Monday, May 05, 2014: KERMAN, Calif. (KFSN) -- A recent national survey found more than half of Sikh students in Fresno County are regularly bullied in school, but leaders in one Valley town said they've worked for years to raise awareness of the Punjabi culture and religion.
Local leaders said Kerman has grown by some 60 percent over the last 10 years. It's now home to more than 14,000 people and its growth is being attributed to an influx of Punjabi immigrants whose cultural and political influence is reshaping the town that's still largely Latino.
Over the last two decades, hundreds of Punjabi families have moved to Kerman, a small farming community West of Fresno.
"Our community has a great population over here and the growth in Kerman as a whole is the highest in California," said Mohinder Singh Grewal of the Sikh Council of Central California.
They've made their homes next door to Mexicans and work alongside them in the fields, either farming or driving trucks to haul produce.
"This is the same kind of climate (as India), they're agriculturists, and farmers, and I think they enjoy being here so we as a community and school district want to embrace all the diversity it brings to our school," said Kerman High School Principal Jim Volkoff.
Their kids also study together. Fourteen years ago, the Indian community lobbied to have Punjabi taught as a foreign language at the high school level and became one of only a few California school districts to offer the courses as an elective approved by the University of California system.
"Sikh students make up about 8 percent of our student population here and the Sikh community wanted to have their language embraced by their students and so our school several years ago, started Punjabi 1, 2 and 3," said Volkoff.
At Kerman High, the courses are growing in popularity with nearly half of the students in the level one class being native Spanish speakers.
"I think it will help me in college, it will look on my resume and for jobs too," said sophomore Jasmine Cruz-Herrera.
Cruz-Herrera said she signed up for the course after meeting her best-friend in junior high school.
"In the sixth grade, the girl sitting next to me, I noticed she spoke Punjabi. I noticed she was quiet and I'm a loud person and I had to be paired up with her one time. I was like 'you don't talk much do you?' And she just looked at me and said 'no.' Ever since then we've become friends," she said. "She taught me how to speak some of the language and we decided we'd take the class in high school."
The Sikhs are now leaving a much bigger cultural and political mark on the town.
For example, the Kerman Public Library claims to hold the largest collection of Punjabi materials of any public library in the nation, with more than 2,300 books, magazines and DVDs.
"It's very large and the Sikh community supports it with great enthusiasm," said Volkoff.
Punjabis also hold two out of five seats on the city council and local leaders estimate more than 80 percent of the Punjabi population turns out to vote in almost every election.
"It gives our students a unique perspective on the world. We are a small community and some people think very sheltered, but at the same time because we have so much diversity, our students are even more prepared to go out into the world," said Kerman High School Assistant Principal Margaret Nichols.
Nichols said the school is also home to a unique club called the Sikh Student Association and its members come from different ethnicities, religions and socio-economic backgrounds.
"It's a pretty big club, they're active. They participate in things like homecoming, building floats and community service activities so they're well represented by our student population," she said.
Because the community is exposed to the Punjabi culture and religion on a daily basis, school administrators said they haven't had a problem with bullying among Sikh students.
"It's a chance for all students to come together and show respect to learn about another culture I think," added Nichols.
The district is now serving as a model to other Central Valley schools that are looking to add Punjabi language courses and other programs to their curriculums.
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