16 | news / the standard / oct. 2020
actions speak louder than words District responds to controversy following social media post regarding racism
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lue Valley lacks a diverse range of backgrounds among its staff, students and community. With a little over 70% of the racial makeup being Caucasian/ White, according to the district website, students are inevitably unaware of social issues regarding race and how to approach and interact respectfully with one another. After the murder of George Floyd on May 25, the district, like many other organizations and schools, released a statement regarding their no tolerance policy to racism. In response to the statement, students from all over the district shared their negative experiences in Blue Valley with racism, contradicting the district's statement. Over the span of a couple of days, the district’s Instagram post received 1,135 comments. One of the many students that commented was freshman Annousha Hashmi. She said she initially laughed at all the backlash the district received. “I really just thought, ‘wow,’” Hashmi said. “For a school district to claim to value diversity in the lives of everybody, they sure do have a funny way of showing it.” Hashmi said the post did not properly
reflect on Blue Valley and their rebuke of racism, but was able to relate to what was being revealed in the comment section. “I saw people airing their grievances,” Hashmi said. “And it was like, so I'm not alone in my unfavorable experiences.” Principal Scott Roberts had a very different initial reaction and said he thought the statement was nice, but then took a step back after seeing the students’ reactions. “I know [superintendent] Dr. [Tonya] Merrigan personally felt this way, that we had to sit down and listen. We need to listen to our families, to our kids, to our teachers of color,” Roberts said. “We need to sit and just listen because it was a visceral reaction; it was real, and it was honest and it was open.” Both Merrigan and the Blue Valley Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board were contacted for an interview on this topic. No one was available for an interview, but The Standard received the following message via email from Merrigan: “At the June 30 Board of Education Meeting, Blue Valley’s Board approved the addition of a new board advisory committee — the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board
Protesters gather at the 135th and Metcalf intersection on June 12 to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Photo by Sahar Baha.
Advisory Committee. That committee has since been established and has begun meeting.” After posting a follow up on Instagram acknowledging the comment section, emails and protest hosted by the Blue Valley Northwest Black Student Union, administrators, including Roberts recognized a need for change. “We at Southwest need to elevate the voices of our students of color in a much more dramatic fashion,” Roberts said. Senior Kayden Williams was active in responding and critiquing the district and their claims. She said she thought the district’s first statement was honest and a step in the right direction, but did not entirely meet her expectations. “We [need] to go further as a district than just a statement,” Williams said. “Because my entire life, and I think all of our entire lives, we’ve always heard people [say] that they’re committed to racial equality. But that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t do anything to strive for racial equality.” Williams said she personally reached out to Merrigan about how necessary change is to help combat microaggressions and racial mistreatment and was able to share some of her ideas for bettering the district. “I suggested doing more than what we do for black history, because during Black History Month, we don’t learn about black individuals, we learned about the Civil Rights Movement,” Williams said. “And it’s a very glossed over movement.” Williams said she hasn’t seen any policies being initiated and that although she is hopeful, she doesn’t see the district making any evident changes. “I’m not going to get my hopes up so high,” Williams said. “It’s a reality — like we’ve been here and we’ve had this opportunity, and nothing happens.” Although students may not be able to see a lot of change come around to the district,
