Manhattan high school sit-in over student al
BY GABE HERMAN
Students at Beacon High School in
Hell’s Kitchen held a sit-in Monday
to protest racist acts in the
school and the administration’s lack of
an appropriate response.
The sit-in and teach-in at the school,
at 522 W. 44 St., took place in the
building’s hallways. Students and student
unions, under the coalition Beacon
United Unions (BUU), organized the
event and said that the school has enabled
racist acts by students and teachers,
which had witnesses and were not
investigated.
Hundreds of students walked out of
the school two weeks earlier to protest
what they said were racial biases in the
admissions process.
The actions took place as a result of a
Dec. 10 incident, students said, during
which a female senior belittled minority
students for getting into college through
affi rmative action, with the alleged assistance
of guidance counselors.
But other students said it was not an
isolated incident at the school.
Before the sit-in, some pupils, who
didn’t give their names, spoke of discrimination
faced at Beacon High
School. One student said she has faced
biases as a Latina, and didn’t realize it
for some time because it had become
normalized.
“When I was a freshman in Beacon
last year I was constantly told that I
should straighten my hair because my
hair was either too messy or too big,”
she said. “We came to this school for
a good education, not to be discriminated
against.”
Another student claimed a pupil told
them that they were only at Beacon because
of “the diversity quota,” adding
language that “Mexicans were rapists,
criminals,” parroting a line from Donald
Trump’s presidential campaign announcement
speech in 2015.
Beacon students holding a sit-in on Monday.
Junior Adrian Perez commented, “It
is time that we start to challenge the
administration and question the things
that happen in this building.”
The sit-in included discussions of
discriminations faced daily by people of
color, issues that minority students face
in the school, and a list of demands.
The demands included a public apology
from Beacon for allowing racism to
fester; investigation of college counselors
alleged to be involved in the incident
last week and whether biases have
impacted their job performance; investigation
of previous discriminatory acts
and of newly reported ones within 48
hours, and notifying students about
any investigations; workshops on bias
and Culturally Responsive Education;
efforts to make the staff more diverse;
participants in the sit-in not facing any
repercussions; and monthly meetings
between BUU, the administration and
the PTA to ensure the school is safe for
all students.
The school’s principal, Ruth Lacey,
communicated Monday with students,
parents and the PTA, according to the
NYC Department of Education, and
she also met Tuesday with students and
staff as part of planned ongoing dialogue
on making the school welcoming
and supportive for everyone.
Beacon will hold a student assembly
by grade level this week, created by students
and administration, DOE said,
and there will be regular meetings between
students, administration and the
PHOTO BY JEREMY WEINE
PTA going forward.
DOE also said it is committed to
supporting Beacon with education on
implicit bias, restorative justice and
cultural responsiveness. It also added
that normal attendance policies were in
effect and students not in class will be
marked absent.
“Students and staff at Beacon deserve
a safe, supportive and inclusive school,”
said a DOE spokesperson, “and Principal
Lacey has clearly communicated
to students, staff, and families that she
takes these concerns seriously. While
we investigate allegations about an incident
last week, we will support the
school community’s efforts to foster a
welcoming learning environment for
everyone.”
Cops break up wild brawl outside Manhattan
BY TODD MAISEL
Two women were arrested Sunday
night after they were ejected
from a Manhattan bar and then
became embroiled in a street brawl, police
reported.
The brawlers knocked over planters
and scattered debris before police
could stop them, offi cials said.
Cops cuffed Candita Ramos, 25, 0f
West 192nd Street in the Bronx and
Joanne Finch, 29, of Jackson Street in
Brooklyn. Law enforcement sources
said both were charged with disorderly
conduct for fi ghting and Finch received
an added charged of obstructing governmental
administration.
They were taken to Bellevue Hospital
on suspicion of being under the infl
uence of alcohol or other substances,
authorities said.
Police from the 6th Precinct were
called at 6:42 p.m. on Dec. 15 to 250
West 14th St., where managers of McKenna’s
Bar said the pair, who had been
ejected from the joint for disorderly
conduct, began fi ghting with each other
outside the location.
A dozen police offi cers intervened
to stop the fi ght. The two women then
began struggling with police, even after
they were handcuffed, and continued
resisting as they were put into police
cars, offi cials said.
One woman even attempted to bite
an offi cer, cops said. No offi cers were
injured.
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
Members of the PBA led by their president Pat Lynch gAve out gifts to
children in Far Rockaway and Brownsville, Brooklyn on Saturday.
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