Lamar student beaten because she couldn't speak Spanish

10:46 AM CST on Sunday, November 5, 2006

By Vicente Arenas / 11 News

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Two teenage girls who attend Lamar High School were charged with assault after the brutal attack on campus.

Audrina Garza says she was pummeled on the field during P.E. class because she couldn't speak Spanish.

The 15-year-old sophmore said the Hispanic girls attacked her even though she's also Hispanic.

"I told them that I wasn't going to do anything, that I dont' know them and I wasnt' going to do anything," said Garza. "I told them you're in America."

"And they said, 'Well you're a Mexican and you should know' and that's when the girl punched me," said Garza.

She ended up in an emergency room. Doctors ordered X-rays and tests for internal bleeding. She was treated and released but the shock hasn't gone away.

"You never hear 'I got beat up because I didn't speak Spanish,'" said Yisa Ortiz, the girl's mother.

The irony here is that Garza was a victim of brown on brown crime, her grandfather said. He recalls childhood troubles because of the language he spoke.

"I had to fight white boys because they didn't want me to speak Spanish when I wasn't even talking to them," said Andres Ortiz.

Garza said she did not see her teacher when the fight started, but it was caught on tape by Lamar's security cameras.

For now, Garza's concentrating on healing and plans to return to Lamar High School where a disturbing lesson about race and language should never have been taught on a football field.

the 15 and 16-year-old girls charged with assault in this case have been referred to an alternative school.
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