02/02/2020
Happy 1st Day of Black History Month! BLOC Member's Former students' Black Student Association At The University of Chicago Lab School has some REAL demands for the institutions that are supposed to represent, include, and support them!!! 20% of the Demand, "For the administration to create and swiftly enact specific consequences for the use of intolerant language and actions, regardless of a students' or teachers' financial background, donations, and long-standing relationships between that person and the school. Currently, these actions are prohibited, but no specific punishments are outlined. Without set rules and swift action, it makes it extremely easy for racist and bigoted actions and words to be swept off as a “joke” or unimportant to our community. It also passively tells other students that these acts are not important and implies that it is okay to continue these acts and ideas. In addition, we ask that if a student who has an infraction stays in our community that there be a learning session implemented for the student to make sure they understand how and why their actions were harmful and inappropriate. We believe that every student should be given a chance to redeem themselves and that incidents like these are prime teaching moments. However, the responsibility of educating students should not fall constantly on students of color. These punishments should be explicitly stated in the handbook so that no student can claim ignorance of their actions and the consequences."
The Black Students’ Association read an open letter during the Jan. 16 Martin Luther King assembly. The letter demanded that every member of the U-High community make a more conscious and concerted effort to address racial, religious, and identity-based bias and discrimination in and outside of th...
