VOICES
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MCPS BOARD OF EDUCATION AND WHITMAN ADMINISTRATON by Mizuki Brent As a former Whitman student and someone who was in the MCPS system from 2010 to 2020, I feel compelled to write about a pressing issue that remains unresolved and therefore dangerous: sexual harassment by teachers. The silence surrounding this topic has been deafening for so long that even after graduating from high school, I feel I must walk backward to call attention to the issue. The all-too-familiar predatory behavior of some teachers is part of a trend that, beyond vague emails, remains largely publicly unaddressed by the Whitman administration and the MCPS Board of Education. We’ve read too many messages from principals and board members often using words along the lines of, “We are looking into these allegations,” or that harassment “has no home here,” without any follow-up. The red tape of legal procedures and investigations within MCPS does absolutely nothing to repair or acknowledge the emotional and psychological trauma that children are experiencing as survivors. Stopping the outreach to survivors at vague promises is more than embarrassing and irresponsible of those in administrative positions. The lack of communication and absence of updated sexual harassment prevention eftions of students who have come forward with their own experiences. Survivors deserve true support, whether in the form of proper counseling by licensed therapists or investigative efforts that hold perpetrators personally and professionally accountable. During my sixth-grade year at Whitman cluster school Pyle Middle School, rumors quickly reached me about the reputation of certain teachers — rumors that went beyond the kind of academic grade I would receive in their classes. One teacher in particular would regularly and comfortably harass students, namely girls, and make unwanted comments about their appearance or the way they dressed. physical contact and would look down girls’ shirts in a way so noticeable that even a child understand the intentions behind it. Students named this teacher, as well as a
few others, in multiple public posts when the Instagram account @survivorsatwhitman arose last year. MCPS, by law, had to investigate the allegations and presumably did, though the teacher remains employed despite the corroboration among students’ accounts. In the anonymous submissions to the account, students recall unwanted physical contact, uncomfortably doting nicknames and a hatred for school as a consequence of these assaults. Equally distressing is the fact that these posts often begin with the student’s uncertainty as to whether their experience “counts” as assault. Despite public reports of sexual harassment skyrocketing in recent years, MCPS and Whitman leaders have dedicated the exact same amount of time to beginning-of-the-year sexual harassment training as they always have. Other important trainings on disenfranchisement and equithey have in years past, but these issues need not be mutually exclusive with as glaring of a problem as sexual harassment; the power imbalances at the core of each overlap in disturbing ways. In the absence of appropriate follow-up, students are left with no option but to take to social media accounts like @survivorsatwhitman to share their experiences of sexual harassment, with both the actual instances and the reporting process. The existence of these inforschools have failed at one of their most significant responsibilities: ensuring student safety. The issue does not dissolve at the end of the school day when students leave the building, or even when students graduate. According to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, survivors of harassment report long-term symptoms ranging from denial, guilt and trust issues to disassociation, depression and persistent anxiety and paranoia. Status-quo assemblies and rubber wristbands have done little. Faced with bold perback, changing their approach if the problem
continues. Administrators can’t keep waiting There is no excuse for the same step-bystep procedure that has been failing for years. When adults continually take advantage of positions that allow them to be predatory, especially toward children, what’s been done before is not enough. There is no reason for delay. Nobody — my siblings, friends, fellow Whitman gradu-
ates and current students alike — should suffer of authority like our teachers, nor should they suffer from the knowledge that nothing has changed after the risks they took and the emotions they laid out in telling their stories. And there is no better way to disincentivize coming forward than repeatedly saying “There wasn’t enough evidence,” or “There’s nothing else we can do.” Find something to do.
The attached petition compiles signatures demanding accountability. Please add your name if you feel inclined, and amplify this message in any capacity that you see fit. Force administrators and the MCPS Board to hear our voices. Your story matters, and it needs to matter to them, too.
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