Commonly, public schools avoid taking hard stances on current events that have the potential to be divisive in the community. This can be for a number of reasons, such as wanting to negate the possibility of conflicts among students, or the fear of a negative response from the community. To many though, taking no stance at all is the same as taking an opposed stance. Protesting is an important part of school culture in many places, with active student bodies, and can serve to act as a way for people to make their voices heard.
Like many school districts, Arlington Public Schools has avoided taking a hard stance on the ongoing conflict in Gaza. However, many students have made their voices heard through a walkout and a vigil. On November 3, 2023, an email from Arlington Career Center staff announced potential walkout, “to raise awareness about the war between Israel and Hamas, and the war in Sudan.” In the email, they made sure to state that “We want to ensure parents/guardians are aware that this is not a school-sponsored activity,” as they attempted to minimize APS involvement in these protests. Although it makes sense for the school system to avoid taking an official position on conflicts such as these, this leaves some to lose faith in the system due to their non-response. The result is that supporters on all sides in this conflict might feel alienated as leaders avoid supporting them. APS has made it very clear that they did not endorse the first event, but still gave it publicity in their emails, despite not endorsing it.
Another event was held on November 27, a vigil to mourn the loss of lives in this conflict, organized by the Mulsim and Jewish student organizations. The vigil had a clear goal, unlike the previous walk-out, which did not have a central motive. It was also officially endorsed by the school system, whereas the first one, officially, had no involvment. The vigil aimed to “to mourn the loss of innocent lives and create a comfortable space for people to honor them. The goal would be to come together and share stories, not political, just memories, family, or connections to this.” This is admirable, but unfortunately, the vigil did not see much in the way of promotion, leading to a lack of student involvement.
To avoid this result, and potential feeling of alienation in the students, allow us to look at an example of a more successful student protest. On September 27, 2022, the state of Virginia saw state-wide protests and walkouts in protest of new anti-transgender policies by Governor Glenn Youngkin. We saw a unified front across the state as students joined to protest these new policies, in addition to large amounts of attention, which led to a far more successful show of support.
Another example of a walkout on a smaller scale is with an APS high school over complaints of sexual harassment. On October 22, 2021, students in Yorktown, Washington Liberty, Arlington Career Center, Wakefield, and H.B. Woodlawn held two weeks after reports of sexual misconduct at a Yorktown High School football game. This walkout boasted mass attendance throughout all highschools in APS, showing the power an engaged community holds in making a statement.
This is what our school community needs. If future school events can aim to replicate this, it will create a far healthier social environment. APS should strive to connect with their students, but this current stance leads to a feeling of cold indifference, and that the district is tone-deaf to the feelings of those connected to the conflict. APS needs to act better, for the sake of its students, and aim to handle their responses to future conflicts in a more positive way.
