On December 5th, the AYLUS National Honorary President and also President of the Greater Princeton Branch (GPA), Cassie Tammy Wang, along with her team members and parents, visited Philadelphia Central High School (1700 W Olney Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19141) and met with Christina Lu.
President Cassie Wang gave a speech in front of the High School building, regarding what has happened in Philadelphia, apparently Asian Hate Crimes, then presented the “AYLUS Brave for Righteousness Scholarship Award” to Christina Lu, a 18-year-old senior high school student at Philadelphia Central High School, a true hero who stood up to protect other students in a SEPTA car on November 17th, 2021.
According to the Philadelphia News:
The District Attorney’s Office on Thursday charged four teen attackers with multiple crimes for what SEPTA Police claim was a racially motivated attack on the Broad Street Line, which was captured on video Wednesday.
SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel III said Thursday authorities were able to identify the four suspects through the transit system’s network of 28,000 cameras, a slew of public tips, and a parent who reported their own child as someone involved in the incident.
Hours after the attack, the District Attorney’s Office charged each of the four teenagers, whose ages range from 13 to 16, with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation, criminal conspiracy, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct, an office spokesperson said. One of the alleged attackers was also charged with robbery for trying to steal one of the victim’s Airpods.
Nestel previously said there was no sign that the victims provoked the attackers in any way. SEPTA police have been in touch with the suspects’ families, he said.
According to the transit agency, the attack took place around 3:30 p.m. near the Erie Station on the Broad Street Line while the train was in transit.
In a video, which was later posted on social media, a group of Black girls is seen yelling at a teenager, whom the Philadelphia School District said was a Central High School student.
Nestel said the suspects were yelling at a total of three teenagers, all Asian students from Central, when a fourth teen stepped in to defend her peers.
The attackers turned their attention to the fourth teen, banging her head against the subway doors and continuing to hit her as she lay on the train floor. Nestel said she sought SEPTA police help at around 3:45.
“She was a hero, she stepped up and told the girls to stop,” said Nestel of the fourth Central teen who intervened. She suffered no serious injuries. “Then she became a target.”
According to the School District, Central High School principal Tim McKenna met with parents and community members to address concerns Thursday morning. Representatives from the Office of Student Support have also been made available to students feeling anxious because of the incident.
Philadelphia school officials say School District police are working with the Philadelphia Police, SEPTA’s transit police, and the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission, which helps investigate incidents of racial conflict.
GPA Participants of the “Brave for Righteousness Scholarship Award Ceremony” (12/5, 4 hrs): Cassie Tammy Wang, Steven Li, Cosner Yang, Perryn Chang, Helen Chang, Elizabeth Ma, Ruofei Olivia Mao, Cynthia Jinghui Huang, Yi Wang, Weihuan Cao, Annie Yang, Fangqiu Sun, Hong Zhang, and more.
