Dear friends,
This week’s election results are a good reminder that issues may ultimately matter to voters more than candidates. In addition to the headline news about the Ohio referendum securing the right to abortion and Democratic control of both houses of the Virginia legislature, there were the colossal failures of the Moms for Liberty (MfL).
The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified MfL as an extremist group. Their initiatives focus on banning books and opposing inclusive curricular materials, especially those that focus on Black history and LGBTQ+ people. MfL asserts that schools are violating parental rights when they introduce ideas that interfere with parents’
right to direct the education, medical care, or moral upbringing of their children.
MfL’s candidates lost all five seats on school boards in Central Bucks County, PA. In a neighboring district, Pennridge, voters
rejected Republican candidates [who] ran under the name “Protect Pennridge” and had advocated a policy requiring kids to use restrooms and play on sports teams which aligned with their biological sex.
In Virginia, Iowa, and Minnesota, MfL candidates all took a shellacking. Two MfL incumbents in Alaska appear to have hung on to their seats on the Mat-Su school board; the absentee ballots are yet to be counted.
I am heartened that young people are getting a political education about censorship. It turns out — in spite of what many so-called adults would have us believe — that young people are paying attention to the issues that shape their lives. This attention is activating young voters.
Democrats outspend, and you put very sexy things like abortion and marijuana on the ballot, and a lot of young people come out and vote. . . .It was a secret sauce for disaster in Ohio. I don’t know what they were thinking.
The day before Election Day, I did a workshop with young people who raised other sexy issues like student loan debt, low wages, and the lack of affordable housing.
There’s a school walkout planned for today to rally for a ceasefire in Gaza. NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks emailed school employees yesterday to caution them about violating Department of Education’s rule governing political speech.
The introduction to the rule, April 29, 2021, begins
School buildings are not public forums for purposes of community or political expression.
The idea that classrooms are not meant to be places where young people discuss political ideas and the concerns of their communities is plainly wrong. For many years, I taught a course called Participation in Government, which was designed to be
the study of contemporary and/or historic public issues to increase the student’s awareness of their rights and responsibilities as a citizen.
The substance of the rule — that school buildings should not be used for political organizing or campaigning or rallies “for the benefit of any elected official, particular candidate, candidates, slate of candidates or political organization/committee” makes perfect sense.
The timing of the email from Banks was not random.
Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the chancellor’s letter is “inside the bounds of the law” but will “likely have the effect of stifling political discussion both inside the classroom and in the broader community.”
“The Department of Education should spend more time giving teachers the tools to support robust political debate, navigate students’ high emotions, and address serious issues — and less time monitoring their social media accounts,” she added.
Join student protesters at Bryant Park at 3 PM today to call for a ceasefire. Check out the toolkit from Schools Out for #CeasefireNow.
I remain committed to a world in which we are all fully human.
We need to find ways to protect free speech on campus while also using the tools of Restorative Justice to address dehumanizing language that attacks people instead of working to change policies.
An article dated November 2 reported the sharp rise in harassment and bias incidents:
The Anti-Defamation League said last week that there’s been a nearly 400% increase in reported incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault based on preliminary data. And the Council on American-Islamic Relations said last week that it has recorded nearly 800 complaints and reported bias incidents from Muslims nationwide since Oct. 7.
On the one hand, it’s annoying that the statistics are apples and oranges — percentage increase vs. raw data — and on the other hand, the larger point is clear. People are being threatened because of their identity; this is never okay.
Do you know of good work being done on any campus to address the rise in hate speech and bias incidents? If so, please let me know.
with love,
L