On Monday, January 22nd, two post-it notes changed how people would look at Franklin High School. These notes, one saying “white,” the other, “colored,” hung ominously over the water fountains for what seemed like an eternity. This racist act, though small, shocked students and administrators alike into the realization that the school may not have been as kind a place as we all thought it was.
Over the past few weeks, events such as what happened at the water fountains have made it difficult for some people to be proud of FHS. This school’s goal of creating an environment promoting kindness and diversity may have been cast aside by some, but the majority of students of Franklin High still believe in those ideals. These are the students that stand up against discrimination, that practice kindness rather than hate.
These students that saw what was happening decided to not only take a stand, but organize one. On Valentine’s Day, students from freshman to senior all joined hands in the main commons to show their peers just how many of them will continue to stand for the ideals that FHS hold so highly.
One such student leader was Hailey McCoy, a senior that helped to organize the stand on Wednesday. I recently had the opportunity to speak with her, and asked her some questions about what it meant to her:
What did this event mean to you?
“The main purpose of this event was to show the students of Franklin High School that these small events that have been happening have been happening around the school, like what happened with the water fountains and a lot of what other students have been experiencing, isn’t what Franklin High School is and is not representative of Franklin High School.”
In your opinion, how did it go?
“I thought it went pretty well, it had a lot better turnout than I thought it would. I knew the sign was going to get a lot of signatures, but with the whole hand holding — the giant unity circle — I didn’t think a lot of people would want to hold our hands. But we had about 20-25 people, and that’s better than none.”
What can people do now to help what you’re trying to do?
“The signings that we had, the signatures we had, are going to be hanging in the main commons. The purpose of those was for people to walk by and see them every day and just be reminded that: ‘I’m in Franklin High School, this is my school, and I’m going to be kind to everyone that’s here. I’m going to step up when I hear someone being racist or someone being unkind.’”
I likewise was able to get a quote from one of our assistant principals, Mr. Hein, about the event just moments after it had ended:
“I’m super proud of students that want to make a difference by being themselves and that stand up to discrimination and hate. I’m glad that a lot of students want to talk about this topic rather than just seeing it and accepting it for what it is rather than what it could be. Overall I think that acts like this truly show how much actions speak louder than words; seeing all of the people here that are willing to not only speak up, but also to stand up for what they believe in.”
The signed poster will be hanging in the main commons these next few days if you want to see it for yourself.
