Tasks for this committee may include a restorative justice program, anti-bias training for council and city management, and ongoing meetings with Safeway, Analy, the police and the community
First, although racial slurs may be considered extremely offensive, they're still in the category of protected speech. Unless “fighting words” are involved, profane language has First Amendment protection.
Second, I don't believe that most of these kids are actually racist. I think they're bored, not getting a great education, not having developmentally-appropriate challenges, and dealing with a lot of anxiety and depression because of the time spent languishing in front of screens. They need experiential learning and more time in nature. They need to feel involved in something that matters. They're not hanging out behind Safeway because it makes them feel great about themselves. They don't know what to do with their energy so they use it to push boundaries and be "edgy."
One idea (besides completely overhauling the schools, which needs to happen) would be to give these kids the choice between some unpleasant community service and going on a week-long retreat in nature where they will have rites of passages, discover their strengths, and grow into better versions of themselves.
On April 21, 2022 300 students walked out of the then-named West County HS (now renamed Analy) to protest how the school was handling rascist behavior by students.
In 2016 the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights investigated the District under Title VI, and concluded that the Analy HS campus climate subjected students of color to a hostile environment.
In 2017, the District settled a lawsuit brought by the family that had reported the rascist behavior to DOJ, agreeing to the resolution and settlement terms without formally admitting any liability or wrongdoing.
Therefore I suggest that any Restorative Justice initiative begin with tje WSCUHSD administration and legal team, not as leaders collaborating with the PD and Safeway and hired contractors, but as the perpetrators of racial injustices. There is no way that the District or its legal team can legitimately lead an effort towards restorative justice for victims of racial discrimination or harrassment while the District refuses to be accountable for irs pad5 comolicity in and tolerante of the conditions it now claims to be committed to addressing.
District administration, staff akd legal team need to be accept responsibility for their misguided actions, address the rascist beliefs that led them to tolerate these incidents and fail to effectively enforce needed changes, and make amends rhemselves to past victims, which I suggest may include the entire student body and City of Sebastopol as well at this point.
The idea that that WSCUHSD admonistrators and legal team would play a leading role in a Restorative Justice program for rascist behavior and incidents is luducrous -- the facts nake a mockery of the suggestion. Furthermore, Restorative Justice is not a program you can buy from consultants. Ridgeway Continuation HS already tried that ~2020-2021 with their Restorative Practices program, which was neither satisfactory nor effective.
Because people who've done bad things need to take respons8bility for their actions, be accountable and admit what they've done, and make amends, in a community setting at which the victims are represented, for Restorative Justice methods to wirk.
WSCHUSD has not done this, has never done this, and thus is fundamentally disqualified from leading any legitimate Restorative Justice project re rascist behavior and incidents until they've been accountable for their complicity, seen the error of their ways, and made amends to the significant numbers of students and community members that the District's rascist practices and/or tolerance of thse practices) have harmed.
Lastly, people in Forestville have long said that WSCUHSD and Analy are rascist and prejiduced. Traditionally, students and families from Forestville have felt they were looked down upon and characterized as "river rats."
So it's time for the District to get real or step aside, in my view. There is a problem at Analy, and it's been a problem for quite some time now. Rascist grafitti at Safeway may be new, but rascist behavior at Analy is not. We had quite a bit of anti semitic behavior and several incidents at El Molino too -- it's a District problem that runs deep within WSCUHSD culture.
First, although racial slurs may be considered extremely offensive, they're still in the category of protected speech. Unless “fighting words” are involved, profane language has First Amendment protection.
Second, I don't believe that most of these kids are actually racist. I think they're bored, not getting a great education, not having developmentally-appropriate challenges, and dealing with a lot of anxiety and depression because of the time spent languishing in front of screens. They need experiential learning and more time in nature. They need to feel involved in something that matters. They're not hanging out behind Safeway because it makes them feel great about themselves. They don't know what to do with their energy so they use it to push boundaries and be "edgy."
One idea (besides completely overhauling the schools, which needs to happen) would be to give these kids the choice between some unpleasant community service and going on a week-long retreat in nature where they will have rites of passages, discover their strengths, and grow into better versions of themselves.
Laura Hagar Rush, you do a phenomenal job of reporting!!
I really appreciate your work!!
On April 21, 2022 300 students walked out of the then-named West County HS (now renamed Analy) to protest how the school was handling rascist behavior by students.
In 2016 the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights investigated the District under Title VI, and concluded that the Analy HS campus climate subjected students of color to a hostile environment.
In 2017, the District settled a lawsuit brought by the family that had reported the rascist behavior to DOJ, agreeing to the resolution and settlement terms without formally admitting any liability or wrongdoing.
Therefore I suggest that any Restorative Justice initiative begin with tje WSCUHSD administration and legal team, not as leaders collaborating with the PD and Safeway and hired contractors, but as the perpetrators of racial injustices. There is no way that the District or its legal team can legitimately lead an effort towards restorative justice for victims of racial discrimination or harrassment while the District refuses to be accountable for irs pad5 comolicity in and tolerante of the conditions it now claims to be committed to addressing.
District administration, staff akd legal team need to be accept responsibility for their misguided actions, address the rascist beliefs that led them to tolerate these incidents and fail to effectively enforce needed changes, and make amends rhemselves to past victims, which I suggest may include the entire student body and City of Sebastopol as well at this point.
The idea that that WSCUHSD admonistrators and legal team would play a leading role in a Restorative Justice program for rascist behavior and incidents is luducrous -- the facts nake a mockery of the suggestion. Furthermore, Restorative Justice is not a program you can buy from consultants. Ridgeway Continuation HS already tried that ~2020-2021 with their Restorative Practices program, which was neither satisfactory nor effective.
Because people who've done bad things need to take respons8bility for their actions, be accountable and admit what they've done, and make amends, in a community setting at which the victims are represented, for Restorative Justice methods to wirk.
WSCHUSD has not done this, has never done this, and thus is fundamentally disqualified from leading any legitimate Restorative Justice project re rascist behavior and incidents until they've been accountable for their complicity, seen the error of their ways, and made amends to the significant numbers of students and community members that the District's rascist practices and/or tolerance of thse practices) have harmed.
Lastly, people in Forestville have long said that WSCUHSD and Analy are rascist and prejiduced. Traditionally, students and families from Forestville have felt they were looked down upon and characterized as "river rats."
So it's time for the District to get real or step aside, in my view. There is a problem at Analy, and it's been a problem for quite some time now. Rascist grafitti at Safeway may be new, but rascist behavior at Analy is not. We had quite a bit of anti semitic behavior and several incidents at El Molino too -- it's a District problem that runs deep within WSCUHSD culture.