes this report will help motivate new policies that will specifically focus on bullying problems involving Sikh students.
The National report was released Thursday and presented to Congress.
It surveyed hundreds of kids in four metropolitan areas across the country, including the Central Valley.
Fresno had the second highest percentage of students who claimed to have been victims of bullying.
The Sikh community is now urging school officials to be a part of the solution.
24-year-old Bachittar Singh, proudly represents his Sikh heritage.
He grows his hair long and wears a turban, but there was a time when he was forced to hide his religion.
"I was actually bullied to such an extent that my dad forcefully cut my hair," said Singh.
Singh grew up in Fresno County and attended Central Unified Schools.
He said the daily bullying and teasing started in fifth grade.
"To look at yourself in the mirror and realize that you had forgone your own identity just because someone couldn't accept you, that's very traumatizing to a child," said Singh.
And according to a new report by the Sikh coalition, that same type of bullying is still happening.
The study was conducted in four areas across the country.
In Fresno County, 180 Sikh students were surveyed, and nearly 55 percent reported being bullied in school.
Valley Sikh activist Ike Grewal said the problem has grown since nine eleven.
"The Sikh students wearing turbans are being mistaken for terrorists and Sikhs are peace loving citizens of the United States," said Grewal.
A majority of the students also claim nothing was done after the bullying was reported to school officials.
Singh and many others now hoping this latest report will spark some action.
"I want the teachers to be more responsive because that's one thing that i feel they failed me on," said Singh.
We did reach out to school districts in Fresno County, both Clovis and Central Unified responded, they said they do have anti-bullying policies at all schools.
The Sikh community though hopes this report will help motivate new policies that will specifically focus on bullying problems involving Sikh students.