Social Media’s Social Impact

by TRINITY WHITEFORD staff writer Everybody has their own opinions on current social movements, but how are these concerns addressed in a classroom setting without pushing the limit?

The Black Lives Matter movement (BLM), a public disagreement about ending police brutality, has been an ongoing protest for many years. It is human instinct to protect one’s beliefs and opinions instead of listening to both sides of a debate. This unwillingness to listen can lead to the many arguments that people have today, especially about the BLM movement. People have to work together to address this issue, or else the cycle of protests and debates will continue to swarm the news and our daily lives. Many of us desire the same thing: for police brutality and injustice toward blacks to cease. The question is, how will we work together to achieve this? By starting in the classroom setting. We’ve all been scrolling through social media and have come across BLM posts, mainly from supporters and others who disagree. Most of these posts regard some of the recent deaths of black individuals, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Travyon Martin, and others. BLM was intended to be a series of peaceful protests: a place where people could go and make signs and spread awareness; but some have taken it a little too far, causing the police to use force and riot controls such as tear gas, rubber bullets, batons and water cannons. Students have turned to teachers for information on how we can help solve the issue within the perimeters of the first amendment. Teachers have tried to come up with safe and easy ways to help out students, some by holding small group debates in the classroom, others by talking one on one with the student. Both are effective, but some students have stuck to posting pictures of protests on social media, mainly because it’s easier to voice opinions on the internet due to the choice to ignore the backlash that comes with it. Everyone has their own views on this topic. But how do we address topics like this in a classroom setting? Teachers have tried to approach this topic from both sides and minimize the amount of conflict that may come up during discussions. They’re also trying to find new ways to address topics such as these without creating too much controversy, while still letting their students openly discuss. From small group discussions to anonymous posts on Google Classroom, Jeffrey Glickman, our Crime and Justice teacher here at Central, has managed to find a way to let students express their opinions without having a whole class debate. He explained that he tries to teach the unit from both sides in order to reduce arguments and controversy during the class period. “Generally speaking, all students want a safe environment, community, a place where everyone is treated with respect. A place where law enforcement has the tools to serve and protect but also not abuse its power.” Setting opinions aside, Glickman expresses that he wants his students to identify when there are cases of police brutality but also when the police force does an amazing job serving and protecting our community. Glickman encourages students to go out and find credible sources for information

Graphic: S. Goodwin

about such topics and also try to see how they can help take a stand in a peaceful way. “Many of the students generally arrive at the conclusion that the police method is pretty ineffective, and that people are being targeted because of their race [and feel] they’re being targeted unfairly, and so my goal is to try to empower the students to where they can take a stand working within the parameters of the first amendment.” From a student’s perspective, experiences like these will vary from person to person, as well as their experiences with different teaching skills. Olivia Niessink ‘21 is taking AP Psychology, where they discussed in class the differences between prejudice and discrimination. Despite classmates having different views on this topic, they still covered it with not many issues. “The movement has been successful in drawing attention to this public health crisis, which is truly amazing. I can just only hope that it will continue to move forward and encourage people to educate themselves.” She also sheds light on why students have turned to social media to protest. “ I think that for most people, it can be scary to have to debate or argue with people that are near and dear to us as a result of voicing our belief regarding this movement. Social media kind of just allows us to put our thoughts out there and have the opportunity to ignore any backlash.” Aside from this, Niessink explains that students have a hard time understanding racial inequality because of it being so low at

Central. She also mentions that not many students at Central have a first hand experience with situations such as these, making it harder to grasp the concept. Niessink believes that the government should pick up where Lyndon B. Johnson left off with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She states that “the government should take on the challenge of extending the work that Johnson started and ensure that race plays no factor into how far that racial group can progress or succeed in this country,” In the end, ultimately getting to the conclusion that “BLM is not a knock on the door of rights, but a stomp on the floors of both equality and justice.” However you view this topic, teachers and students alike are trying to minimise conflict in the classroom without disrespecting individuals’ opinions. Whether it’s by one on one talks with students or something along the lines of small group work, both ways are effectively impacting students and encouraging them to take a stand in whichever ways they see fit but also Individuals can help make a difference by trying to work together; working together helps everyone understand differing opinions and find a way to solve today’s problems from a student’s perspective. If we don’t have an open mind about others’ opinions, points don’t get across as quickly as they should and ultimately, they lead to creating more arguments. //