Students held a rally on Thursday, Oct. 17 to raise awareness about racist incidents occurring in MCPS.
The rally, led by the Black Student Union (BSU) and Minority Scholars Program (MSP), protested the lack of actions taken by MCPS against a Wootton student who used a school printer to create 1,000 sheets of paper showcasing a racial slur.
While the act was committed on May 15, Principal Douglas Nelson was only notified of the incident on May 17. Students who witnessed the images being printed claimed that a teacher was present while the pages were produced. According to Wootton’s administration, the student, identified as a freshman, was punished according to MCPS’s Code of Conduct, but many students believe that the punishment wasn’t nearly harsh enough considering the actions of the guilty student.
“I think that the administration at Wootton was notified of it and they acknowledged it, but I don’t think that much action was taken against the student that did it or just in general to address it,” senior MSP president Bella Relacion said.
In response to this act of hate and the actions taken by Wootton and MCPS’s administrations, BSUs and MSPs located in schools across the county agreed to unite and each host a rally at their respective schools on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Members of WJ’s BSU and MSP gave speeches and held up signs at the rally, urging students to join their fight and end discrimination.
“We want to bring attention because everyone at BSU Wootton and the MSP students did the right thing and talked to someone who’s a trusted adult, but they really failed,” senior BSU treasurer Michelle Lett said.
Relacion said that the rally was held on Thursday with the goal of getting teachers and staff to talk about the issue on Friday’s professional development day.
Despite action taken, racial terms were later scribbled all over a bathroom at Wootton. The BSU and MSP called out to both staff and students, encouraging them to join them in their fight for peace and equality.
“I feel like if both staff and students were more supportive, our school system would be a lot better,” senior MSP treasurer Helam Legesse said.