Updates on AASD student protests

Here are updates on the student-led protest at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. High school students demonstrated in front of the campus on Monday morning and organized a sit-in in a school hallway on Tuesday to object against the Georgia Department of Education’s selection of a new hearing superintendent, Lisa Buckner. Students say Buckner is not able to communicate effectively in ASL and that the GaDOE is oppressing BIPOC students.

On Wednesday, the AASD closed its campus until at least October 12. An email sent out to parents from Buckner said the school is closing “due to the number of staff who currently have had direct exposure to COVID-19 or tested positive…” Classes will continue but remotely.

I was able to conduct an interview with one of the leaders of the protest: Trinity Arreola, a 18-year-old senior and president of the Latino Student Union. She said she suspects that the school campus closure had to do with the protests, but that she wouldn’t give up.

[Video clip]

Trinity Arreola:
It is my suspicion that the school is closed because we are keeping on with the protest. They think we’ll give up, but we won’t give up.

Alex:
Trinity explained that students were told that Buckner was selected as the next superintendent about two weeks ago.

Last Friday was the first time Buckner addressed high school students in an auditorium. There is a video of this meeting and I was able to view it. It shows Buckner signing in ASL to the audience but when she took questions from students, she asked for an interpreter to come up onstage to support her.

Trinity said a red flag for her and other students was how Buckner responded to a question from Makayla Smith, the president of the Black Student Union (BSU), on what “BIPOC” stands for. Buckner said she understood that the “POC” stood for “People of Color” but appeared to be stumped on the “BI” portion. Buckner then told the audience she had diabetes and sometimes would get confused. Trinity said she felt Buckner was evasive at this moment.

[Video clip]

Trinity Arreola:
Makayla asked a question on what BIPOC stands for. (Lisa) said “POC” meant People of Color. (Makayla) then tried to explain what BIPOC meant but she was interrupted. (Lisa) said to hold the question and said she wanted to share that she has medical issues, that she had diabetes. She said that’s why she needed an interpreter and that she would forget things. We were confused. I mean everyone, the students and staff, was so confused. I felt like she was making excuses. Diabetes.. It won’t make you… Honestly, it’s my opinion that she is making excuses and was being defensive. She could have simply asked for the question to be repeated. But why did she make excuses and lie about it? We did not like that. That’s why most of us didn’t like her. Will she continue to do this, lie and make excuses in the future? That’s why we don’t want this.

From my research, AASD has a student body that is over 80% BIPOC.

Trinity said on Monday during the protest in front of campus, a public safety official at AASD warned that they would call the police. Trinity said this was very inappropriate and triggering to BIPOC students.

Trinity Arreola:
She threatened to call the police on us because we were protesting. When she made the threat to call the police, I was blunt and told them to go ahead, but to make sure to tell police to not touch us BIPOC students. It’s because we have trauma from what happened to George Floyd and his death with police and all. BLM. I don’t want police officers to cause triggers. So I told them to not touch us. Don’t we have a right to speak up? We have freedom of speech. But they called the police? But we refused to leave.

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Alex:
Another student leader, Jaquelin Garcia, a 19-year-old senior and vice president of the Latino Student Union and the president of the Career Technology Student Organization (CTSO), said students did not have a chance to be a part of the superintendent selection process. She said she hopes the superintendent will be replaced.

Jaquelin Garcia:
It is my sincere hope, my goal is to replace the superintendent with a deaf one, period. Why do I want a replacement? It is because I want this school to feel like a home. For it to be safe. For there to be deep awareness of deaf culture and ASL.

Alex: I reached out to the GaDOE’s director of its Division on State Schools, which oversees AASD and other state programs for deaf and blind students, for comment on the superintendent selection process and the protests. They provided a statement from GaDOE’s director of communications.

“The Georgia Department of Education is an equal opportunity employer and adheres to federal law regarding hiring practices. We cannot violate individuals’ privacy by speaking in detail about personnel or hiring decisions; however, we can state that the hiring committee worked to select the best candidate based on their past employment history, experience, and other qualifications. The State Board of Education’s recent resolution had no influence on the hiring process. Additionally, safeguarding students from COVID-19 exposure has nothing to do with the students’ decision to protest.

The Georgia Department of Education stands opposed to audism and other forms of prejudice, and the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf has had both hearing and Deaf/hard of hearing superintendents in the past. Students participating in a peaceful protest has provided school officials an opportunity to teach students that peaceful protest is an important part of our nation’s civic history, and Dr. Kenney Moore, Director of the State Schools Division of GaDOE, plans to meet with students to discuss their concerns.” — Meghan Frick, Director of Communications, GaDOE

AASD’s last superintendent is John Serrano, who is the first deaf superintendent in school history. He left the AASD in the summer to accept a new job at Gallaudet University. He was able to provide a statement on the protests.

“First of all, my heart goes out to the students, families, staff and teachers who have been affected by the turn of events following my departure. As heartbroken as I am, I am inspired by the courage and convictions of the students to voice their concerns about what they hope for and want to see happen. It is my hope that in the end, there will be a healthy outcome for the students, staff/teachers and families that will foster a positive school environment where Deaf/Hard of Hearing students, teachers/staff, families and the community can thrive together.” — John Serrano.

That’s all the updates I have right now on the AASD protests.