![]() ![]() Related : Quincy High students protest racial climate at school before parents meet administrators To guide schools, the governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes this fall released a guide for schools on how to handle incidents along with a $400,000 grant program to help fund districts’ initiatives aimed at addressing bias. Schools are legally required to “respond promptly” to incidents and “strive to prevent” discrimination in the first place, but state law requires no specific actions. Schools have wide latitude on how to respond to bias incidents. In 2009, 33 hate crimes in schools and universities were reported. In Massachusetts, 82 alleged hate crimes - which typically involve violence or property damage - were reported in educational institutions in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, and accounted for 20 percent of the state’s hate crimes, records show. Bias incidents are often underreported, experts say, due to fear of retaliation and lack of faith in an effective response. It’s unclear whether schools are seeing more discrimination now than in the past or whether it’s more visible due to increased reporting or social media. “It’s amazing that we’ve seen so many students come forward trying to make change, but it all starts with the administrative level.” “These incidents are triggering a new response than they have in the past, but the behaviors coming out definitely aren’t new,” said Max Leete, who is Black and fought for change at Danvers High School before graduating last spring. (He received a two-day suspension Harris said officials told him the white student, who made the video as a seventh-grader, would not return to the school.) Three days after the fight, hundreds of students walked out of their Quincy High School classes in protest of racism, with many hugging Harris as he entered his disciplinary hearing. It also helped spark a wave of student activism against discrimination that has roiled the high school and inspired students in other school districts. ![]() Harris’s hallway confrontation - which was filmed by other students and widely circulated in the school community - galvanized many students of color who, despite generally not condoning violence, saw Harris’s action as a measure of rare justice for the hateful language they routinely hear. Then Harris punched the other student repeatedly. “That video could make other people think that it’s OK to say that,” Harris recalled, “and so it would mess up the whole world.”Īnd so when Harris next saw the white student in the school hallway, he pushed him in the chest, asking if he thought it was OK to say the n-word. He already felt disrespected and targeted at school for being Black now, he feared this student wouldn’t face any consequences. This is a perfect opportunity for all of us to “SwarmAS1” in our stand for operating as a safe and productive campus community.Harris, a 15-year-old Quincy High School freshman, seethed. Please view the video that has been placed on this website to remind all of us why it is necessary to “Mask Up Hornet Nation!” You may also view the video by clicking on this link: I also want to emphasize that Alabama State University remains a Mask Mandatory campus. ![]() We must remain vigilant in our efforts to maintain a safe campus for all who live, learn and work at Alabama State University. We cannot afford to relax our guard at any point during this pandemic. We will also continue to adhere to CDC guidelines related to social distancing, hand washing, avoiding large gatherings and tempering our personal behavior whether on or off campus. The Guide offers a detailed roadmap of safety protocols that have helped to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on our campus. I invite you to review the updated edition of the ASU Reopening Guide which is pinned to the top of the homepage of the ASU website. We want to keep in mind our commitment to making the health and safety of the campus community a top priority. As we enter the new year, we are excited about all of the wonderful opportunities that lie ahead of this great University. ![]()
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