Seeking safety in a ‘code’

When “Jerome,” a 10th-grade student in a suburban school district, walked out the school door to find his ride home, he noticed a large group of boys waiting outside. Because of a previous altercation in which a bully punched him, took his shoes, and threatened to jump him the following day, Jerome was convinced that the group of boys was waiting for him.

“It was the day after I got jumped on,” Jerome said. “School got out [at] around 3 and we [Jerome and his cousin] see a gang of people just looking at us [as] soon as we walk out of the building. And then we [were] like, ‘Those are probably the ones that was gonna jump on us.’ And we was right, ’cause they were staring at us the whole time.”

To protect himself, Jerome called another cousin who came to the school with a large group of boys. This led to a massive brawl outside the high school.