Stoughton High School senior Olivia Tran is leading a movement against the banning of LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Lives Matter flags from classrooms at her Massachusetts school. The school’s superintendent, Thomas Raab, issued a directive, without consulting the school committee, banning the flags because he sees them as “political items,” according to the Boston Globe, which reports:
A crowd of protesters gathered outside the Stoughton School Committee meeting Tuesday night to oppose a policy banning the display of “political” items in classrooms, including LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Lives Matter flags.
Leading them was Olivia Tran, a Stoughton High School senior who was suspended for a half-day last week after walking out of class in protest, according to The Boston Globe.
“These flags do not discriminate against anyone. They do not hurt anyone. So why are they controversial?” Tran asked the committee, according to the Globe. “If you choose to hang them, you choose love.”
The policy allows staff members to wear clothing and buttons that display the symbols banned from classrooms, the Globe reported. In lieu of flags, LGBTQ+ ally stickers were also placed on classroom doorways.
Superintendent Thomas Raab has said the directive was designed to create “neutral learning environments,” the Globe reported. Boston.com has reached out to Raab for comment on the policy and backlash.
Tran told the newspaper she walked out of class to support three teachers she said were recently warned to stop displaying Pride flags in their classrooms. She also started an online petition to oppose the policy, which drew more than 600 signatures as of late Wednesday morning.
“The Black Lives Matter flags and LGBTQ+ flags do not make a classroom ‘not neutral,’” the Change.org petition reads. “This statement tells everyone who falls under those categories that they are not people who are normal — that they are somehow different than everyone else.” …
During Tuesday’s meeting, school committee members expressed frustration that Raab issued the directive without first consulting the committee, according to WBZ-TV, which reported that Raab said he has no plans to change the ban.
Read the complete Boston Globe story on boston.com here.
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