Demanding information that is unattainable is selfish and damaging to the victim and possibly other students. Young women should not have to share the traumatic experiences they went through on the morning announcements for our satisfaction.
September 23, 2021
After the events possibly involving sexual assault that occurred after Central’s first football game, many students expressed their anger for not receiving any information from the school. I agree that it is completely unreasonable that Central did not address what happened that Friday night until days later, but we should not demand information without thinking.
The overall statement expressed was “we have the right to know.” That really does not sit right with me.
I believe we have the right to know when both the victim and her family are comfortable sharing information.
The school could not release any information because there was an ongoing police investigation. Another factor to keep in mind is that this victim is a minor which means little information can be released surrounding the situation.
Demanding information that is unattainable is selfish and damaging to the victim and possibly other students. Young women should not have to share the traumatic experiences they went through on the morning announcements for our satisfaction. We should be upset- upset for the victim and upset at the lack of security that was in attendance at the game. I believe everyone deserves to feel safe and comfortable on school grounds, but students did not approach it in the most beneficial way.
Students also organized a walkout in protest of the lack of information released. There were a mix of motives for why students wanted to carry out said walkout. The lack of organization and a united front for the protests message made the walkout unproductive.
Since the victim has not shared her story, who are we to share it for her? Her experiences are extremely personal, and until she is ready, we should hold off on doing anything directly related to her story. If the message was for better security at school events, or rape culture as a whole, the walkout would have been more meaningful. If we want to see these changes implemented our principal, Ms. Kirksey, gladly stated that she would listen to us.
A lot of these intentions came from the right place but were not in the best interest of the people who were hurt. We need to take a step back and think of how our actions affect others, especially in a serious situation like this.
As much as it is wrong, we also must acknowledge that some students will use a walkout as an opportunity to skip. If we held a protest outside of school, the right crowd would be attracted, and students’ message would come off stronger.
We could also organize an event like we held for George Floyd, last school year. A moment of silence held in the courtyard by staff and students was both effective and touching.
While times like this call for change, going about it in a productive and thoughtful way is the best way to ensure our voices are heard and concrete changes are made. If we speak to the willing authority, we can prevent terrible situations like this in the future. Working with our principal and staff, we will be able to make a bigger impact as a student body.
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