As all the kids are settling into their high school routines, the guidance counsellor gave my daughter a piece of advice on joining school clubs and activities: don’t sign up for more than one…maybe two, given her heavy swim schedule already. So, my daughter signed up for three, instead! One was the school’s swim team, and it was a natural fit since she swims competitively anyway and this could boost the school’s chances for extramural standings. The second was yearbook committee. She was assigned a camera and her job along with a group of scouts were to take pictures at school events. The third and final one was something she had always been interested in: diplomacy. So, she signed up to be a participant in the Women in Power group!
At the latter’s first meeting, the leaders and newbies brainstormed on how to react to the war-du-jour. Lots of discussions about the plight of the innocent, particularly the women and children. Then my daughter blurted out, “Why don’t we organize a demonstration with placards and chants.” That turned some heads. She continued, “We can organize a walk, around the school during school time and bring attention of the global event that is on the news everywhere.” There was a rapture of discussion and ideas poured.
My daughter came home and told me the whole thing. I was very concerned! For a 14 year-old to hold and express an opinion on a global incident is one thing, but to be the instigator for this cause célèbre is a whole different level of messed-up! What were you thinking? I inquired. This is a politically charged war. You cannot take sides. There are radicals and extremists abound and while your intentions are educational and benign, others may see your actions as a frontal attack. We spent the whole evening talking about it. By the end of the evening, we reached an agreement where I wouldn’t ban her from organizing the demonstration, much less for taking part in it. But she must abide by some simple rules.
For a 14 year-old to hold and express an opinion on a global incident is one thing, but to be the instigator for this cause célèbre is a whole different level of messed-up!
Remarkably that approach was the same at school. As the preparation for this event started taking form, the administration and faculty issued a communique to all parents with a set of ground rules .
The school decided neither to promote nor discourage students from exercising their right to peaceful assembly. So, the administration dictated the terms of the protest as follows: parental permission is not sought and it is up to the individual family to decide on their child’s participation; the ‘walk-out’ is to take place during second period of class only and anyone who is not present in class will be marked absent; the walk-out will take place off school grounds and although unsupervised, select teachers will supervise from school grounds as the student-only demonstration circle the one city block upon where the school sits; there will be no shouting or chanting so not to bring a disturbance to the normal tranquility of the school neighborhood; there will be no placards for or against the warring countries; no flags are to be flown other than that of the United Nations. And as a precaution, the local police were called for ‘traffic management’.
Nearly 500 hundred students walked out. It was quite a show. But everything went according to plan and there were no incidents to report. It was so uneventful; I don’t think it even made the local newscast that night. Although we wouldn’t know since we avoid the nightly news. Save for this protest, the neighborhood went back to normal. There was not even bumper-to-bumper traffic and all the kids went home after the last school bell.
When my daughter came home and told me the whole thing, I smirked quietly and muttered ‘shit disturber’ under my breath. She heard it and cautioned me on usage on inappropriate language! Did you have a good experience? I asked. “I’m more determined to explore diplomacy,” she grinned. I smirked again and uttered, There seems to be just as much to learn off schoolgrounds as there is on schoolgrounds. I can only imagine how this innocent day will shape her life and future career.
