Published Dec. 15, 2021
In the past few months, Carmel High School has seen an increase in hate speech, eliciting a reactionary response from administrators in the form of classroom presentations condemning these acts, but while the administration’s efforts are appreciated, they lack the impact needed to create sweeping change on campus.
This is not the first time the current CHS community has been faced with widespread behavioral issues. Last March, more than two dozen students came forward with allegations against their peers of sexual assault and harassment, many claiming that their cases were mishandled by administrators. In reference to both the current issue with hate speech and sexual assault and harassment, administrators explained to Sandpiper reporters that they were looking for “the right response, not the fast response.”
This delayed response puts administrators and students on the defensive against perpetrators of hateful acts as the community scrambles to address issues that should have already been covered by education on diversity, equity and inclusion. Rather than creating presentations or sending out emails while trying to find the correct way to address issues of prejudice among students on campus, administrators should have already implemented proactive solutions to stop hateful behavior and ideologies before they become an issue.
In order to prevent hateful acts from arising in the future, a comprehensive educational plan detailing the history of all oppressed groups and the importance of diversity and inclusion is a necessity. In the specific case of racism, until Carmel High students take a United States history course during their junior year, racial oppression is addressed as something of the past, with lessons focused on slavery and Jim Crow laws. While these examples of oppression are undeniably horrible, teachers must also focus on more current issues involving racism and persecution, particularly addressing the systemic maltreatment of historically oppressed groups. Because slavery is such an overt form of prejudice, it is often used as the primary example for such a complex issue. Yet prejudice has afflicted historically oppressed groups since the beginning of American history, and attention should be brought to all groups that have faced systemic injustice, such as women, members of the LGBTQ community, and people of color.
When the primary example of racism is a system that was technically dismantled 156 years ago, students can easily become misinformed, dismissing prejudice as an issue of the past. By enlightening younger generations about modern oppression, the threat of prejudice would feel more personal, and thus, they might be less likely to speak or act in a racist, sexist or homophobic manner.
This in no way suggests that small children need to be learning the more graphic details about America’s oppressive history, but rather proposes the notion that education on issues such as racism needs to be built up over time from a young age with a foundational understanding of socially acceptable conduct when it comes to diversity and inclusion.
Middle and high school students should learn about systems of oppression such as redlining, a practice in which the Federal Housing Administration evaluates the risk involved with insuring a mortgage, often leading to the refusal of mortgages to people living in predominantly African American communities; and the Three-Strike Rule, a California law disproportionately affecting people of color that imposed a life sentence for any third crime committed so long as the prior two acts were deemed violent or serious. Education on systemic issues forces students to confront the reality that subjugation of minorities has been ingrained into American law and society.
If prejudiced acts defacing CHS’ campus are to stop, it is critical that comprehensive education regarding the history of oppression be implemented,
