PORTLAND — The disturbing idea for a senior prank lingered for weeks without remark on a student-run Facebook page this year.
It took one of Lake Oswego High school’s few black students and the school paper, which she co-edits, to decry the suggestion that seniors “create a club called Ku-Klux-Klub and find every black kid and sacrifice them.”
The paper put the incident on its front page on Election Day. It also ran a timeline outlining past intolerance and an editorial that read, “It’s Time to Stop Lying About Our Racism.” The controversy led to a letter from the school’s principal worrying “students witness this kind of crudeness, this type of violence, in its many forms, more often than we think they do.”
Oregon schools, long struggling with racial tensions, are wrestling with a painful debate that’s wracked much of the country since the rise of Donald Trump and campaign rhetoric that’s targeted women and ethnic groups, including Latinos and Muslims.
Students and school officials say they’ve seen an accompanying rise in bullying and racial intolerance. And since Trump’s election, they’ve been scrambling to issue calls for calm and unity while plotting how they’ll cope with what could be a tumultuous few months.
Around the nation, some schools appear to have reached a “boiling point,” according to The Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that fights hate crimes. As of Friday, the group had 201 reports of “election-related harassment and intimidation.” The most common location was K-12 schools.
“We have seen a number of incidents of hate speech over the last several months, and it has risen significantly since last Wednesday,” Portland Public Schools’ interim superintendent, Bob McKean, said in an email to parents Tuesday.
While some schools have seen little change, others are confronting the issue more directly. Students in Portland Public Schools have walked out and held sit-ins. Students at Sprague High School in Salem held a demonstration. In, Silverton, two students at Silverton High School were suspended for threatening behavior at a pro-Trump rally.
The day after Trump was elected, Lake Oswego principal Rollin Dickinson said the school had a palpable heaviness. Some students cried.
“Even though my letter was not about the election in any way it certainly gives a framework for how to move forward,” Dickinson said. “I think the unique challenge with this election is to make all students feel supported.”
History of conflict
For some schools, Trump’s victory wasn’t the first time his rhetoric had roiled the student body.
In May, hundreds of students walked out of Forest Grove High School after someone hung a banner that read “build a wall,” a reference Trump’s immigration plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.
Forest Grove School District, in Washington County, has the highest percentage of Latino students in the Portland metro area.
“What we learned last (school) year was we really needed to take the time to listen to students, for them to really feel that their voice is valued and heard,” said Forest Grove Principal Karen O’Neil, noting students have been “absolutely” nervous since Trump’s election.
“We had done a ton of work with our staff on equity and diversity and respect. We had done years and years of work with our staff,” she said. “But we had not done as much with kids.”
Earlier this year in Lake Oswego, the student paper reported that students chanted Trump at a classmate and told him to leave the country, “before Trump stones (him) to death.”
“What I’m grateful this election provided is a space to talk about the issues and show that they are more universal than we think they are,” said Camryn Leland, 17, the paper’s editor in chief and the student who reported the Facebook post about the senior prank.
‘There can be no debate’
On Monday, hundreds of Portland students from at least 10 schools defied the urging of school administrators and walked out of class and marched across the city to protest Trump’s election. That was the first day many returned to school after a break for parent-teacher conferences and Veterans Day.
But not all students hit the streets. Student leaders at several Portland high schools halted plans after violence during days of protests plunged Portland into the national spotlight.
At North Portland’s Jefferson High School, students held a sit-in.
“The hate and divisiveness that has been brought forth by this election is not one we condone or support,” read a statement by organizers, including the Jefferson High School’s Black Student Union, Women’s Empowerment Club, and the Sexuality and Gender Alliance.
“We are occupying the center of the school with both our words and bodies in order to draw attention not only to the election of Donald Trump,” it said, “but to highlight the inequities that forced this election’s outcome.”
At the same time, principals throughout the district wrote to families. They acknowledged concern that students might feel emboldened to target immigrants, Muslims and children of color. They also affirmed their commitment to the safety and equal treatment of all students.
Roosevelt High School, in North Portland, held an assembly. In his letter to parents, Principal Filip Hristic said the assembly wasn’t about “about who voted for whom.”
“Many of our students, families, and staff are gravely concerned about the racism, sexism, and xenophobia that have been broadcast across our nation over the last few months,” Hristic wrote.
Wilson High School principal Brian Chatard admitted the awkwardness in a principal speaking frankly about an election that may have divided families. He said his school had also seen “homophobia, sexism, racism and every other kind of bigotry and harassment that exists elsewhere in America.”
“When it comes to hate speech, discrimination and a stated agenda that is harmful to youth, there can be no debate, as these are issues that as a principal I cannot and will not accept or ignore,” he wrote.
‘Zero tolerance’
Days after the election, Portland Public Schools emailed staff with a list of articles on how to manage conflict, think about diversity and talk to children about the election. Officials also pointed to counseling services for employees and students alike.
And they encouraged staff members to, “Please think about how you can listen, show compassion, and create space for students and families.” They pointed to resources that could help people
McKean’s message to parents Tuesday said the district would have a “zero tolerance” approach to “any form of discrimination, bullying or harassment.”
“We know that families and students are feeling upset and unsafe and we must come together to create a caring and welcoming community for all students,” he said.
In Lake Oswego, where community members announced a “family-friendly” rally Friday to stand “against racism and hate,” Leland said reaction to the school paper’s front-page treatment of racial tension has been mixed.
Many have praised the students for being courageous. Others said the criticism was unfair, a continuation of a reputation and ugly nickname the city bristles at: “Lake No-Negros.”
“It’s not an attack on our community. The goal is to hold it accountable,” Leland said. “If you want the name to drop from the city you need to work toward that.”
But people from outside the city are watching, too.
“If it could happen to a high school where I know people, what’s going to stop it from hitting a little closer to home?” said Ryan Joiner, a Lincoln High School student who’s active in the school’s Black Student Union and Sisters of Color club. “I felt very hurt. I felt scared. I felt very nervous.”
