Hundreds of students exercised their right to freedom of speech in a protest at Central Catholic High School in Portland on April 24.
The protest is a response to what students have deemed a mishandling of both the school and the Portland Archdiocese’s handling of a racist incident that occurred among the Central High baseball team, Oregon Live reports.
Organized by the Black Student Union, senior Kaela Woodard put plans in motion for the walkout, which drew hundreds of students at the 800-student high school. At the time of the protest, the school was presented with a list of demands, including a call for suspension of the entire baseball coaching staff until specific training has been undergone, as well as changes to the school’s anti-racist policies and the request for some varsity baseball players not to be allowed to continue their season.
The move comes after an incident involving a racial slur that occurred during a pre-game cheer. Per the students at the school, varsity players on the team hazed a freshman into using the derogatory term.
“Last week, we learned that racial hate speech was used by a member of our baseball team during a pre-game cheer,” the Central Catholic administration said in a statement when the incident first came to light. “This language is offensive, harmful, and in direct conflict with who we are as a school community.”
Although the school forfeited two baseball games and canceled in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday to determine how to support students, and the baseball team issued an official apology at an all-school assembly, many Central Catholic students said the response was not enough.
“They hold these safe spaces for us where we can talk and freely share our opinions, but they create no real change, and want to change pretty much nothing,” said senior Jalen Jackson.
He added, “Our Black students are obviously mortified by this happening, but I see too many people in this school walking up to them and talking like nothing has ever happened. It’s really disgusting, to be honest, and we need to be better as a community.”
In an updated statement released by the scho, officials called the walkout a “powerful expression of hurt and urgency” carried by Black students and community members.
”We support our students’ right to express themselves. Students have raised serious concerns about potential hazing, team culture, coaching oversight, and our response as a school. We are addressing each of these concerns directly and in alignment with our current policies,” read the statement. “We have taken action consistent with our current policies and are continuing to hold students accountable in ways that reflect the seriousness of this situation. We are strengthening expectations for coaching through required training and support to ensure team culture, supervision, and leadership consistent with Central Catholic’s values.”
Mike Phillips, the parent of a sophomore at Central Catholic who participated in the walkout, notes that he’s encountered this same sort of response by the school for his younger son, who attends the Madeleine School. He calls for the school’s administration to hold those involved accountable.
“It’s kind of like the same playbook,” he said. “When you get hit with the ball of racism, when we throw the ball back at you, at accountability in these institutions, you can’t hide behind the cross or the church. You have to be accountable for what it is.”
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