CHRONICLE the harvard-westlake
Los Angeles • Volume XXV • Issue VIII • May 25, 2016 • hwchronicle.com
ILLUSTRATION BY VIVIAN LIN
Brentwood video spurs discussions about diversity By Sammi Handler Jesse Nadel
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After a video surfaced last week of some white students from Brentwood School singing a rap song with the n-word, upper school deans decided to open up a conversation about racial insensitivity among Harvard-Westlake students. “Honestly, this is an issue that I personally feel really strongly about, so when I saw that video, it just stuck with me,” upper school dean Beth Slattery, who is white, said. “I spent a lot of time that night looking at the Change.org petition, reading the comments and feeling that if I didn’t do anything I would just be part of the problem. There are too many times when teachable moments come along and we as a school don’t seize them because things are too busy or it’s too inconvenient.” On May 17, students from Brentwood posted a Snapchat video of some white students
partying on a yacht and singing “Dump Dump” by A$AP Ferg. Other students sent the video to Brentwood administration and posted it to a Change.org petition, calling for disciplinary actions and shedding light on Brentwood’s lack of diversity. Lyrics to the song are explicit, including the refrain caught on tape: “I f***ed your b**** n****, I f***ed your b****.” At a junior class meeting Wednesday, Slattery expressed her indignation of the students’ actions and urged Harvard-Westlake students to be mindful of white privilege, a blind spot for students who have not experienced racism. White students cannot understand the implications of casually saying racist slurs, so they do not have the right to determine how a minority student feels in response to the video or similar situations, Slattery said in her announcement. “Being told the n-word is not that big of a deal (even
when it’s in a song) by someone is black, said. “I know the conwho is not black is disrespect- versations need to be taking ful on so many levels,” Phae- place, because it could easdra Robinson ’17 said. “I think ily happen here with very well Mrs. Slattery said it very well meaning people who just don’t in her talk to the juniors: priv- understand what the issues ilege, in all scenarios, should are. If they don’t understand not give people a pass to feel the issues we can’t necessarlike they can tell others what ily expect them to abide by whatever our they should societal rules and shouldn’t are. We need find offensive.” I think that this something to Administrators, deans incident isn’t something make sure that and students that reflects individually we educate.” Similarly, said that they on those students, some students feel the school believe those needs to fabut really represents a Brentwood stucilitate more bigger problem.” dents themconversations to be proactive —Charles Flippen ’18 selves are not racist, but that rather than rethe video demactive to prejuonstrated a general lack of dice of any kind. “When you think about sensitivity to differences that what Brentwood did, they put has to be changed. “I knew one of the people out the [official school] statement, but we’re talking about who was in the video, and I reaction as opposed to some- guess saying the n-word is thing that’s proactive,” upper racist, but I don’t think in the school dean Chris Jones, who context that they were saying
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it was racist,” Charles Flippen ’18, who is black, said. “I don’t think that they should be expelled or suspended. People at Harvard-Westlake do that all the time when they’re singing a song. It is unfortunate that they thought they could put that on social media and that would be okay, but I think that this incident isn’t something that reflects individually on those students, but really represents a bigger problem.” In a Chronicle poll, 75 percent of students who responded said they have seen the video and 91 percent said that they believe something like this could have happened at Harvard-Westlake. “A video surfaced this year of a [Harvard-Westlake]ninth grader saying the n-word, and just like in the Brentwood case, nothing really happened to him,” Black Leadership and Culture Club Head Nina Milligan ’16 said. “I know that a lot • Continued on page A8
Administration prohibits Peer Support sleepovers INSIDE
By Sharon Chow
Peer Support sleepovers have been prohibited by the administration due to one sleepover last month being “run inappropriately,” counselor and humanities teacher Luba Bek said. While Bek said she would not describe the details of what happened, she did say that several people at the sleepover were uncomfortable with events that occurred and told adults about what happened. These reports prompted the administration to cancel Peer Support sleepovers for at least
the rest of this year and the entirety of next year. “I am extremely disappointed in what happened and very sad,” Bek said. “Not at the fact that there will be no sleepovers but in the fact that people we, as adults, trust and hold on a pretty high pedestal can violate our trust so easily and put down the entire community.” Bek said rumors about inappropriate management of Peer Support sleepovers surfaced last year. “This is high school, and there are all sorts of rumors, so the rumor was circulating last
year that some Peer Support sleepovers steered away from the rules that were very specific and very clear,” Bek said. “We questioned everybody, and we reiterated the premise of peer support sleepovers that we needed to stay safe, sober and confidential, and we reminded over and over again all the leaders and trainees.” The Peer Support leaders in charge of the sleepover at which misbehavior was reported were dismissed from the program. “The leaders of the group are no longer Peer Support leaders,” Bek said. “We asked
them to leave the group, and it was the end of their Peer Support career, and the trainees of the group were put on probation because the trainees were not aware that the incident was authorized by the Peer Support leaders. The result of that is, as of the date we spoke to the administration of the school, there are no more peer support sleepovers this year, next year and indefinitely.” Bek said she is not sure when the issue will be revisited but she thinks that the Peer Support sleepovers were • Continued on page A7
C4 SU JIN NAM /CHRONICLE
CATCHING A RIDE: Many students use Uber instead of a designated driver, possibly leading to increased teen drinking.