X aims to combat in-school prejudice By Kayla Gayle, Student Life Editor
There has been a history of prejudice occurring in our hallways, classrooms and now even Microsoft Teams Meetings. Students complain about the supposed lack of action by administration which leads them to not have the school spirit they are expected to. A Black female student, under the alias “X,” which was chosen to represent the unknown, decided to make an Instagram account (@pbhs. safespace_fromignorance) to combat the discrimination she’s witnessed. X chose to stay anonymous due to a fear of possible backlash from her classmates, parents, and school. “There’s been a lot of people in the account’s DMs (Direct Messages) that’s been spreading a lot of hate and I don’t want to become a target because of it,” X said. Despite those fears, X still created the account to raise awareness of the situation suffocating students of minorities. Originally, X emailed Principal Hudson Thomas, Assistant Principals Jill Samaroo and Loralyn Carlson, Intern Principal Lisa Spencer, all the guidance counselors and BRACE Advisor Mia McFadden on behalf of Black and Hispanic students. The email, which is posted on the Instagram account, detailed several accounts of racist acts done by fellow students. “When I emailed the school at first, I was expecting them to reply to at least acknowledge that I said something but they didn’t and that made me really upset,” X said. “So I knew making the account would spread
the awareness of the issues that we have at our school and that it would put administration in a position where they would have to reply, where they would have to say something.” X created the account two days after sending the email because she had yet to receive a reply by then and she hoped to inform other students about the issues occurring on campus, which is exactly what she did. “I didn’t really know about (the racial prejudice at Pompano) until that account was made,” Junior Jack Lewis said. “I think it’s a good thing that someone made (the account) and brought those issues to light.” When emailed for an interview in regard to this article, Thomas, Spencer, Carlson and Samaroo were unavailable for comments before the publication’s deadline. The account gained positive feedback from multiple students that believe it is making a difference. “I think (the account) is important because a lot of people don’t know or pay attention to what’s going on and not only (does it) inform, (it is) also an outlet for people who just want to talk,” Sophomore Krystal Felix said. Though, not everyone agrees with the account and how X is running it. Senior Amanda Flynn described the account as “extremely messy” in terms of the account’s action plans. “Their emails are just ranted statements as far as I’ve seen with no directive to actual change,” Flynn said. “You can’t just rant to administration, at the end of the day they do have
other responsibilities, so you have to have an actual plan.” In response X said, “I understand where they are coming from… However, when you want change, a bit of ranting may occur to show the person/ people you are ‘ranting’ to that there is a pattern, an issue. The entirety of the email was NOT a rant, it was a report. It was a cry for help I made on behalf of the Black, Indian, Hispanic, etc. community.”
“As a ‘directive of change,’ we are trying to get administration to notice there is a clear issue. We are trying to cause a rise so they will do something about the issue. I tried to set up a meeting where students would be able to express their feelings and voice concerns about the issue at our school, but the staff at our school refuses to acknowledge it,” X said. “That’s where the change would’ve started. The plan was to do the meeting, which I was expecting them to agree to for the sake of the Black and Hispanic population at our school, but they
foiled that plan.” Due to administration failing to reply to her email about setting up a meeting with her and other students, X’s new plan consists of contacting the school board and said, “if they choose to do nothing about it, I won’t hesitate to go to the news.” “We understand that administration has ‘other responsibilities’ but their priority is the welfare of the students,” X said. Other students seem to share this sentiment. “No matter how big or small it is, it’s still an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved. I hope the admin will do something,” Lewis said. “All we can do is just bring awareness and educate about the issue.” Though X originally created the account and contacted the school in regards for racial issues, they have decided to expand their message. “When I saw there were other issues like with the LGBTQ community and other races too: Asians and Hispanics, I was like okay this needs to be more broadcasted, this is an issue we need to fix,” X said. Students of different minority groups seem to also have problems regarding discrimination. “I feel the issue with most of our issues (is that) they’re all little things that no one sees the purpose of but they all bubble together and everyone is mad but they can’t pinpoint one area to be mad at,” Flynn said. “I just want to say we have a zero-tolerance policy for cheating and bullying,” X said. “But why isn’t the one for discrimination against other people not as strictly implemented?”
thetornadotimes.org < October 2020 > Student Life | 13
