AB Student Protests with Graffitti
BY ERIN TOBIN '23
On March 24, Shri Kumar ’23 posted a video on Instagram in which she confessed to graffitiing the school with phrases of protest. She aimed to highlight the severity of our situation—a trend of racist, hurtful incidents at ABRHS.
One prominent event was in December, when an anonymous user racially attacked Evelyn Abaayah-Issah and Kyra Cook during a school committee meeting. Then, throughout March, the administration notified the community of anti-Semitic and racist graffiti drawn in AB bathrooms. They quickly condemned these incidents and offered support for students. The school further created advisory lessons and added resources on hate and bias to its website. From schoolwide broadcasts to class discussions, AB is clearly trying to combat the racist incidents, but as these attacks continue, more action remains necessary to instill change.
In a display of activism, Shri graffitied several school bathrooms during mid-March this year, using this particular medium to reference the hate graffiti at AB. On March 18, she wrote, “Acts of racism occur when racist acts are not punished. Condemn racism, I dare you,” and four days later, “You can erase graffiti but you can't seem to erase hate. Do something, I dare you.” Two days later, she was confronted by the school administration.
Shri begins her video by describing the administration's response. On March 24, two staff members pulled her out of class for an interview. The administration felt that Shri had misused her power of speech, as graffitiing the bathrooms also violated student and state laws. The school also considered suspending her, but after a disciplinary hearing, Shri’s dean decided to impose restorative justice and meetings with her support team instead. Shri further learned that the school has a team in charge of handling racist incidents, though the group has remained small due to inadequate funding, Shri claimed.
Overall, Shri felt that her actions had a valid impact. She stated in her video that “I think the fact that I was talking to [the administration members]... and right now I am sitting in front of you guys with probably the most information we've had about the procedures and these incidents, I think that is all proof that what I did was effective.” Although Shri’s graffiti might not have been the most admissible action, it certainly created an opportunity for change.
Thankfully, many students were willing to help. Shri’s video amassed over 7,000 views and has been reposted on many students’ accounts with statements of support. Though some students disagreed with her extreme methods, the majority of her video’s comments were positive, consisting of paragraphs of shared gratitude and frustration at the current situation in our school. Many people are standing behind Shri, ready to take action.
After Shri posted her video, Isha Agarwal ’23 posted a message on her account stressing the importance of joining school clubs as a way to make improvements at AB. As a member of the A World of Difference program, a group educating students on racial bias, Isha emphasized how much she has learned. She believes that social justice clubs can make a change. However, she added that in order for these clubs to be effective, more people have to join. When united under a common cause, students can make an impact and greatly benefit the community as a whole.
In an interview with The Spectrum, Shri furthered that “this is a powerful community, I know that. If there is an issue somewhere, I strongly believe everyone will jump to fix it, but we can’t begin to help if we don’t know what is going on.” She believes that the administration should be more transparent on these “behind-the-scenes details” and acknowledge the possible insufficiency of preventative measures. Hopefully, these strategies will highlight student voices and individual support as means to a quicker, healthier solution.
Change always starts with one person. In this case, that person was Shri Kumar, who called for more action in a time that requires serious change. But change cannot happen without support, and that support comes from us, the students. Uniting together and continuing this momentum might finally provide the activism that many at AB have been yearning for.
One prominent event was in December, when an anonymous user racially attacked Evelyn Abaayah-Issah and Kyra Cook during a school committee meeting. Then, throughout March, the administration notified the community of anti-Semitic and racist graffiti drawn in AB bathrooms. They quickly condemned these incidents and offered support for students. The school further created advisory lessons and added resources on hate and bias to its website. From schoolwide broadcasts to class discussions, AB is clearly trying to combat the racist incidents, but as these attacks continue, more action remains necessary to instill change.
In a display of activism, Shri graffitied several school bathrooms during mid-March this year, using this particular medium to reference the hate graffiti at AB. On March 18, she wrote, “Acts of racism occur when racist acts are not punished. Condemn racism, I dare you,” and four days later, “You can erase graffiti but you can't seem to erase hate. Do something, I dare you.” Two days later, she was confronted by the school administration.
Shri begins her video by describing the administration's response. On March 24, two staff members pulled her out of class for an interview. The administration felt that Shri had misused her power of speech, as graffitiing the bathrooms also violated student and state laws. The school also considered suspending her, but after a disciplinary hearing, Shri’s dean decided to impose restorative justice and meetings with her support team instead. Shri further learned that the school has a team in charge of handling racist incidents, though the group has remained small due to inadequate funding, Shri claimed.
Overall, Shri felt that her actions had a valid impact. She stated in her video that “I think the fact that I was talking to [the administration members]... and right now I am sitting in front of you guys with probably the most information we've had about the procedures and these incidents, I think that is all proof that what I did was effective.” Although Shri’s graffiti might not have been the most admissible action, it certainly created an opportunity for change.
Thankfully, many students were willing to help. Shri’s video amassed over 7,000 views and has been reposted on many students’ accounts with statements of support. Though some students disagreed with her extreme methods, the majority of her video’s comments were positive, consisting of paragraphs of shared gratitude and frustration at the current situation in our school. Many people are standing behind Shri, ready to take action.
After Shri posted her video, Isha Agarwal ’23 posted a message on her account stressing the importance of joining school clubs as a way to make improvements at AB. As a member of the A World of Difference program, a group educating students on racial bias, Isha emphasized how much she has learned. She believes that social justice clubs can make a change. However, she added that in order for these clubs to be effective, more people have to join. When united under a common cause, students can make an impact and greatly benefit the community as a whole.
In an interview with The Spectrum, Shri furthered that “this is a powerful community, I know that. If there is an issue somewhere, I strongly believe everyone will jump to fix it, but we can’t begin to help if we don’t know what is going on.” She believes that the administration should be more transparent on these “behind-the-scenes details” and acknowledge the possible insufficiency of preventative measures. Hopefully, these strategies will highlight student voices and individual support as means to a quicker, healthier solution.
Change always starts with one person. In this case, that person was Shri Kumar, who called for more action in a time that requires serious change. But change cannot happen without support, and that support comes from us, the students. Uniting together and continuing this momentum might finally provide the activism that many at AB have been yearning for.