Beacon High School students are staging a sit-in on Monday to protest what they say is a culture of racism at the prestigious public school.
The demonstration was sparked by a private conversation between a white senior and her guidance counselor, in which the student allegedly blamed affirmative action for her being waitlisted at a top college. A black student claimed last week to have overheard the remarks and shared them with fellow high schoolers.
"We were all shocked, and for us people of color, we didn't feel safe," Zeinab Keita, a freshman, told Gothamist. "We are constantly discriminated [against] every day and we are finally standing up for ourselves."
In a statement given to the NY Post, the unnamed senior stood by the comments, saying that the conversation "included my disapproval about the unfairness of students who were accepted to college without meeting the rigorous criteria that I and others worked so hard to achieve, because they might be athletes, afforded financial scholarships, and/or get seats based on affirmative action programs, as opposed to academic achievement as the first and only criteria."
The incident has inflamed racial tensions at a time of mounting scrutiny into the lack of diversity at the highly selective Hell's Kitchen school. While New York City's public school system is 70 percent black, white students make up half of the population at Beacon, and black students account for less than 15 percent.
An anti-segregation protest calling out 'De Blasio's School System' outside City Hall this summer
After more than a year of vowing to take on segregation, Mayor Bill de Blasio's schools chancellor, Richard Carranza, has yet to implement a single significant integration policy—prompting protests from students across New York City's high school system.
Just this month, 300 students walked out of Beacon to protest segregation, calling for reforms to the school's screened entrance exams. Following the alleged conversation last week, a black science teacher reportedly urged students on Friday to go a step further and boycott school on Monday altogether.
Beacon principal Ruth Lacey responded that she was "moved by the passion of the speakers" during Friday's gathering. In an email to parents, she added that students not in class on Monday would be marked absent.
A coalition of Beacon student groups settled on a sit-in and teach-in, rather than a full strike. Some students have taken the opportunity to share other discriminatory experiences at the school. According to one Latina sophomore, she was told by a fellow student that Mexicans are rapists and criminals, and that she was only admitted as "part of the diversity quota."
The students plan on holding a press conference at 3 p.m. on Monday. They're calling for an investigation into the counselors who participated in the affirmative action conversation and an apology from the administration for "allowing racism to fester over the course of years," among other demands.
Students emphasized that the protest was not only about the overheard conversation. "This is about the atmosphere at Beacon that has led to this incident and several others like it," said Toby Paperno, a junior.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education did not respond to Gothamist's inquiries. The student who was overheard discussing affirmative action says she has been threatened and bullied by her classmates in the wake of the incident, and a DOE spokesperson said they will investigate the “reports of bullying and staff misconduct."
UPDATE: In an afternoon press conference, students said the Beacon administration has met enough of their demands to end the sit-in. Specifically, students said the administration agreed to investigate the incidents, issue an apology to students, clarify the school's code of conduct and formalize the process for how to report incidents. It will also work towards diversifying the staff, including teachers and college counselors.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the agency was investigating "an incident last week."
“Students and staff at Beacon deserve a safe, supportive and inclusive school, and Principal Lacey has clearly communicated to students, staff, and families that she takes these concerns seriously," the spokesperson said.
With Jessica Gould
