Hate Crimes: Continuing the Conversation

By Amelia Spring
    
On Thursday, November 10th, students found and reported hateful vandalism seen in the CRN bathrooms, featuring swastikas, slurs against the LGBT+ community, and messages relating to the election. Along with the hateful vandalism, there were also events where Latino students reported being harassed. Superintendent Dr. Robert J. Fraser sent out a district-wide email explaining the inappropriateness of the actions and the Newtown Township Police Department’s investigation into the hate crimes. Reports of these events in CRN soon swept the news, both local and national, and elicited appalled emotions from students and adults alike.
        
The students of CRN came to school on Friday as discourse about the events ensued: many teachers held classroom discussions about the event, and people spoke about them, texted about them, and posted about them on social media. The hateful behavior displayed by the perpetrators of the crimes threatened and frightened some students. “I don't feel safe,” explained Seth Mazlin, head of CRN’s gay-straight alliance (GSA). “Many students don't feel safe.”
 
GSA is a club that offers a secure, positive place for both straight students and LGBT+ students. GSA held a meeting directly following the events, and this meeting experienced a massive increase in attendees: usually about 30 people attend the meetings but more than 60 attended this particular meeting. “We’re working hard to make each other feel safe,” Mazlin explained, showing why clubs like GSA are important to many students in times where they need support.
 
Higher GSA attendance was not the only reaction from the students to the event. A group of students wrote a message, titled “An Open Letter to Council Rock Administrators,” and submitted it to the “Reality” section of the Bucks County Courier Times. Alex Miller originally posted a rough draft of the letter on the class of 2017 Facebook group. The letter ended up being the collaborative product of Miller, Samantha Gougher, Sarah Lefebvre, and Emily Goulazian. It expressed the sentiment that events like these are a problem that needs to be fixed permanently and suggested ways to deal with the problem of hate amongst students.
 
“We can represent our students just as loudly and as powerfully as the people writing swastikas on the bathroom walls” Samantha Gougher said, explaining why the writers chose to publicly post the letter. The writers also found it important to address these themes to the administration; as Sarah Lefebvre explained, “We really need to work together as administrators and students to make this place better for everyone.” This letter gained momentum as students and adults alike read and shared it, and when the school administration read the letter, they scheduled a meeting with the letter’s writers. Sarah Lefebvre described their meeting with Ms. McCarthy, Dr. Fraser, and Mr. Traczykiewicz: “They made us feel comfortable, and they just asked us. . . how we think as a student community that we can move forward. . . we all ended up feeling really good walking out of there.”
        
The school administration took immediate action after the events, both with the students in the school and the adults involved. As Dr. Fraser detailed in his district-wide email sent out November 17th, the school district hosted community forums and is forming a diversity committee. Staff members attended workshops with the Peace Center, a local organization that works to prevent violence and promote peace. Administrators at CRN organized assemblies on Monday and Tuesday, where class presidents made speeches along with teachers and administrators. The students then broke into small groups, where they were encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions on the events and how the school should move forward. One idea students mentioned during these group conversations is the idea of having circles, a type of group discussion that is a restorative practice, allowing students to communicate with each other in a safe environment and voice their opinions. Group discussion in the form of circles is only one of many ideas that the school district is deliberating, and administrators welcome additional suggestions as well.
 
While the hateful actions of certain students in CRN have horrified, scared, and hurt many people in the school and in the community, the events also allowed the school to address important yet often overlooked issues in the student body. “[These events have] the potential [to bring about change], but whether or not that change will occur, that’s up to us,” promised Sarah Lefebvre. “[The administration is] trying on this, and we have to match that effort.” Lefebvre highlighted the importance of carrying on discussions and carrying out actions that have been spoken about since the events occurred.  North Principal Susan McCarthy echoed this sentiment: “[These events] presented us with the opportunity to make our school a more positive environment.  My strong desire is to continue this conversation until, working together, we succeed in doing this.”

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