Students Rise Up Against School's Transgender Bathroom Policy, Walk Out of Class in Protest: Report
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Students at a New York state high school walked out of class recently to protest the transgender bathroom policy at their high school.
The protest took place March 18 at John Jay High School, which is part of the Wappingers Central School District.
The school’s policy is that students can use any bathroom they choose that suits their preferred version of their gender identity, according to Spectrum News.
“A bunch of people from our school, John Jay, feel uncomfortable,” Shauna Neilan, a senior at John Jay High School, said.
“We want to change that and give them their own spaces to make us more comfortable and them more comfortable,” she said.
A petition started by Neilan alleged incidents have taken place in a restroom focusing on one transgender student.
Wappingers Central School District Superintendent Dwight Bonk said he is not aware of any such incident.
Bork noted that the school will have code of conduct discussions with students who participated in the protest.
Cory Pittore, a senior at the school, took part in a counter-protest.
“I feel as though that we shouldn’t be silenced no matter what,” Pittore, who claims she identifies as a male, said.
“We are human, just like everyone else. I, myself, have been struggling with this for so long, and I just feel like we shouldn’t be silenced because we’re human ourselves,” Pittore said.
An “inclusivity” group called Defense of Democracy came in to lead the counter-protest, according to Spectrum News.
“It is not enough to just stand up with trans students, we must fight their oppressors,” said one of the organizers, according to cable outlet News 12 Westchester.
More High Schoolers should do this.
This how you protest and save your schools.🙏🇺🇸High Schoolers Walk Out as Adults Push Transgenderism
High school girls and boys are protesting the official push for shared restrooms at John Jay High School in San Antonio, Texas.Students at… pic.twitter.com/iltqG2CQjo
— floridanow1 (@floridanow1) March 21, 2024
In a statement, Bonk said the school follows the law.
“Under state and federal laws (including Title IX and New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act), school districts are required to provide access to transgender students to the restroom of the sex with which they identify, which may not be the student’s sex assigned at birth,” he said.
“The District is fully aware of its obligations to its transgender population (as well as to the entirety of the student body) under these laws and remains fully committed to protecting these students and ensuring that they can safely access these rights,” the statement said.
His statement said the protest “involved approximately 20 students that was peaceful and concluded without incident.
“I was personally present at the school during the protest and the students had the opportunity to exercise their free speech rights to express their positions in a manner which is both respectful, safe, and in accordance with the requirements of the School District and governmental authorities,” he said.
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