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THE Conestoga High School, Berwyn PA
Volume 68 No. 5
March 20, 2018
Spoke.news
Instagram video ignites race-based controversy Betty Ben Dor
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Audrey Kim and Eric Xue/The SPOKE
Orange and proud: Freshman Lena Pothier, sophomore James P. Infortuna, junior Thomas Simmons and senior Grace Lanouette deliver speeches for National School Walkout.
‘WE REFUSE TO BE SILENT’ School community responds to Parkland
By Elizabeth Billman, Audrey Kim & Eric Xue Co-Web Editor, Opinion Editor & Co-Editor-in-Chief
W
e have voices — whether we are pro-gun regulations or anti-gun regulations, Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, we have voices,” shouted senior Grace Lanouette to a crowd of students gathered in the large courtyard. “And today we are using them.” At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14, approximately 1,100 students and faculty monitors gathered in the courtyard
for the National School Walkout. Students organizers asked those who attended to wear orange to represent a future without gun violence, and handed out orange ribbons and stickers during the event. Seventeen minutes of silence for seventeen victims of the Parkland school shooting marked the beginning and end of the walkout, as representatives from all four grades were chosen to deliver speeches. At the same time, they joined hundreds of thousands of students across the country in a nationwide movement against gun violence. According to organizing member and senior Arshad Shaik, the purpose of the walkout was to honor victims of school shootings, stimulate conversation about school safety and encourage students to vote.
The walkout, which was organized by a group of 14 students, was in response to the school shooting at Parkland, Florida, when Nikolas Cruz, a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, entered school grounds and killed 17 students and staff, injuring 14 others. Although the issue of gun control is disputed across party lines, organizers strived to make the event bipartisan according to Shaik. “We’ve had enough with these school shootings and these things that are going wrong with the country, so we wanted to make a change in what we see day to day,” Shaik said. “We understand that there are going to be conservative people and there’s liberal people and there’s people in the middle. We wanted to have a message
that everyone can get behind, and that’s school safety.” Speakers addressed the need for change regarding school shootings and the importance of voting to represent their views in Congress. Junior Thomas Simmons, who spoke at the event, believes Parkland to be “the last straw” in a row of school shootings. “Although (Parkland) isn’t any more tragic than the other school shootings, I feel like everyone just saw Parkland as something that has gone on for too long,” Simmons said. “We (are) very contentious politically, but this (issue) is something that we need to focus on now. Young people can make a difference and that’s what we should do.” continued on page 3
In a video posted to a private Instagram account on Tuesday, March 6, two Conestoga High School students used a racial slur. After one of their followers shared the video publicly, the story gained national attention, reaching over 2.6 million views on Twitter. African American Student Union (AASU) president Heather Gray-Vause said that when she saw the video, she was confused at first, and then angry. “Just the ignorance, the tone, the toleration, the culture of it, like at this point we shouldn’t still be experiencing racism in 2018 in a school like this that is so high up in ratings,” Gray-Vause said. One of the students in the video is junior Charlotte de Vries, who issued a public apology statement to The Spoke in which she said that she is “deeply ashamed for using racist language.” “I realize that such words are offensive, uncalled for and, regardless of the situation, I should have known better. I have begun to have conversations about how to move forward, and how to develop better sensitivity and understanding of the experiences and feelings of others,” said de Vries in the statement. “This has been a painful lesson for me. I had no right hurting people. I truly hope that my thoughtlessness is a lesson for others, as it has been for me, that words do matter and that they can be hurtful.” In response to the video, Tredyffrin-Easttown School District (TESD) Superintendent Dr. Richard Gusick sent out a statement to district families condemning the use of racist language. “Although this video was not made during school, it has hurt and offended many in our school community. This is unacceptable behavior, and it will not be tolerated,” said Gusick in his statement. “The school will investigate fully and apply consequences as appropriate. T/E School District will continue to stand
for respect and inclusion, with schools where all are welcomed to learn and grow.” George Washington University Law School Professor Catherine Ross, who specializes in constitutional law with an emphasis on the First Amendment, said that any disciplinary action that TESD may take against the two students in the video would be unlawful. Author of “Lessons in Censorship: How Schools and Courts Subvert Students’ First Amendment Rights,” Ross said that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction applies to Pennsylvania, has made it clear that off-campus speech can not be regulated by the school so long as it does not substantially interfere with the educational process. “The school does not have the authority to discipline (the students in the video) for this off-campus speech. Many people would argue that use of the “n” word as a freestanding thing, not addressed to a particular person with the intent of harassing them, is also protected speech,” Ross said. “There is a big difference between using the coercive power of the state to punish someone — and punishment is censorship — and saying here is an episode that we need to take advantage of as a teaching moment for our population.” Although information regarding disciplinary action is confidential, other consequences from the video have made headlines across the country. De Vries drew widespread criticism on social media in light of her commitment to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for field hockey. When contacted by The Spoke, the university sent a statement in which they said that the video does not include a UNC student and that the university condemns the use of racial slurs. The incident has been reported by the university’s newspaper and has led current students and alumni, such as famous basketball player Nate Britt, to tweet their disdain for having de Vries come to their school. continued on page 2
DECA members advance to nationals Reagan Gerrity Staff Reporter
The Conestoga chapter of DECA has grown significantly in the past year, increasing in number from 25 to 86 members. The club recently participated in a state competition on Feb. 21, qualifying 22 members for nationals which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia from April 21 through April 24. DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America, is a business competition that is split into four categories: finance, marketing, hospitality and tourism. Participants can choose to work individually or with a partner, and they compete by taking a 100 question test on their category and then creating a business plan to present in front of judges. The state competition was rigorous. “At districts you didn’t have to qualify for anything so your competition was weaker,” club member and junior Shray Mehortra said. “But now going to states there was more competition, the judges you had were more professional, had more expertise in their respective fields. I guess the whole atmosphere was just different.” For the state competition, members traveled to Hershey where they stayed for three days. The first day was for testing, the second for business plans and the final day was reserved for awards. Traveling offers the opportunity to get to know team members better.
“You really grow closer to the teammates or the fellow DECA members that you have around you,” Mehortra said. “You’re not just spending the afternoon but two or three whole days with other people that are not your family.” New club members and juniors Ally Latoff and Brooke Deasy competed in the hospitality category as partners, and won first place. The win “was really rewarding because it was only my first year doing the club and it felt good to win after all of our hard work. (Business) is something that I want to go into when I’m older and it felt good knowing that you can succeed even if you haven’t been doing it that long,” Latoff said. Club adviser Katie Buckley enjoys watching her students succeed. “This was a club that I was involved in in high school and I competed at both the state and the national levels as well,” Buckley said. “To see my students succeed in something that was really a meaningful club for me and a club that I feel had a great impact on my life and preparing me for interviews and giving presentations and how to speak publicly in front of a crowd will be really rewarding.” Regardless of her performance at nationals, Latoff looks forward to it. “I’ve never been to Atlanta before and I think the competition will be super hard but super fun,” Latoff said. “The competition will be really tough, but it will be a great experience overall.”
Courtesy Katie Buckley
Business Breakthrough: DECA members pose with the trophies they won during a state business competition in Hershey. Of those who competed, 22 placed in the top four of their category and will advance to nationals. Nationals is being held in Atlanta, Georgia from April 21 through the 24.