Students Are Talking: Is Anyone Listening?
Guest ‘Riter Hannah Braun condemns administrative failure to use “Respect for All” group to solve issue of sexual harassment
In a column featured in The Shakerite Volume 88 Issue II, Opinion Editor Emily Montenegro expressed feeling disheartened regarding her battle to motivate administrative statements and actions about sexual violence at Shaker Heights High School. After three long months of trying and failing to make anyone in our administration work to prevent this issue, I feel the exact same dejection.
In early November, I met with Principal Jonathan Kuehnle about what could be done to change our school climate and culture regarding sexual harassment and assault. I quickly became involved in a student group Kuehnle had created to apparently make progress, Respect For All (this group will soon to be renamed to be more specific to the issue of sexual violence). Most of you may be thinking, “Wow, this even exists?”
That seems to be exactly how our administration wants it.
The teachers and students involved in Respect For All have been left in the dark regarding an action plan needed for any recognition from the administration during their triannual Strategic Plan Chat. Adult advisers were never even provided the template, despite Kuehnle informing me in a private meeting that they were given it. To even obtain this meeting, I had to email him twice and tweet at him.
With no tangible support from the administration, it is impossible to know where we stand financially until almost the end of the year. I understand that the wheels of change in a bureaucratic system turn slowly, but the machine stalling entirely is inexcusable.
The conversation at the high school regarding sexual harassment and assault started with a trickle of Shakerite articles and statements that our administration has tried to drown out.
But now it is a thunderstorm of voices, and soon they will not just be from concerned students. They will be from influential parents and Parent Teacher Organization leaders, from people whose voices matter more to those running our school than the voices of the students they supposedly run it for. And to Kuehnle, outgoing Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings, and this entire bureaucracy: We will not go unheard forever.
Mr. Martin Braun | Mar 30, 2018 at 4:56 am
To Whom It May Concern:
I don’t understand. Am I to believe that students have been organized to be a branch of administration (formerly “Respect For All”) to identify the sexual misconduct of fellow students? If this is the case, then it is a mistake for three key reasons:
1) There is already a process with laws and policies established to address misconduct by students and administrators.
2) Children are just beginning to understand legal terms like assault and harassment. In their lack of understanding convoluted by mixed messages from the entertainment industry and extreme leftist political groups, confusion, judgment, and strife will become a byproduct.
3) Organizing said children and arming them with the power to shame can become very problematic. Furthermore, students are not held to the same standards as adults, so there is no real accountability to prevent lasting effects by something as common as “false accusations.” False accusations are a very real and dangerous problem having on numerous occasions cost teachers their jobs and family lives.
This student group which includes Hannah Braun should only be a resource provider which can be done at no financial expense to the school and students. Electronically literature, laws, and policies can be distributed via Shakerite.com. This would be a valuable resource for students.
As a parent who never forgot his roots… I understand that students are struggling to understand rules and societal norms that govern them. It is expected that they question and rebel against what confines them. And from that struggle comes wisdom. If parents and people of authority don’t take their responsibility seriously then children will become very rebellious and potentially cause irreversible damage to those around them and their family.
Shaker Heights High School has a history of social activism; in some cases, good and others not as good. However, considering recent events such as “March for Our Lives,” Shaker Heights High Schools has become a political activist school, using children as their bullhorn for one political view. Any restrictions on other activist events will be interpreted as censoring. This is a troubling pattern which has the potential for administrators to lose control of their students. Subsequently, students with less vocal viewpoints will be ostracized, thus creating a hostile environment, especially for non-liberal points of view.
It is the responsibility of schools and institutions of learning to teach lessons and especially how to think critically. It has never been the role of schools to teach what to think and lead activist groups, especially student-run activist groups.
Respectfully,
Mr. Martin Braun