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"Step 1) Get jealous when your best friend gets the girl you like. Step 2) Try to get even with some stupid prank. Step 3) Let your best friend take the fall. With these easy steps, you'll end up with no project, no girl, and no best friend. Thank you."
— Derek's improvised project on how to lose your best friend.

Derek Haig

Information
Gender	Male
Date of Birth	1990
Eye Color	Green
Hair Color	Brown
Network
Family	Marcus Haig (Adoptive Father) Dominic Haig (Adoptive Brother) Amanda Haig (Adoptive Sister)
Job	Student
School(s)	Degrassi Community School
Affiliation(s)	Degrassi Basketball Team Degrassi Football Team Spirit Squad Johnny's Gang
Production
First Episode	Death of a Disco Dancer (503)
Last Episode	Heat of the Moment (812)
Reason	Unknown
Portrayed By	Marc Donato

Derek Haig was a student at Degrassi Community School. He was portrayed by Marc Donato. When he was young, Derek was put up for adoption by his mother. He begins his run as a prankster with a few bullying tendencies, before becoming a bully after losing his best friend, Danny Van Zandt. While on the football team, he became good friends with Bruce the Moose.

Character History

Season 5

Jimmy got the chance to coach the basketball team, which annoyed Derek for he judged Jimmy for being paralyzed. He was proved wrong and was surprised and humbled when Jimmy beat him in a game of horse. Derek then asked Jimmy to coach him, to which Jimmy agreed. However, Jimmy made Derek promise that when he would show off his skills in front of his friends, to say that his coach taught him, not the guy who got shot. Derek and Jimmy then became friends.

When Derek goes over Danny's house to be tutored by Liberty Van Zandt, Danny suggests they order a pizza. He then calls a pizza place and they get it delivered. While Liberty and Derek are alone, Derek asks if Liberty ever thought about keeping her baby. She takes the innocent question too personally, and orders Derek out of the house. He later reveals that he asked the question because he was adopted himself. Later on, when J.T. Yorke and Liberty were making a treasure box by Derek's suggestion, Liberty asks both Danny and Derek to put some things inside, so the baby would know he had lots of good people supporting him.

Season 6

Danny and Derek were running in the hallway. They then ran into their History teacher, Mr. Perino which caused them to spill his coffee and break his mug. Mr. Perino overreacts. Mr. Simpson remarks that they're just kids and make mistakes.

Later, when Danny presents his presentation on World War II, Mr. Perino said that the assignment was to write a summary in his own words and not copy it from the textbook. He then accuses him of plagiarizing. Derek angrily asks why Mr. Perino was being so mean and harsh, to which he responds for them to both redo the project together. After school, Mr. Perino threatens Derek and tells him to treat him with respect or else they are going to have a serious problem, leaving Derek in shock and fear.

Later the next day, Mr. Perino tells Derek to forget about what happened at the bus stop, realizing he was out of place. After Danny and Derek present their presentation on the United Nations, he calls on another student to present his presentation. Mr. Perino accuses the student of incompetency and makes inappropriate remarks

when the student admits he wasn't prepared right away. Derek asks why he has to be so mean, Mr. Perino ignores him and asks everyone if they have a presentation or if he could just keep handing out zeros. Derek then sees Snake in the hallway. He then walks out and tells Snake about what just happened and about the previous incidents. It is implied that Mr. Perino is confronted, but not fired, as he is seen in later episodes.

Derek and Danny were also somewhat responsible for the eventual death of J.T. After overhearing Toby quietly talking about a small party at Emma's house for Liberty's birthday, Derek and Danny spread the word to everyone at Degrassi, which soon lead to people outside of the school finding out, including Lakehurst. Derek was also seen at J.T.'s memorial service alongside Danny later in the season.

Season 7

Later in the year, Peter, Danny, Derek and Rachel work on a video project together. Both Danny and Derek like Rachel and compete with each other to ask her out. After she rejects Derek, she asks out Danny. The next day, Derek tells Danny that they need to "dump" Rachel because she rejected Derek. Derek realizes that Danny and Rachel are a couple, and claims that Danny "stole" Rachel from him, ending their friendship. Derek tries to get even with Danny by putting lingerie in Danny's backpack in a store, without Danny knowledge. When Danny is caught with the lingerie by the racist store manager, he ends up in trouble and is angry with Derek for putting him in that position. Derek realizes he was in the wrong, and apologizes to him in front of the class with their video project.

Season 8

Derek is accepted onto the Degrassi Football Team as a Tight End. However, he does not approve of Jane being on the team because she is a girl. He leads in taunting her for various reasons, particularly because she fumbled the ball in a game, which was because of Derek missing a block. The day after the game, some of the players on the team, including Daniel Van Zandt, wear shirts with the phrase 'Sorry I dropped the ball, it's my time of the month.' Jane becomes angry, and reports the shirt incident to Coach Sheppard. The team coach makes the team practice more vigorous because of the incident, and makes Jane participate in the punishment as well because he does not want to give her special treatment. After practice, the team is angry with Jane.

Derek continuously shoves Jane into lockers, and makes comments about her not being able to take a hit. Jane reacts by pushing Derek into a locker in retaliation and knocking him down. Bruce knocks Jane down, and Derek persists to kick Jane in the stomach. Riley sees what's going on and gets them to stop, pushing Derek off of her and shoving him down the hall.

When Jane tells Coach Sheppard about the incident involving Derek, he tells her she receives no special treatment. Jane then tries to leave the team but is persuaded to stay, once announcing this at a meeting in a locker room. Derek and some other boys try to reject her, but Sav, Danny, and Riley rethink their words and actions towards her, decide that she is on their team and stand up for her. Derek has also started hanging around Bruce the Moose, taking Johnny DiMarco's place as one of the school's bullies.

In Money for Nothing, he teases Holly J., who's working at The Dot. She retaliates by pouring his milkshake on his head.

In Bad Medicine Danny hooks Derek and Leia up, after Derek tells him that he likes her. Danny asks Leia about giving Derek a chance, and she says yes, but only if he interrupts their date to save her. Danny agrees, but also realizes that he likes her but wouldn't feel right betraying Derek. He is also caught with the idea that Leia likes Derek after seeing them on their date, which coincidentally Derek and Leia were talking about Danny. Derek gives Danny permission to go after Leia knowing that he secretly likes her, which also rekindles the two's friendship. Danny and Leia then discuss what happen, and share a kiss.

In Heat of the Moment, when Bruce the Moose conducts the cafeteria in chanting "I Hate Holly J.", Derek joins in. Later, he jokingly brings a rope to school, but Holly J. ignores him.

Trivia

Derek appeared in 35 episodes.
Derek Haig is the second "Derek" in the Degrassi Franchise. The first is Derek Wheeler. They are also both adopted.
Derek and Bruce were the only characters to be featured who left Degrassi without being in a relationship.
Two of Derek's crushes had feelings for Danny instead of him.
Derek was one of six characters to be adopted. The other five are Wheels, Kendra, Holly J, Liberty and J.T.'s unnamed son, and Tyson.
Derek was the second character to be "picked on" by a teacher. The first was Yick Yu.
In episode Got My Mind Set On You, along with Danny, it is revealed that Derek does not know who Yoko Ono and the Beatles are.
Derek is the only regular in season 8 not to appear in season 9 (Mia guest starred in Just Can't Get Enough, Kelly guest starred in Holiday Road, and Liberty guest starred in Degrassi Takes Manhattan).

Quotes

"I'm not gonna beat up a cripple."
"I brought the rope." (Final line)

Wikia

Derek Haig

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