Last week, a video of the offending student goose-stepping during the school’s Halloween costume contest surfaced on Twitter. Initially, Jones College Prep principal Dr. Joseph Powers responded to the outrage by writing a letter to the school community stating that the student was wearing an “East German (communist-era) border guard uniform probably from the 1980s.”
It’s unclear what disciplinary action the uniform-wearing student received. Student organizer and senior Aden Zalesky told reporters the offending student did not attend school today. Citing student privacy laws, CPS told The TRiiBE, “the District is limited in the information it can share.”
On Nov. 4, Powers was subsequently removed from his position by CPS, “pending the results of that investigation,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.
“This incident caused harm to many students and staff, and it is completely inconsistent with our values as a school district. It also comes at a time when hateful speech and hateful attacks are on the rise, especially against Jewish Americans,” Martinez wrote.
Block Club Chicago reported that former principal Arthur Slater would step into the role immediately.
In the past, Powers has faced pressure to resign in light of complaints about the school’s racist atmosphere and violations of federal sex-discrimination laws connected to its sports teams. In March, Jones College Prep’s Local School Council (LSC) voted 8-2 to direct Martinez to fire Powers. LSC members were concerned about the school’s finances and Powers ignoring students and their issues, according to CBS Chicago. Instead, in April, Martinez decided not to fire Powers due to “ insufficient evidence.”
Students planned for Monday’s action to be a walkout but shifted their plan and staged a sit-in in the building’s lobby, just steps away from the school’s administrative offices. Student organizers gave speeches indoors and walked outside the school’s courtyard to speak to the student body. They want the school’s administration to address past incidents so that future racist acts don’t happen again. In addition, they want to be safe at school.
Regarding punishment for the offending student, students who spoke with the media during the sit-in believe there should be repercussions, but they’d like to approach it with a restorative justice lens. Restorative justice circles are used outside of the criminal legal system to repair the harm caused by crime.
Typically, an individual meets with trained community members to discuss the impact their choice has had on the community. They work together to create a repair of harm agreement that the participant must complete.