Hicksville School District Not Supportive Of National Walkout

Instead of joining thousands of students across the country by joining the National School Walkout, the Hicksville High School administration thought of alternative ways students could feel involved that wouldn’t “interrupt” the educational program.

One of those alternative methods was having students write down their thoughts and feelings on post-it notes, according to Hicksville senior Rafeed Hossain on Twitter.

Hicksville Public Schools Superintendent Carl Bonuso said in a letter to parents and guardians that the school does not support the walkout. “To do so would not only interrupt the educational program but also miss an opportunity to engage students in lessons about what it means to unify as a school family and effectively communicate our opinions and ideas," the statement said.

Instead, Hicksville students participated in “Unity Day” on Wednesday, and did things like write personal messages that would be used as a tribute to victims and survivors of gun violence.

Students also had the opportunity to write letters to legislators, hold discussions or reflect in silence.

Many students felt that their voices were silenced by an unsupportive school administration.

Hossain told Cosmopolitan that students couldn’t be stopped from walking out, but security had blocked the doors of the school and there was a police officer outside the school waiting to escort students back inside, where students would possibly be punished.

Thousands of students across the country walked out of school to demand change in regards to school safety and gun laws on Wednesday to honor the 17 people killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month.

Hossain shared his thoughts of the school’s “injustice” of not being able to support a national movement during the school’s post-it note reflection time. He wrote, “A post-it note won't change laws. A post it note does not vindicate the 17 lives that were brutally murdered on that day. A post-it note is not standing up for the lives of us students who fear for our lives every day.”

Hicksville High School alum Kyle Singh told Patch he thinks the school administration's decision to condone the walkout was ridiculous. “How often do we get the chance to have high school students who are passionate about something?” he said. “The students went about it the right way, and they were completely shut down.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he supports all students' right to protest and said no student should be disciplined for participating in the walkout. "Yesterday's actions were a testament to the courage and leadership of New York's students," he said in a statement. "As I said yesterday, these young people are showing more leadership than the so-called leaders in Washington. To punish or discipline them is inconsistent with the freedom of expression that we cherish. It would say more about the adults imposing discipline than it would about the students who exercised their rights to speak out."

Do you think the school’s individual assignments will bring more change than the National School Walkout? Sound off below.

Image 1 courtesy of Rafeed Hossain, Image 2 via Patch