SLO County schools, stop hate on campus. Your most vulnerable students depend on it

In the span of a month or so, two San Luis Obispo County schools have been confronted with acts of hate directed at LGBTQ students.

First, a student ripped a Pride flag from a wall of a Paso Robles High School classroom. It wound up in a restroom, where it was stuffed down a toilet and defecated on — actions that were purposefully videoed and posted to TikTok.

Next, a mask with a Pride flag logo was found “desecrated” on the same campus; police were called in.

Finally, at the end of Kindness Week at Arroyo Grande High School, some unknown number of students deliberately poured liquid on and defaced a Pride chalk mural drawn on a sidewalk, KSBY reported.

All three are visible examples of hate and intolerance directed at a population of our community that has been disregarded, marginalized and flat-out abused for too long.

And keep in mind, these are just the incidents we know about; LGBTQ students are frequent targets of ridicule, threats and bullying, state and national surveys show.

But why all of a sudden are high-profile incidents popping up at SLO County schools?

And are school administrators doing enough stop the hate and ensure their campuses are safe for all students?

How schools reacted to acts of hate

In a matter of weeks, and especially at Paso Robles High, responses by school districts have gotten progressively stronger. But they didn’t start out that way.

After the toilet incident, the Paso Robles school district offered a belated and wishy-washy response and then made the foolish decision to redirect attention from the act of hate to the symbol itself, banning displays of Pride flags larger than 2 feet by 2 feet — which was later amended to 2 feet by 3 feet, because, you know, flags aren’t square.

More powerful statements were issued following the other two incidents.

“This type of behavior is unconscionable, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated at AGHS,” the school said in its statement. “We are truly disappointed that something like that happened on our campus.”

The school principal also issued a letter that included a request for students to report incidents to an email “tip line.”

After the “desecrated” mask was found — officials did not say how the mask was altered — the Paso High Principal Anthony Overton released a forceful statement: “The action of this student or students is unacceptable and intolerable. Individuals participating in acts of hate like this will face the most severe consequences available to us in the education code and will be reported to law enforcement.”

School administrators are now saying the right things, but it will take more than talk to halt this trend.

What are the “most severe consequences” and, for that matter, what constitutes an “act of hate”?

And how is the district going to communicate that information to students and their families? Because statements issued in the aftermath of hate incidents, while well-meaning, aren’t enough.

How students are leading the way

Much of the action we see now is bubbling up from the students themselves, as they seize power from those who would marginalize them.

So in rejecting hate, listening to the students who have been on the receiving end is the only place to start.

Nowhere was this more on display than at Paso High, where the LGBTQ community and its supporters have joined together to confront intolerance in visible and vocal ways.

First, students decorated the campus with homemade banners and signs honoring LGBTQ students following the first hate incident.

Then they took it upon themselves to organize a forum, where LGBTQ students rose and spoke about the issues they face, in front of an overflowing audience of about 300 people that included administrators and school board members.

“We gathered here this evening to push back, demand better, make ourselves known and demand a safe place in our own school,” said John Seden-Hansen, a student at Paso Robles High. “We’ve come together because it’s time for the voices of LGBTQ students to be acknowledged, heard, understood and celebrated.”

The students presented a list of demands to the school district calling for, among other things, an end to the new flag policy.

Most of all, though, they just want to be heard and respected, afforded a basic sense of humanity that some of their fellow students seem hell-bent on denying them.

It was a moving and heartfelt display, and school administrators would do well to learn from the courage and leadership exhibited by their own students.

What schools can do to prevent hate

Fortunately, SLO County schools do not have to create their own playbook for eradicating hate on campus.

The U.S. Department of Justice has some sensible recommendations every district should follow, including these:

• Ensure all students receive hate prevention training through age-appropriate classroom activities, assemblies, and other school-related activities.
• Develop a hate-prevention policy with input from parents, students, teachers, community members and school administrators.
• Distribute the policy to every student, every student’s family and every employee.
• Include a description of the types of behavior prohibited; the roles and responsibilities of students and staff in preventing and reporting hate incidents or crimes; and the range of consequences for violating the policy.
  
  
• Consequences can include counseling, parent conferences, community service and awareness training, as well as disciplinary actions such as loss of eligibility to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities, suspension or expulsion.

These are excellent guidelines, and if our schools do not already have something similar in place, now would be the time to do it.

They focus both on education — nurturing young minds and fostering tolerance — along with discipline — understanding that sometimes more severe measures are required.

The simple fact is, all students deserve to learn in an atmosphere of acceptance and respect, and it’s up to our schools to create and protect that environment.

Students who’ve been fully informed about what is expected of them and then still choose to spread toxicity should face the most severe consequences administrators have at their disposal.

If that means losing privileges like playing on the football team, so be it. If that means removal from school, that’s on the table, too.

The recent hateful incidents on two local high school campuses are disgusting, but they also present an opportunity for all school districts to confront the issue and take strong, well-thought-out steps to make campuses safer and more welcoming for LGBTQ students.

This is not an issue that needs debate, there is no two-sidesism, and it is non-negotiable.

Either you do the right thing and look out for the most marginalized under your care, or you fail at your job.

School administrators, please, before another Pride symbol is defaced, before another LGBTQ student is harassed, before something worse occurs, do whatever it takes to make your campuses accepting and welcoming for all.