A spokesperson for the LGBTQIA+ Caucus of Amherst organized a rally and call-to-action event last week to highlight a “systemic failure” to protect LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff in their local school district.
Reports MassLive.com:
For the last three years, community members have been advocating for queer students and faculty in the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District.
The community’s efforts came to a head outside of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School [last] Tuesday, prior to the regional school committee’s meeting.
Ali Wicks-Lim, the spokesperson for the LGBTQIA+ Caucus of Amherst, organized a rally and call to action to spotlight what they and their allies describe as a “systemic failure” to protect queer people in the school district.
Wicks-Lim, Mara Levy, Amber Cano-Martin and Amy Cronin DiCaprio spoke to around 60 supporters during the rally, sharing similar messages of solidarity and highlighting the importance of being the voices for queer students and staff in the district.
Wicks-Lim, who has spent hours this year volunteering at Amherst Regional Middle School, said a staff member at ARMS filed a harassment protection order against them this month.
After a uniformed police officer was dispatched to their home and informed Wicks-Lim’s partner and daughter of the order, Wicks-Lim appeared in court a day later. Wicks-Lim said the harassment protection order was terminated by the court as the required burden of proof had not been met.