Defending ‘All Lives Matter’
To the editor:
Your Feb. 16 article “ ‘All Lives Matter’ Sign Raises Questions at Nauset High” [page A7] was a misrepresentation of Nauset’s Black Student Union and our core intentions behind this year’s Black History Month celebration.
The members of the BSU are upset that none of our voices was represented in the article and that the narrative was limited and one-sided.
You reported that I was contacted through email but did not respond. That is because the message was delivered to my spam. When I found out about the article on the 16th, I did not immediately contact the paper because I did not want to respond in anger. I wanted to respond respectfully and deliberately.
We want to thank Principal Clark and the administration for their enthusiastic support of the Black Student Union. We felt disheartened that the article did not spotlight the activities BSU organized for Black History Month.
For us, the “All Lives Matter” sentiment on the Black History Month banner transcends its political and divisive meaning. We support unity and inclusion and believe that all Nauset students should be regarded with dignity and respect. In the spirit of Black History Month, we must act on the values that civil rights and human rights matter.
It was never our intent to upset anyone, and we apologize to anyone who felt offended.
The Black Student Union encourages students of all races and ethnicities to come together to discuss issues of diversity and inclusion. We aim to build bridges of greater racial understanding through action, empathy, and open communication.
Our mission is to support the social, cultural, and academic needs of minority students and offer opportunities to develop new friendships, proactive leadership, scholarship, community involvement, and student empowerment.
We invite all Nauset students to join us on Mondays after school.
Orianna Porter
Eastham
The writer is president of the Nauset Regional High School Black Student Union.
A ‘Demeaning’ Slogan
To the editor:
I was shocked and outraged to read about two separate incidents at Nauset High School, one involving anti-Semitism and the other promoting white supremacy, both seemingly ignored by the school administration.
We are living in tense times, with threats of violence and race hatred rampant across the country. To find that our beloved, highly regarded, and expensive school harbors ignorance and worse is more than disturbing.
Don’t tell me schoolteachers and administrators don’t know the true meaning of “all lives matter,” a slogan meant to demean a plea for justice from an oppressed people. That a large banner advertising the ideology of racist groups was allowed to be put up in the school supposedly marking Black History Month is beyond belief.
And why did the school allow a young girl to be subjected to anti-Jewish taunts to the point that she had to leave?
These are not isolated incidents. They reflect the harsh reality that hate speech is acceptable and there is no punishment for it, that students who are victimized have no recourse. By their silence on these matters, school leaders have condoned the purposeful disinformation that continues to tear apart our society, right here in our own community.
All words matter!
Francie Williamson
Eastham
For Stronger Gun Laws
To the editor:
The League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area thanks the Independent for covering the panel discussion on gun violence held on Feb. 9 at Cape Cod Community College [“Panel on Suicide Attracts Defenders of Gun Rights,” Feb. 16, front page].
Mass. House Speaker Ronald Mariano initiated this first event in a “listening tour” to gather input from the public about needed improvements to our state laws as he prepares a package of comprehensive gun legislation. Gun violence has now overtaken motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of deaths in children under 19.
We regret that the article neglected to report that the meeting also attracted groups who support strengthening our gun laws. The Cape’s League of Women Voters delivered a strong public statement that evening, urging our legislators to protect the Commonwealth’s common-sense gun laws, to ban untraceable, unregistered “ghost” guns and gun parts, to promote safe storage of guns in the home, and to analyze and report on gun crime data.
Our members wholeheartedly support improving behavioral health resources and promoting measures to prevent suicide in our communities. For this initial meeting of the Commonwealth’s Listening Tour on Gun Violence, however, we had expected a sharper focus on how our gun laws can ensure security and safety — for children, for families, and for communities where gun violence is a constant threat.
Mary Hunter Utt
Orleans
The writer is co-president of the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area.
Police in Schools
To the editor:
Re “Truro Chief Wants Officer at Central School” [Feb. 9, front page]:
The rationale for adding another police officer to the Truro payroll to be stationed at the school is far from clear. Police Chief Jamie Calise’s announcement offers only vague statements of the hypothetical benefits of the proposal. Not only are the benefits questionable, there are downsides to consider.
Arguments in favor of police in schools rely largely on untested assumptions that police presence translates into safety. The research does not clearly back up those assumptions: some studies suggest small positive effects, some do not. Part of the reason the research is inconclusive is that schools are incredibly safe to begin with. What is more clear from the research is an association between the presence of police in schools and higher rates of arrests and disciplinary actions taken against students. Those effects are worse for students of color.
Calise presents no evidence of any problems in Truro but cites statistics about violence and shootings in schools elsewhere in the U.S. Those figures are awful, but they are almost totally irrelevant to Truro. Pointing to the national number of school shootings serves only to instill fear in a community that is, in fact, exceptionally safe. This is not how policy should be proposed or debated.
Adding a school resource officer to the Truro payroll would be costly for a town with a tight budget, strain the town’s already nonexistent supply of affordable housing, and provide, at best, slight benefits. Voters should think carefully and ask hard questions of town officials before agreeing to this change.
Daniel Holt
Truro and New York City
An Activist Woman
To the editor:
I’ve been somewhat amused by the recent coverage of William English Walling, one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [Letter From the Editor, Feb. 16]. I’m Walling’s great-granddaughter. It’s nice to see him get some credit and I’m happy to acquire a little of that shine.
At the same time, it feels a little strange to have my great-grandmother, Anna Strunsky, who was an activist, writer, and suffragette, be ignored or subsumed as the “wife,” as in Heather Cox Richardson’s recent letter. I don’t think Strunsky had much of a role in the creation of the NAACP, but still, she might have been named.
Andrea Pluhar
Wellfleet
A ‘Proper Storm’
To the editor:
Too many winters spent driving a fuel truck, both on Cape and off, have conditioned me to dread nor’easters. Kai Potter’s “Ode to a Nor’easter” in the Feb. 9 issue (and retirement) has helped me to appreciate a “proper storm” again.
Jim Rohrer
Wellfleet
