What is the student walkout for on 11/29 at Sherwood?

[Anonymous]

There are MCPS students whose family members have been killed by IDF bombs. There are MCPS students whose family members were killed or kidnapped by Hamas on 10/7. Both the Jewish world and Palestinian world are relatively small, and Montgomery County is home to both.

We have a multicultural community and that means global conflicts are going to impact students from different backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a call for a continued bilateral ceasefire. If you interpret that as "pro Palestine," that's not on the students.

For what it is worth, within Israel, calls for a ceasefire are seen as pro-hostage. It's only in the USA that asking for a ceasefire is seen as somehow uniquely pro Palestinian.

If you think the rally will be limited to a single message that reflects a thoughtful foreign policy take, good luck to you.

+1

I’m the pp who provided a summary of how our interfaith home feels about the ongoing/never ending conflict—not because I think my perspective should dictate a student walkout, but rather to preemptively state I’m not blindly pro-Israel and most certainly not anti-Palestine/islamaphobic.

Like this pp said, I’m concerned this will quickly go off the rails and needlessly become an antisemitic rally. Why? Because there are far too many recent videos of such situations online…particularly at schools.

If they just protest the war and promote peace, that would be fine. If they showcase Palestinian and Jewish students hand in hand calling for a ceasefire, awesome! But if they start chanting anything antisemitic, then that’s not okay.

Mcps wouldn’t tolerate anything remotely anti-fill in the blank with any other group.

Wrong. Mcps is totally Anti Asian and has been for decades. In all its policies and it's complete lack of support for the racist stuff that happens to Asian kids everyday. Ask me how I know.

So welcome to the club.

As an Asian American parent I'd just like them to stop encouraging protesting altogether. That's what weekends are for, a long with your church, synagogue, mosque, temple. Unless it's for something school related (gun control anyone?), it's not something that should be school sanctioned.

It's school-related when it affects people who are in school, which world events certainly can do.

I think it would be helpful if people stopped interpreting "MCPS does not forbid" as "MCPS encourages", though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a call for a continued bilateral ceasefire. If you interpret that as "pro Palestine," that's not on the students.

For what it is worth, within Israel, calls for a ceasefire are seen as pro-hostage. It's only in the USA that asking for a ceasefire is seen as somehow uniquely pro Palestinian.

If you think the rally will be limited to a single message that reflects a thoughtful foreign policy take, good luck to you.

+1

I’m the pp who provided a summary of how our interfaith home feels about the ongoing/never ending conflict—not because I think my perspective should dictate a student walkout, but rather to preemptively state I’m not blindly pro-Israel and most certainly not anti-Palestine/islamaphobic.

Like this pp said, I’m concerned this will quickly go off the rails and needlessly become an antisemitic rally. Why? Because there are far too many recent videos of such situations online…particularly at schools.

If they just protest the war and promote peace, that would be fine. If they showcase Palestinian and Jewish students hand in hand calling for a ceasefire, awesome! But if they start chanting anything antisemitic, then that’s not okay.

Mcps wouldn’t tolerate anything remotely anti-fill in the blank with any other group.

Wrong. Mcps is totally Anti Asian and has been for decades. In all its policies and it's complete lack of support for the racist stuff that happens to Asian kids everyday. Ask me how I know.

So welcome to the club.

As an Asian American parent I'd just like them to stop encouraging protesting altogether. That's what weekends are for, a long with your church, synagogue, mosque, temple. Unless it's for something school related (gun control anyone?), it's not something that should be school sanctioned.

I feel the same as this PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Any protest, about any topic, has the potential for someone to use a slogan that someone could interpret as hate speech.

Which is why "hate speech" is protected by the first amendment.

However, PP has a point that MCPS can implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds. If I was these students, I'd protest right after school, and across the street from school so it's not on school property.

Not only can MCPS implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds, they actually have done so.

Also, where exactly do you think the Sherwood students should protest?

after school? before school?

That's when. The question was where.

Across the street, off school property.

Exactly. I completely oppose what their doing (protesting for Hamas) but I completely support their right to do it as long as it doesn't disrupt the school day. But that's the whole point of protesting....to disrupt....to give yourself some good Instagram material. Protesting across the street at 2:35 doesn't carry the same level of woke street cred.

How do you know they don't have relatives who were killed by the Israelis?

What?

What is confusing to you? it's organized by the Muslim students, correct? How do you know some of these kids don't have relatives in Gaza who were killed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Any protest, about any topic, has the potential for someone to use a slogan that someone could interpret as hate speech.

Which is why "hate speech" is protected by the first amendment.

However, PP has a point that MCPS can implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds. If I was these students, I'd protest right after school, and across the street from school so it's not on school property.

Not only can MCPS implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds, they actually have done so.

Also, where exactly do you think the Sherwood students should protest?

after school? before school?

That's when. The question was where.

Across the street, off school property.

Exactly. I completely oppose what their doing (protesting for Hamas) but I completely support their right to do it as long as it doesn't disrupt the school day. But that's the whole point of protesting....to disrupt....to give yourself some good Instagram material. Protesting across the street at 2:35 doesn't carry the same level of woke street cred.

You or your employer in Moscow claiming they are protesting for Hamas doesn’t mean they are actually protesting for Hamas. However, it is good troll farm material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the school sanctioning this?

Yes. I’m not Jewish, but I don’t think this is a good idea. Kids can organize a walk-out or a protest or whatever on their own time. MCPS should not be supporting walkouts on either side.

MCPS is not supporting walkouts on any side.

If I had to guess, MCPSs official policy would be that kids should be in school.

Barring that, where kids are deciding to plan walkouts for any reason, that they accommodate them to the extent necessary such that they don’t violate the Constitution, which means that they need to be neutral to purpose of the walkout to the extent that the speech doesn’t violate established policies.

Not sure why this should be hard for adults to understand.

MCPS does not need to tolerate the walkout though. They could give more discipline than just marking them absent.

Where under the student code of conduct could they do that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This. MCPS has now set an established practice for student political protest via walkout. They would be placing themselves in legal jeopardy if they treated these students differently just because they objected to the content of their speech.

However, on this specific issue the protesting students need to be careful because if they use slogans that could be interpreted as anti-Semitic, they would violate MCPS policies and could be subject to disciplinary action that prior student walkouts were not subject to.

Any protest, about any topic, has the potential for someone to use a slogan that someone could interpret as hate speech.

Not really. But immature teenagers can act immaturely and sometimes mirror slogans or phrases without knowing they are offensive. When I was in high school, lots of kids would talk about being “gyped”. Not sure how many knew what that actually meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the school sanctioning this?

Yes. I’m not Jewish, but I don’t think this is a good idea. Kids can organize a walk-out or a protest or whatever on their own time. MCPS should not be supporting walkouts on either side.

MCPS is not supporting walkouts on any side.

If I had to guess, MCPSs official policy would be that kids should be in school.

Barring that, where kids are deciding to plan walkouts for any reason, that they accommodate them to the extent necessary such that they don’t violate the Constitution, which means that they need to be neutral to purpose of the walkout to the extent that the speech doesn’t violate established policies.

Not sure why this should be hard for adults to understand.

MCPS does not need to tolerate the walkout though. They could give more discipline than just marking them absent.

MCPS should treat this walkout equally as they have all others with regard to punishment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the school sanctioning this?

Sherwood Community, Prior to our Thankssiving Break, students approached administration to propose a student walkout during Advisory on November 29, 2023. The students were informed of MCPS BOE regulation which permits
students to demonstrate peacetully regarding social and political issues Please note this action is not approved or supported by Sherwood High School or MCPS and students walking out of class will receive an unexcused absence and the MCPS Code of Conduct and Student
Culture of Respect apply to student protests. I have also spoken with walkout organizers and they are well aware of the intensity of opinions on both sides of the current conflict in Gaza and Israel and are avoiding specific phrases and slogans which could be hurtful or derogatory against other members of our
community. It a walkout takes place, proper satety and security measures will be in place. There will not be an Advisory period on Wednesday, November 29th. Staff, students, and families are highly encouraged to have discussions based on our No Place for Hate messaging. This messaging
coincides with our "One Sherwood" Pillars of Civility. Accountability, Rigor, and Engagement.

I would just like to point out the following:
There has been enormous debate and activism regarding books within the curriculum that contain LGBTQ characters. Many community members, notably from various backgrounds but primarily Muslim, have requested the ability to opt their children out of reading these books because it is in conflict with their religious or personal values. It has been the position of MCPS Central office and the BOE that families may not opt their children out of reading these books, because the act of opting out is not neutral: it causes actual harm to the LGBTQ students who are made to feel “othered” or vulnerable if their fellow students opt out of reading books with characters that reflect who they are. Why, then, is it not the position of MCPS that a walk out on this topic might not leave certain students feeling very “othered” when their classmates walk out and take a particular position with regard to this conflict? Do we only protect certain students or groups based on a liberal hierarchy of perceived suffering? I hope that the school has support in place for the students who this walk out may harm or leave feeling unsafe.

Yes. It's called the pyramid of oppression, a concept born of intersectional critical theory. But relax everyone. I have it on good authority that cRt iS oNlY tAuGhT iN LaW sChOoL.

Or, and I'm just throwing this out there, there aren't any first amendment issues with not letting kids opt out of reading the required books, and there are when it comes to potentially prohibiting this demonstration. And the school may very well have supports in place as the PP asks - I really don't know.

But by all means, go on with your rant. It adds so very much to the conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a call for a continued bilateral ceasefire. If you interpret that as "pro Palestine," that's not on the students.

For what it is worth, within Israel, calls for a ceasefire are seen as pro-hostage. It's only in the USA that asking for a ceasefire is seen as somehow uniquely pro Palestinian.

If you think the rally will be limited to a single message that reflects a thoughtful foreign policy take, good luck to you.

+1

I’m the pp who provided a summary of how our interfaith home feels about the ongoing/never ending conflict—not because I think my perspective should dictate a student walkout, but rather to preemptively state I’m not blindly pro-Israel and most certainly not anti-Palestine/islamaphobic.

Like this pp said, I’m concerned this will quickly go off the rails and needlessly become an antisemitic rally. Why? Because there are far too many recent videos of such situations online…particularly at schools.

If they just protest the war and promote peace, that would be fine. If they showcase Palestinian and Jewish students hand in hand calling for a ceasefire, awesome! But if they start chanting anything antisemitic, then that’s not okay.

Mcps wouldn’t tolerate anything remotely anti-fill in the blank with any other group.

Wrong. Mcps is totally Anti Asian and has been for decades. In all its policies and it's complete lack of support for the racist stuff that happens to Asian kids everyday. Ask me how I know.

So welcome to the club.

As an Asian American parent I'd just like them to stop encouraging protesting altogether. That's what weekends are for, a long with your church, synagogue, mosque, temple. Unless it's for something school related (gun control anyone?), it's not something that should be school sanctioned.

I had heard FCPS is anti-Asian because their race-blind, which mainly selects Asians for TJ, unfairly discriminates, but I hadn't heard this about MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a call for a continued bilateral ceasefire. If you interpret that as "pro Palestine," that's not on the students.

For what it is worth, within Israel, calls for a ceasefire are seen as pro-hostage. It's only in the USA that asking for a ceasefire is seen as somehow uniquely pro Palestinian.

If you think the rally will be limited to a single message that reflects a thoughtful foreign policy take, good luck to you.

+1

I’m the pp who provided a summary of how our interfaith home feels about the ongoing/never ending conflict—not because I think my perspective should dictate a student walkout, but rather to preemptively state I’m not blindly pro-Israel and most certainly not anti-Palestine/islamaphobic.

Like this pp said, I’m concerned this will quickly go off the rails and needlessly become an antisemitic rally. Why? Because there are far too many recent videos of such situations online…particularly at schools.

If they just protest the war and promote peace, that would be fine. If they showcase Palestinian and Jewish students hand in hand calling for a ceasefire, awesome! But if they start chanting anything antisemitic, then that’s not okay.

Mcps wouldn’t tolerate anything remotely anti-fill in the blank with any other group.

Wrong. Mcps is totally Anti Asian and has been for decades. In all its policies and it's complete lack of support for the racist stuff that happens to Asian kids everyday. Ask me how I know.

So welcome to the club.

As an Asian American parent I'd just like them to stop encouraging protesting altogether. That's what weekends are for, a long with your church, synagogue, mosque, temple. Unless it's for something school related (gun control anyone?), it's not something that should be school sanctioned.

It's school-related when it affects people who are in school, which world events certainly can do.

I think it would be helpful if people stopped interpreting "MCPS does not forbid" as "MCPS encourages", though.

This. The minute you jump to saying inane things like MCPS is encouraging the walkout is the minute you stop being taken seriously because clearly you are misrepresenting facts

[Anonymous]

Northwood HS MSA had a walk out the week before thanksgiving during the last period of the day. It went off fine although unfortunately the neighborhood community went into full freakout mode and tried to get it shut down.
The students were responsible and mature and behaved better than many of the adults. Many of the students wore masks to hide their identities because they were being harassed so much by other students + community members

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a call for a continued bilateral ceasefire. If you interpret that as "pro Palestine," that's not on the students.

For what it is worth, within Israel, calls for a ceasefire are seen as pro-hostage. It's only in the USA that asking for a ceasefire is seen as somehow uniquely pro Palestinian.

If you think the rally will be limited to a single message that reflects a thoughtful foreign policy take, good luck to you.

+1

I’m the pp who provided a summary of how our interfaith home feels about the ongoing/never ending conflict—not because I think my perspective should dictate a student walkout, but rather to preemptively state I’m not blindly pro-Israel and most certainly not anti-Palestine/islamaphobic.

Like this pp said, I’m concerned this will quickly go off the rails and needlessly become an antisemitic rally. Why? Because there are far too many recent videos of such situations online…particularly at schools.

If they just protest the war and promote peace, that would be fine. If they showcase Palestinian and Jewish students hand in hand calling for a ceasefire, awesome! But if they start chanting anything antisemitic, then that’s not okay.

Mcps wouldn’t tolerate anything remotely anti-fill in the blank with any other group.

Wrong. Mcps is totally Anti Asian and has been for decades. In all its policies and it's complete lack of support for the racist stuff that happens to Asian kids everyday. Ask me how I know.

So welcome to the club.

As an Asian American parent I'd just like them to stop encouraging protesting altogether. That's what weekends are for, a long with your church, synagogue, mosque, temple. Unless it's for something school related (gun control anyone?), it's not something that should be school sanctioned.

Agreed! And if you think MCPS is anti-Asian, try being white. MCPS actually defined whiteness as a system of oppression and constantly rails against non-existent white privilege. Although, MCPS did put Asians under the white category because Asians were destroying their whole "wHiTe SuPrEmAcY" narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Any protest, about any topic, has the potential for someone to use a slogan that someone could interpret as hate speech.

Which is why "hate speech" is protected by the first amendment.

However, PP has a point that MCPS can implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds. If I was these students, I'd protest right after school, and across the street from school so it's not on school property.

Not only can MCPS implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds, they actually have done so.

Also, where exactly do you think the Sherwood students should protest?

after school? before school?

That's when. The question was where.

Across the street, off school property.

Exactly. I completely oppose what their doing (protesting for Hamas) but I completely support their right to do it as long as it doesn't disrupt the school day. But that's the whole point of protesting....to disrupt....to give yourself some good Instagram material. Protesting across the street at 2:35 doesn't carry the same level of woke street cred.

How do you know they don't have relatives who were killed by the Israelis?

What?

What is confusing to you? it's organized by the Muslim students, correct? How do you know some of these kids don't have relatives in Gaza who were killed?

What's confusing is how that relates to "I completely support their right to do it as long as it doesn't disrupt the school day. But that's the whole point of protesting....to disrupt....to give yourself some good Instagram material. Protesting across the street at 2:35 doesn't carry the same level of woke street cred."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Any protest, about any topic, has the potential for someone to use a slogan that someone could interpret as hate speech.

Which is why "hate speech" is protected by the first amendment.

However, PP has a point that MCPS can implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds. If I was these students, I'd protest right after school, and across the street from school so it's not on school property.

Not only can MCPS implement their own viewpoint-neutral policies for students while on school grounds, they actually have done so.

Also, where exactly do you think the Sherwood students should protest?

after school? before school?

That's when. The question was where.

Across the street, off school property.

Exactly. I completely oppose what their doing (protesting for Hamas) but I completely support their right to do it as long as it doesn't disrupt the school day. But that's the whole point of protesting....to disrupt....to give yourself some good Instagram material. Protesting across the street at 2:35 doesn't carry the same level of woke street cred.

You or your employer in Moscow claiming they are protesting for Hamas doesn’t mean they are actually protesting for Hamas. However, it is good troll farm material.

What?