Dear City School District of New Rochelle community:
I am writing to share information about a student walkout today at New Rochelle High School. The planned protest was in response to a social media posting last week by one of our students alleging a sexual assault four years ago at an off-campus location. That allegation led to a physical confrontation between two other students on our campus the day after the social media posting.
Today’s walkout was organized by students who wanted to express their support for victims of sexual assault and to express that they feel their voices have not historically been heard. The protesting students marched around the soccer practice field with many of them holding signs: “No means no.”
At the height of the event, which took place at lunch time, there were between 800 and 1,000 students outside, either on the soccer field or around the perimeter. About 150 students were part of the demonstration.
Unfortunately, during the demonstration, there were other students who took advantage of the time to engage in multiple altercations that were quickly handled by our security staff. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Some of these incidents were recorded by students on their phones. Those who engaged in the altercations will be subject to disciplinary action, consistent with our school code of conduct. The New Rochelle Police Department was on site to assist in securing the perimeter of the school to ensure that students stayed safely on campus.
Today’s events were extremely disappointing. There were students who were interested in legitimately expressing their voices and others who took advantage of the moment. It is unfortunate that the negative events detracted from the message the students who were protesting were trying to share. We take responsibility for what should have been a proud moment to honor student voices and build agency, meaning, and purpose. Our school administration, staff, and security teams are working collaboratively to ensure that we are better equipped to ensure student voices are heard and to use this moment to teach all students the importance of civic engagement.
Sincerely,
