We sincerely believe in the power of education to transform society. We also believe in WLCSC’s capacity to enact that vision by implementing anti-racist education and policy.

On June 18th, 802 alumni, parents, and current students affirmed this vision in a letter to the administration. To this outpouring of support for reform, WLCSC’s response should have acknowledged students’ lived experiences and motivated actual reforms. Instead, in the two months since its immediate, perfunctory media statement, WLCSC has offered no further response. In contrast, Tippecanoe School Corporation and Lafayette School Corporation, respectively, have hired a diversity and inclusion coordinator and have begun to engage in dialogue with alumni calling for reform.

WLCSC has the opportunity to pioneer anti-racist education and to rectify its past mistakes. Alumni, parents, and current students have shared stories - spanning decades - of unchecked racism and discrimination, from both classmates and faculty, on school grounds. To illustrate the pervasiveness of these issues, we share a small selection of such stories, in their authors’ own words. We encourage the corporation to reflect on these experiences, both on their substance and on the climate fostered by the corporation itself, and to enact the reforms enumerated in the letter.

When it comes to enacting anti-racist policy, silence and inaction are tantamount to support for otherwise racist institutions (to be clear, we are not calling any individual person a racist; however, policies, institutions, and people that are not actively anti-racist are, by definition, racist). But we know that West Side is better than this. We remain hopeful that WLCSC’s administration will begin to actively implement anti-racist policies and engage in dialogue with community members and alumni.

Collection of Stories

Haley Guthrie, Class of 2014

I thought long and hard about the story I’m about to share with you. I initially wanted to remain silent or “keep the peace” as they say for safety purposes only. I had nightmares about what would happen after I shared what I experienced. I thought about how people would react, if they would listen to what I had to say and if they would even believe me. Although I still have these fears and they are valid, I want to ensure that what I experienced NEVER happens to another black student at WLHS again. These conversations NEED TO HAPPEN. We need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I was in 8th grade when two white boys called me a “FAT NIGGER BITCH”. One of my friends came to me and had told me what happened that morning before the day began. This happened on a school bus and I had no knowledge of it as I never rode the bus. My grandparents always picked me up and dropped me off. My 14 year old mind was confused and in denial. My grandparents never sheltered me to the point where I didn’t think this would ever happen but the shock still remained. I wondered what I had done to deserve such a dehumanizing experience. My friend kept asking me if I was ok and if I wanted her to walk with me to Dan Walbaum’s office. Holding back tears as tightly as I could, I told her yes and we made our way down.

He greeted me with a “Good morning! What can I do for you?”. I asked if the three of us could talk and he agreed. I told Walbaum what had happened. I could tell he knew I was shaken and his face grew with great concern. My friend, standing right beside me, agreed to everything I was saying and giving details that she herself had witnessed. He listened, asked follow up questions and took notes. He gave us both tardy passes for class and sent us on our way while he talked with the two boys. A few hours later, Walbaum called me out of class. We went to an empty classroom down the hall and sat directly across from each other. He asked me to go over my story again and began to express how sorry he was that this happened and ensured me the two would be punished for their actions. Before letting me go back to class, he asked about how my grandparents would react and if I wanted him to give them a call. I told him no simply because I didn’t want them to worry about me. I didn’t want them putting me in a different school system taking me away from the friends I had already made and the few teachers I had close relationships with. I wanted them to know I was strong and I could handle the matter on my own. Walbaum respected my wishes and sent me on my way.

Looking back now, the day was so..weird. Half of the students came up to me asking what had happen while others went along like nothing happened at all. I tried my best to keep a brave face and put my best foot forward but those close to me knew how hard that day was. Before the last bell, Dan Walbaum called me into his office. Once again, I sat down across from him.

“Haley, I gave a lot of thought to our conversation this morning”, he began. “I think it would be the right thing to do if I gave your grandparents a call”, he said.

I nodded my head vigorously as he picked up the phone and dialed our home number. My grandmother, Sandra, answered the phone. If you know my grandmother, you know why my heart fell to my stomach.

“Mrs. Taylor? Hi! This is Dan Walbaum from West Lafayette Junior Senior High School. Haley isn’t in any trouble but I did want to give you a call in regards to a situation that happened at school today,” he said.

From there, he told her everything that happened in the most polite and politically correct way possible. After dismissal, my grandfather picked me up from school and asked me how I was doing. I replied with a “fine” and he told me everything was going to be okay. The three of us sat down, ate dinner and talked about what happened. They were calm, supportive and appreciated Walbaum’s phone call.

The following day, a friend informed me the two boys were placed on a two day “out of school suspension” and required to write apology notes. I don’t know if Dan Walbaum came to that conclusion because he genuinely cared or if he was trying to avoid a bigger situation from happening.

We live in a world today where individuals who use such language and engage in racist behavior are losing their jobs, contract deals with major companies and receive major backlash from the public and social media. Why couldn’t these two suffer similar if not the same consequences instead of receiving a two-day vacation from school and a one page letter apologizing for what they had said. What did THAT say about me and what I went through at my school? Was Dan Walbaum going above and beyond or simply doing the bare minimum to keep concerned parents happy. I still had classes with both boys up until I graduated in 2014.

The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others have brought this memory back into my mind after all these years. In that moment, those two white

boys and their parents did not see me as Haley, the silly band wearing, McDonald’s Sweet Tea drinking, junior high cheerleading, 14 year old who so desperately wanted to go to the mall with her friends on the weekends. They saw me as less than human. They felt superior to me because of the color of my skin. They called me a NIGGER and I will never ever forget it.

Anonymous

During my 6th grade unit on The Holocaust, my teacher gave us an assignment: If you were going to be taken to a concentration camp, what are the 3 things you would choose to take with you? Remember they have to fit in your coat pocket. The exercise was framed as a fun activity, like think about the things most important to you. I, myself, took it as a very light-hearted activity and went home excited to ask my parents what I should take with me. I will never forget how my mom immediately broke down in tears. This had happened to her - police in the middle of the night stormed into her house and took my grandmother away. She didn't get to take anything with her, it was not fun, it was not a game. It was pure horror. I had to learn the truth that day about my family, it was never the way my mom wanted to tell me. My dad talked to my teacher and I was excused from the assignment. I believe this teacher stopped giving the assignment in future years, but I don't know about the rest of the 6th grade teachers. I still fail to see how the assignment was meaningful to any student in any way. My hope is that teachers think deeply about the tone they set when teaching dark parts of history, and do not make light of ANYTHING surrounding slavery, The Civil War, The Holocaust, etc.

Anonymous, Class of 2014

My teacher, [a Physics teacher], put a sign on his classroom door that said “no terrorists allowed”. When I proceeded to open the door [the Physics teacher] yelled “No terrorists allowed in my classroom!” at me in front of the other students who were seated. I went ahead and took my seat and thought maybe this was all in my head. However, the next day the same exact thing happened. The sign was still up on the door, and again when I entered the classroom he looked at me and said “no terrorists allowed!” I was very confused and also scared to get [the Physics teacher] in trouble because up until that point I had considered him one of my favorite teachers. Looking back I wish my classmates had spoken up for me and I had the courage to speak to the principal to report this discriminatory behavior.

Carmen Valverde Paniagua, Class of 2009

My sister and I were students at WLCSC from 2003-2007. We came from a different school system and the racism was immediately apparent when we entered the halls of WLCSC. During registration, instead of continuing on the math track I was on in my

previous school, I was automatically placed in a class that I had already taken. They didn’t ask or inform my parents of this; it was only caught because my mother double-checked the classes I was registered in. My mother went to the admins to demand an explanation for why I was being held back, and their response was that West Lafayette was more competitive than the school we went to in Wisconsin, and that Latinos are worse at math on average. My mother demanded that they re-evaluate and it was only then that I was given a placement test. I want to reiterate: I was automatically registered to repeat a year in math without a placement test, and upon question, my race was given as part of the explanation. This was my introduction to WLCSC.

Before coming to WLCSC, my sister and I went to a school system that had a truly diverse socio-economic and racial student body. It was a massive shock to be in a school system where we felt an unquestioned attitude of Mexican inferiority in the administrators, teachers, parents, and the student body. I want to be specific here with our ethnicity because to be Latino, or Hispanic, or BIPOC, there are different attitudes and stereotypes that accompany them. Not everyone's experience will be the same. That said, this lesson of inferiority based on being Mexican is not something that we learned once, but continuously over the course of the four years we were at WLCSC. It was reinforced in various ways. From more subtle attitudes to blatant favoritism towards white or model minority students. The reality is that WLCSC is an extremely elitist and competitive place, and race was an easy and unchallenged axis on which to feel better than others.

Examples of racist attitudes ranged from statements like: “Are you Indian or Asian? Oh, you’re Mexican? I didn’t know Mexican were smart”, “I hate Mexicans, but you’re a good one”, ''Your house smells funny”, “Your parents speak funny”, and other more derogatory words that I will not bother repeating here. The tragic part of all this is that children learn to internalize this racism. We start to adopt the language of our oppressors and become oppressors ourselves. Like a shield we use the same language that is used on us to use on ourselves and others. I’m sure other BIPOC students can relate to this and recognize that while at the time we might have laughed it off—and even perpetuated these statements—in the long run it only hurt ourselves and others. With children I can understand that they are repeating what they have heard and testing boundaries. What I cannot understand is when the adults sit by and do not address, acknowledge, or correct this behavior.

The worst is when adults feed into it. An example would be when my sister asked for a letter of recommendation from her math teacher. The form asked for the teacher to rate the student with check-boxes indicating what level that student—in the opinion of the

teacher—would rank. This teacher, rather than choose from the boxes given, decided to create another row that was lower than the lowest option available. For obvious reasons we never submitted her recommendation. The irony is that this teacher later ended up having to award my sister a prize in a school award ceremony for doing well in one of the school’s American Mathematics Competitions exam. It is situations like these that cause mistrust of those who we are supposed to look up to. How can an institution claim to be a place of learning when those who are responsible for that education are actively putting BIPOC students down?

I am all for educational reform. I am all for anti-racist policy. However, in order for this to work we need to start by acknowledging the reality that we live in. We need to be open and candid about what we have seen and been through. I learned to hate myself for being Mexican in WLCSC and it took me years to realize this. More years to acknowledge the harm I’ve caused to myself and others. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a systemic problem and that what I experienced is probably only the tip of the iceberg; I cannot begin to fathom the lived experiences of our fellow Black students and their families. Unfortunately, our experiences are not unique and if anything, I hope can serve as a cautionary tale for the administration. I want the administration to know the repercussions silence and inaction have on its student body long after they have left.

That said, there is a moral imperative to be anti-racist. It is a lifelong learning process and it is on a continuum. WLCSC is at the beginning of that journey and the time to act is now. To end, I want to further echo the sentiments of QTPOC before and after me: only when we create policies that protect and serve the most vulnerable among us can we protect and elevate all of us. Our liberation is tied with theirs.

Anonymous

I am a white son of a Spanish immigrant. [A social studies teacher] implied people from the part of Spain my father is from are all terrorists - stated to the class that he "Could not see how non-religious people could be moral". [Another social studies teacher] insisted fervently that the Civil War was 0% about slavery and ONLY about states rights and got mad at a black student in my class when he asked "States rights to do what? " Insisted that if we were alive before the Civil War we would all be ok with slavery because moral norms were different back then (said this to a class that included people of color). Sent a black student to the principal (I know he got in trouble but not exactly sure the punishment) when he and a white student were horsing around and knocked the smart board off the wall. The white student later went up to the teacher and insisted that he had started the whole thing. Still only the black student got punished.

Ashiye Ayator, Class of 2013

It was my junior year, 2012. I was standing in line in the cafeteria waiting to get my lunch. There was a student who was a year younger than me, who wanted to cut me in line. When I told him I was not going to let him do that, he called me the n-word. One of the high school administrators walked over when he heard the agitation in my voice. I told him what happened and he asked the male student to apologize, and that was it. The apology from the male student was not sincere and it was obvious. I told my mom what happened and she set up a meeting to meet with a school administrator. When she met with said administrator she told him that she expected the administration to handle a situation like this better than they did. The administrator apologized and said that the male student's parents had been called and notified of the incident. My family never received an apology. Instances like this continued to happen. I experience many instances of microaggressions from other students and nothing was ever done by the administration to rectify these problems.

Angela Frezza, Class of 2016

As a Latinx person of color who graduated from West Side in 2016, I literally only remember intense microaggressions from white students, teachers, security officers, and ESPECIALLY the principals. My Black partner and I were once forcibly removed from our homecoming dance and accused of smelling and acting like we were smoking or drinking. We were both 100% sober. Our white friend who arrived at the dance with us followed us both out in concern (this was during the time of Mike Brown’s murder and the Ferguson protests). He grabbed my partner’s arm with force and held us outside of the school, cussing and threatening to have a patrol car pull up, drug test us, and take us away. He kindly asked our white friend how she was connected to us and she said that she was our good friend and came to the dance with us. He told her to go back inside and that she was fine. If she arrived with us, wouldn’t she be guilty of drinking or smoking too? Probably not, because she was good and white. We were both straight A students, mostly kept to ourselves. No one had our back. Not one teacher protected us. In fact, they laughed it off when we came back inside and explained to the Spanish teacher what had just happened. We were so scared. We left right then and there.

Anonymous, Class of 2021

It was 7th grade and the anniversary of 9/11, as well as the day our DARE officer would come into the class. We had a substitute teacher that day, and the DARE officer stood off to the side, preparing her lesson.

The morning bell rang, and we all rose for the pledge of allegiance. I was sitting at our desk clump with four of my friends, the group being all white except for me. During the pledge, we were still joking around, laughing under our breath.

After the pledge, we sat down, and the substitute teacher walked over to me. Instead of politely telling me that it was inappropriate to talk during the pledge on such a day, he decided to publicly berate and single me, a brown 12 year old kid, out. He spent the first ten minutes of class yelling about how disrespectful what I did was to the 3,000 people who died.

After this, the DARE officer continued with this and spent another seven minutes talking about how unbelievable the way people act on such a day is. Everyone in the class knew that our entire friend group was laughing and talking during the pledge, yet the substitute and the DARE officer chose to only single me out for the first 20 minutes of class.

Anonymous, Class of 2012

On homophobia:
There were only two openly LGBTQ+ students in my grade, that I can recall. I was close friends with one, who refused to hide his sexuality. He was endlessly tortured by classmates' homophobic comments. Of the two LGBTQ+ teachers at WLHS when I was there, only one was open about his sexuality (the other came out later, I suspect that widespread rumors about his sexuality were one of the reasons he decided to take another job). The other was open about his sexuality (at least, he wasn't closeted). He was targeted numerous times by students and their parents starting petitions to get him fired on the grounds of his sexuality. It was impossible to feel safe enough to come out as bi in that environment. There was also next to zero mention of queer sexuality in our sex ed curricula, and zero mention of transgender issues. There was one cis male student in my year who went out of his way to cross dress for class (like dressing as characters for skits in English or history). He clearly did so for the purpose of being inviting ridicule at the idea of trans people. It took me about 6 years after these experiences to feel safe enough to come out as trans myself.

On antisemitism:
There was a lot of not-quite (but almost) institutionalized Christian prayer. The moment of silence after the pledge was one instance of that. I also remember being pressured to participate in prayers to Jesus before swim meets especially, which the coach and team captains led. I'm Jewish, so this really sucked. My family is not especially observant, so I didn't request time off to participate in Jewish holidays. However, I did notice friends

who did request time off were sometimes ridiculed by teachers for "conveniently scheduling" Jewish holidays on days when there was a test, suggesting that they used religious obligations to get out of work (when they were out of the room for the holiday, of course). I also remember that the only representations of Jews that ever existed in history class were really traumatic pictures and movies of dead Jews during the Holocaust unit. At one point, a teacher who had clocked me as Jewish asked me to share my "personal experiences" of the Holocaust. Do you want me to talk about my dead cousins and the entire side of my family that was lost to history and completely erased? That my dad is paranoid because his parents were paranoid and keeps our documents at home so we have convenient access if we ever would need to leave? That he won't ever mark down his religion on any forms because he's worried about being on registries? Those things are all extremely painful for me to think about, and definitely not something I want to share with a class of people who've made fun of me for my nose, asked me for the secret to being wealthy, calling me "Jew" (no article), made Hitler jokes in front of teachers without consequence, doodled swastikas on their papers, and called me out for picking up pennies off the floor.

On mental health:
My best friend was severely depressed, and took meds for her depression which made her sleepy. She sometimes missed class and was consistently told she was a slacker, not smart enough, or good enough to be in Honors or AP classes. One of my family members was also suicidal for much of their time at WLHS, and had to miss school to the point of truancy. They were not given the option to take classes online and got very little help from the guidance department or administration in general. They ended up transferring. I was also suicidal for much of high school, but good at hiding it. The experiences of my friend and my family member really made it feel impossible to come forward about that. There was also no discussion of mental health in health class that I remember. No, those classes were more focused on demonizing drugs and scaring people off of sex.

On physical ableism:
Gym teachers (apart from Mrs. Feldman, who was great) routinely pushed people to go beyond the physical limits of their bodies, and criticized them as weak or lazy if they weren't running or swimming as quickly as their peers. I have exercise induced asthma that wasn't diagnosed, but found myself completely unable to breathe for the rest of the day after overexerting in gym, trying to keep up with what the teachers expected I should be able to do. I routinely remember people being made fun of in front of other students or disbelieved about having severe period pain. I also remember one instance in which someone smeared peanut butter on the locker of a student who had a severe

peanut allergy. There were widespread rumors that it was her (white) boyfriend but as far as I recall, there were no consequences to him.

On sexism:
Both of my physics teachers at West Side in 2010-2012 were wildly sexist. There were two female students in my AP physics class (out of 20+). [One Physics teacher] would not call on us or answer either of our questions when our hands were up. Instead, he would ask us to answer difficult questions, and when we would answer incorrectly would then shame us in front of the rest of the class for "not being prepared." I approached him before school a number of times to ask for explanation of problems and concepts I didn't understand, and instead of helping explain things to me, he would tell me he didn't have time for that, and that I should read the textbook (already did, many times). When my male classmate approached him for an explanation of the exact same concept a few minutes later, he would take 30-45 minutes to explain the concept in depth and give sample problems. [The Physics teacher] also posted the names and AP Physics scores on the walls-- separating them into groups of 5s, 4s, and 3/2/1s. There was one female name in the 5s area, and more in the 4/3/2/1 areas. He would constantly refer to the people in the lower scoring areas as "losers" and "dummies." I eventually dropped the class. [Another Physics teacher] routinely made creepy story problems in the Physics Honors class about the shortness of girls' skirts and the lowness of their tops, and commented on many of my (female) classmates' outfits. I was actively uncomfortable to be alone in the room with him, which prevented me from seeking out his help when I was struggling.

Sienna Farris, Class of 1992

I moved to West Lafayette, Indiana from the DC area in 1990 because my mom accepted a position as a faculty member at Purdue University. I had been in gifted classes my entire life and was on the gifted track at my high school in MD. When my mother tried to enroll me in classes at West Side, she was told that the classes were more rigorous at West Side and that my school in MD most likely didn't have the same standards. West Side knew nothing about my school and my classes but the made assumptions about my school (which was very diverse) because I was African American that I couldn't keep up. After my mother pushed to have me test into the accelerated classes, they finally relented. While I was there I experienced several racist experiences from my teachers. I had a Spanish teacher my senior year tell me that MLK didn't deserve to have a holiday and there were numerous white historical figures who deserved a day before him and that Native Americans belonged on reservations. When I questioned our "world history" professor why weren't we studying the world - we didn't have any curriculum on Africa or Latin America - just Europe (so why not call it European History) he told me that we

only study the world once it was colonized by Europeans. Several classmates were EXTREMELY racist - was called the N word in class, had people call and leave the N word on my answering machine. When my mother complained at school, NOTHING was done about it. I ended up graduating from West Side a semester early (this African American who was considered not up to par as the other students) because I could not wait to get out of there.

David McCoy, Class of 2000

“I don’t like Orientals.”

When the topic of racism in WLCSC came up, that immediately came to mind. That is what my racist 2nd grade teacher said to my Korean mother in a conference.

In Korean culture, teachers are highly respected. I can’t tell you how shocking and hurtful it was for my mother to hear a teacher, of all people, say something so low and hateful. It took several years for my mom to even tell me about that statement. She didn’t need to, though.

Even as a 7-year-old I could tell this teacher hated me. I didn’t understand why, but I knew. To my classmates, she probably seemed like a nice old lady. She was racist, not stupid. During class she kept most of her racism subtle.

Instead of overtly calling me names, she would twist my words around every time I raised my hand in class, not only to undermine my confidence, but also to make the other students laugh at and mock me. I was a shy kid with a learning disability and new in school. Imagine how that felt.

Instead of hitting me, she would stab me in the back with her boney finger or even pinch me. The other kids got nice little taps on the shoulder. They would get led by the hand, I’d get my arm yanked.

The other kids had their homework and tests graded. My work came back with baffling red marks on correct answers. My parents double checked her “grading.” That was the only thing I was able to get her to stop doing after calling her out on it. Of course, not without this teacher summoning me to her desk to loudly declare in a mocking voice, “I’m not trying to pick on you!” Followed by the entire class laughing at me.

By the end of 2nd grade, I was afraid to raise my hand, I was afraid to talk, I was afraid of teachers, I didn’t trust school staff, I thought I was dumb, and I believed my classmates hated me. Thanks to this very skilled teacher.

She wasn’t a garden variety elementary school teacher. She and her husband specialized in teaching gifted children, and there is even an award named after her sponsored by Purdue University.

Remember every summer we’d get a letter telling us who our teacher was going to be? Those terrified me, because I was afraid I would get another teacher like this.

It took me a very long time to get past that fear and mistrust of teachers. She was an expert in childhood development. This teacher knew the effect of humiliating and gaslighting a shy 7-year-old with a learning disability at a new school would have. She fully understood how vulnerable I was. I never felt welcome or accepted at West Side, and Mrs. “I Don’t Like Orientals” was one of the reasons why.

“Why would they put a gay man in charge of a boy’s home?” -My American Lit Teacher

I was furious when I heard those words. It had been years since 2nd grade, and I thought, “great ‘Mrs. [2nd grade teacher] 2.0: The Homophobe Edition.’”

I had already been out to the whole school for about a year, and I wasn’t afraid to take on anyone. I remember thinking, “she really doesn’t know who she has in her class. I’ll show her.”

Our next assignment was to write a poem. She had already expressed a fondness for my writing. So, I wrote about the first time I came out. It had an admittedly long, but pointed title, “This Could Have Been Written by Anyone You Know, But It’s by Me,” and the poem closed with “‘I’m gay.’”

I was prepared to get an F. I was ready to fight the administration, yet again. I wasn’t going to be abused by another teacher.

Instead I got an A, a big hug, and a beautiful ally,[American literature teacher], that I have always been grateful for.

To put the remark in context, it was circa 1997. What she said was pretty tame for the time. Not long after that comment, there was a huge controversy at Lafayette Jefferson, due to a rumor of a possible gay teacher. No names, no accusations of inappropriate conduct of any kind, just the possible existence of a gay teacher...somewhere...in the school. The FBI even got involved. Insane. An extreme example, but it gives you a feel for the time, and how far things have come.

I’m not by any means saying it’s ok for teachers, or anyone, to say homophobic things like this, or make off the cuff racist, hateful, etc. remarks. I just wanted to bring up this cautionary example. I often wonder what might have been if I had just written her off, and defined her by that one statement.

In contrast, I tried my best to be a good student in [2nd grade teacher]’s class. I tried being nice to her, typical of someone being gaslit, I suppose. My mom asked her why she hated us, and never got an answer. Just more venom, “I hate Orientals...I don’t want Orientals at this school...” My parents tried talking to the principal, but that went nowhere. I was forced to finish the year with her. She went on to teach another class, and abuse at least one more Asian student, and win a Golden Apple Award, before retiring.

I have no problem calling [2nd grade teacher] a racist. I have no problem with the fact my classmates might be shocked by the contrast with their “wonderful memories” of her, if they have them. I have no problem with the idea her relatives might read this someday. It was painfully obvious to my mom, and I, [2nd grade teacher] was a cruel, abusive, racist.

Back to the positive side, I never actually told [American literature teacher] why I wrote the poem. Her warm reception to my writing, and all the support she gave me afterward, seemed to wash away whatever was behind the remark.

I suppose I meant this post to be a tale of two teachers, to bring a little light into the group. Confronting bigotry doesn’t have to end with an enemy, it can end with an unexpected ally.

Maurice Woodard, Class of 2014

It was the night of prom my senior year. A group of friends and myself were having an after-prom party, like most high schoolers do. I was the designated driver for the evening. The party happened to be in the neighborhood right next to our high-school. As I dropped off the group of friends in my vehicle, I began to drive around the block

looking for a parking spot. I’d finally found a spot and was pulling in when the police lights flashed behind me. I thought maybe he’d seen the party and was busting some underage kids. Instead, he approached me with his hand on his gun and speaking in an extremely hostile manner. I was out of the car and was patted down before I even knew what was going on. According to the officer, he’d seen my car driving around suspiciously and I didn’t look like I belonged in that neighborhood. The hostility continued on for several minutes. I more than likely would have been arrested that night for something I didn’t do. The only reason he didn’t is because AFTER harassing me, he finally decided to check my ID and recognized my name because of my participation on the high school football team. His entire demeanor managed to change after that and I got a smile and a wave goodbye. I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t been on the football team for the local high school and had a recognizable name.

Anonymous

I personally remember making Islamophobic jokes in 7th or 8th grade classrooms and getting 100% away with it. One day during lunch, I also literally ran around the locker bay with a towel wrapped around my face pretending to be a “terrorist” and I was simply told to stop by an SRO, and that was the end of it. No detention, no mention of anything to a principal, nothing. Not proud to mention these facts, but it’s important to shed light on them. It still took me many years after this incident to unlearn such blatant bigotry.

Anonymous

One of my best friends is Arab and Muslim and in 7th grade during a round table discussion, our social studies teacher asked her (the only Arab student in the class) why Muslims/Arabs aren’t helping the US find terrorists. He kept pressing her about issues in the Middle East and when she snapped at him and said she felt uncomfortable, he got mad at her. We were 12?? He was everyone’s “favorite teacher” and she wanted to be liked by him, so she asked me to go with her to apologize after school. He was SUPER aggressive towards her and kept saying “AND? AND?” after every apology as if she had a lot to apologize for. It was terrible and so uncomfortable. Another teacher told her that her family is wiretapped because they’re Arab. I’m not even going to start on the amount of Islamophobic jokes I heard from students. Also, I’m sharing this because she said it would make her feel more comfortable than posting herself but I know she’s dealt with a ton of racism at West Side from students and teachers alike. Definitely something that needs to be addressed.

Anonymous, Class of 2016

I have had problems navigating the Honors system. When we were first split into different math tracks at Happy Hollow, I was surprised by my placement. I remember some of my friends were also confused, "Wait, which one is Honors?" It turned out I was not placed in Honors even though I had previously excelled in the subject. When Honors Math came to mind, my classmates thought of me. My parents had to petition the school multiple times for consecutive years before I was finally moved into the Honors track halfway through 6th grade. Throughout my time at West Side, I was basically the only Black student in Honors Math.

My brother also had to fight to be placed in Honors Math in 7th grade when he was moving in from a new school. Even though he had been in Honors classes before, the faculty was worried that he would not be able to handle it and made my parents acknowledge that if he fails it would be their fault, not the school’s.

Beyond the honors systems, I faced problems within my classes.

For example, my 8th-grade social studies teacher made learning about American history extremely uncomfortable. As a Black student, the teacher would single me out and tell me to be thankful because “we freed the slaves.“ Whenever progress was made for Black Americans the teacher would make comments like “look what we did for your people.“ I was repetitively made to feel embarrassed about my heritage and I never learned about how Black people exhibited agency throughout the events we learned about (and ones we didn’t). When I would ask questions that went against the narrative taught in class the teacher would call me “disruptive” and send me to the back of the classroom. I left class everyday feeling that the teacher hated me and whenever I would talk to my peers they would be like “yeah this teacher doesn’t like you.” Other lesson plans included asking all the students in the class if they were citizens and having the ones who said “no” stand up at their desks. The teacher then proceeded to say “these are all the people who will never be able to be president“ and used this exercise as a way to teach a civics lesson.

Anonymous, Class of 2016

In an econ class, we were discussing the value of potentially offering new languages at West Side. I was surprised by the teacher’s unprecedented open-mindedness until he proclaimed that speaking Arabic was “speaking terrorist.” I remember scoffing and asking the people around me if they heard what he said (which everyone did, of course) but I got no response. I tried to push back but he asserted that the majority of terrorists speak Arabic and moved on. I’m not sure if there were any other Arab or Muslim

students present (I’m white and Arab but not Muslim). I was pretty disappointed that no one had my back in challenging the teacher.

Anonymous, Class of 2021

Last year, two black members of the football team were ridiculed and the subject of extremely racist harassment and "jokes." The worst one was a white member of the football team dressing up in blackface, putting on a trump hat, and sending it to the group chat, mocking them. The black players understandably leaked this, but then THEY were subject to even more attacks, and [the coach] did nothing to stop this, except for one student getting one day ISS.

Anonymous, Class of 2016

I had just moved to West Lafayette Indiana from Costa Rica and enrolled at West Side as a freshman in high school in 2012. I grew up bilingual (English and Spanish), had limited access to challenging English courses in Costa Rica, so I would read as many English books as possible, while also writing in my journals daily. I was very interested in reading and writing. For several years before and while attending West Side it was my dream to be an author and something I seriously considered to pursue.

West Side had me enrolled in the regular English classes with [an English teacher] during my freshman year, in which I received As in both semesters with him. However, I was not satisfied and wanted more, so I asked to attend Honors English for my sophomore year. I was rejected by [an English teacher] and [an English teacher] on accounts that I apparently did not meet their expectations to be in English Honors. I was angry and confused about why they rejected me seeing as I had excelled all year as a freshman in English. It makes no sense to do so, especially when a student in question has a genuine interest to challenge and better themselves. The teachers’ attitudes and reluctance to let me take the honors course made me feel like I was not adequate or intelligent enough.

It was only years later that I considered it could have been due to Latinx, genderqueer, and/or maybe deaf discrimination (I’m about 50% hearing and wear hearing aids). It’s possible the teachers had subconscious biases at play regarding gender queer, deaf, and/or Latinx folks. I have a strong suspicion it's due to the fact that I grew up in a Spanish speaking country and was viewed as incapable of excelling in English. I was questioning my gender at the time and was more androgynous presenting, which during those times felt a bit risky and was unwelcomed by some at the school. I only wonder how many students were disregarded or discouraged from excelling at a school that proclaims itself to be diverse, simply because the student in question was not white, cis,

and/or abled. Teachers are supposed to be encouraging students to challenge themselves and to support their development, but in this case, they seemed opposed to even letting me.

[An English teacher] was also very discouraging to me about my interest in joining the high school wrestling team. He was the Junior High coach at the time and I went to him to find more information on how to join the high school team. His immediate response was, “I wouldn’t let my daughter do it.” He strongly discouraged me from pursuing the sport despite my genuine interest and insinuated that I would not be able to do it because I was born with the wrong set of genitalia. There was even a hint of shaming on his end that made me walk away feeling defeated and so I gave up trying to pursue it.

Trans or not, every student should be able to join the sport they are interested in without any blatant or underlying discrimination from the teachers, coaches, or students. This includes allowing them to try out, using the right pronouns, holding those accountable who use the wrong pronouns, and holding students and teachers accountable for their implicit biases against trans folks, folks with disabilities, and folks of color. It is absolutely unacceptable to allow teachers or students to contribute to the status quo that holds back so many students already struggling with discrimination outside of school. Changes such as implicit bias training, training in diversity and inclusion, and deep awareness surrounding these subjects are needed at West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School. My story is one of many and only an example of a plethora of negative experiences students of color, trans students, or students with disabilities endured in the face of blatant micro and macro aggression, systemic barriers.

My hope is that this story, along with many others, stresses the importance to those in charge to create the needed changes highlighted in the letter West Side alumni wrote together. It's about time we address the issues and implement the changes needed so that generations of students to come actually graduate as well rounded, diverse, inclusive, and open minded individuals the school proudly proclaims to generate. Only when we meet those missions is when we can truly express our Red Devil Pride.

Anonymous

I observed multiple instances of teachers making racist and Islamophobic remarks about two Black and Arab Muslim students who left class early every Friday afternoon in order to attend mosque. The teacher suggested to other students who had remained in class after these two students left, that they were using going to mosque as an excuse to skip class and make trouble, and then laughed. This was in 2010 or 2011.

Anonymous, Class of 2012

My experience and education in the WLCSC was overall extremely positive. I had many teachers who really cared about and helped me improve and learn in ways I otherwise wouldn't have. However, there were several instances in high school where teachers (specifically teachers from the Social Studies department) harassed me for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They mocked my beliefs, made inappropriate jokes about Joseph Smith and other leaders of my religion, and taunted me for not drinking coffee, among other things. After I graduated and attended college, I came back to West Lafayette and taught some of the youth in our church on Sundays and was saddened to hear that many of them had experienced the same discrimination I had (by the same teachers) for being members of our church.

WLCSC prides itself on being inclusive, diverse, and welcoming to all. While most teachers and faculty I encountered certainly showed these values, several definitely did not. This issue needs to be addressed so that faculty understand the importance of not discriminating against ANYONE based on their race, sexuality, religion, or social class.

The teachers at WLHS who went out of their way to encourage and help me become a better person include (but are not limited to) Mr. Jeffry Stearns, Ms. Liz Dixon, Mrs. Michelle Brooks, Mr. Minshen Ho, Mr. Craig Shaeffer, Monsieur Stephen Ohlhaut, Mr. Mike Mullis, Mrs. Mary Beth Boyd, Mrs. Jane Helton, Mrs. Verna Yoder, Mrs. Lisa Mills, Mr. Johnathan Polk, Ms. Karri Huckstep, Mrs. Carol Letcher, and Mrs. Jane Schott, I thank them for showing me what inclusive and true education means. They continue to positively impact me today.

Anonymous

During my time at WLHS I once got a detention for arguing that the history textbook being used was not adequate and for aggressively requesting and advocating for new ones.

Additionally during my years at the HS, there was a policy implemented where students were no longer allowed to wear hats. It was said to be because administrators wanted to be able to see people’s faces on school security cameras. However, the only students I ever saw get in trouble were Black students with baseball/flat-brim hats on. White students with those hats or beanies were never disciplined.

Anonymous

Not a BIPOC, but witnessed an elementary school gym teacher repeatedly mock a new kid who was from Korea for not speaking English/understanding directions. Also

witnessed the bravery of a classmate who after months of months of being called "Pakistani Man" by our shop teacher said "Can you please stop calling me that?" Up to this point, the classmate was CLEARLY upset every time he called him that. Would also ask rude questions about his family's country of origin. Overall a terrible classroom environment--teacher was also very sexist.

Anonymous

As I am not a BIPOC, this story is definitely not of priority or even close to what my BIPOC friends and classmates have gone through. So I do recognize my privilege in that regard, but since the form was anonymous I did want to submit this as I have seen a few posts similar to my story!

I'm an artist. I've always been an artist at heart, and WLHS can feel alienating to individuals who don't fit the mold of "I have a 3.8 or above GPA and am on track to be an engineer/doctor/lawyer/a profession deemed successful and competent by society and WLHS". In high school, I wasn't "smart" by WLHS standards. Math was hard, sciences were tough, and I did try my hardest but I was what teachers would consider a model student. When I expressed interest in certain non-art careers (i.e. when I was trying to fit in and people please and have a "secure future"), I was told I wasn't smart enough and that job would be a better fit for someone else. When I told teachers I wanted to be an artist I was told it was a terrible idea and that I'd be better off doing something else.

But I studied art & design anyways. I completed my undergraduate degree and got accepted into one of the best graduate programs for design, had a program-wide recognized Master's thesis, and am currently applying for Assistant Professor positions as a woman in her mid-20s so I can be a voice and advocate for students like me. All after WLHS people telling me I'd be a starving artist and making me believe I was never smart enough to amount to anything deemed acceptable by societal standards.

The arts at WLHS are incredibly under-funded and there is no importance placed on them. Even more concerning, if you're anything but book smart, you're not smart. No one seemed to care about all the talented artists, and no one aside from the few art teachers we had knew how to encourage them.

Most importantly, the arts are so incredibly rich and diverse when it comes to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, cultures, etc. It is beautiful the way that the arts bring people together of all backgrounds and races as a way of self-expression and storytelling. Because of the art community, my paths have crossed with people I would have never met, I've been exposed to so many world issues, witnessed beautiful

visual storytelling by BIPOC that opened up so many avenues of conversation, and am continuously learning as a white cis female how much I don't know.

Art is unifying. We need artists. Who is making all the art and designs that are all over stoical media raising awareness? Definitely not the engineers, lawyers, or accountants. BIPOC artists will be one of the greatest gifts to this revolution, so please never overlook them.

Anonymous, Class of 2008

One student in particular would go out of his way to bully me about my race and my clothing. He would routinely call me ghetto and a beggar and go out of his way to make me feel bad for being Indian. No teacher cared that he said these things - in fact, this boy was so entitled that he would get teachers in trouble with the school board when he felt his grades were "unfair" (read, just handed a grade above a B) by using his parents to complain. It was a terrible experience.

Anonymous

I was a white student at West Side in the mid-90s and have several memories of overt bigotry there - particularly anti-Asian and anti-Muslim racism. The most prominent memory I have is of a social studies teacher using an anti-Muslim slur in class, to the open dismay of my Middle Eastern, first-generation immigrant classmates, when recalling Operation Desert Storm during a lecture. This teacher is now an upper-level administrator.

I also have a biracial child who attended West Side all the way from K-12. Despite ongoing issues with anti-BIPOC language used at school for the duration, any complaints made about racism were met with "not us," and wholesale denials of racism or other bigotry at the school and in West Lafayette by teachers, administrators and parents. If we were having issues, they implied, we were alone and maybe making it up. It was maddening to be gaslighted into shutting up and made to feel unhinged or like a troublemaker for bringing it up at all.

Myra, Class of 2008

I was reflecting on my own experiences, “Was my school racist?” I’m not proud to say the first thought that popped into my head was, “How could we have been? We didn’t have any Black kids... oh fuck... that’s part of the problem!”

Then I remembered the one racist encounter I overheard: A teacher asked my Asian classmate if she needed help understanding anything. I remember thinking how weird it

was—she was the spelling bee champ and smarter than most in that class. But that’s all it was to me— weird.

Yesterday, I was talking with three friends from high school about this. One said, “Did we even have cops at the school when we were there?” “Yeah, just one, and he mostly just hung out by the nurse’s office.” “How awful is it that I could be unaware of the cops and our classmates were threatened by them, and we didn’t even know?”

Anonymous

High school was the most stressful and depressing part of my life, because I was not an “Honors” kid. Teachers couldn’t help me when I asked for help, so I gave up asking all together. I ended up studying Art in college, which opened up many doors for me. My art professors helped me look inwards to understand who I am and outwards to understand the truths of the world. I’ve been disconnected from West Side for a long time, but when I saw this WLHS Alum for Anti-Racism Education Group, I found myself deeply tied to my roots and feeling the need to give back to the school that has raised me. I am currently an artist, curator, and educator. This is how my story began:

To assimilate to “whiteness” or get outcasted? That was a constant struggle for me as an Asian American from preschool through high school in West Lafayette. These feelings were reinforced by my environment being majority white during my childhood in the 1990’s, particularly when I looked up to the people in power (Administration and Teachers) and the influence of American TV, which was filled with white main characters and families. My Barbie dolls were all white, except for one Asian doll, which I always imagined as the villain. The idea that “Beauty=Whiteness” and thinking of myself as always being “less than” my white classmate was internalized. It made me self-conscious and selectively mute.

My elementary school teachers taught me fundamental core values, which I have carried until today and continue to pass down to my students. However, I vividly remember one time an elementary school teacher asking my mom where we were from. She said "Taiwan" and the teacher was so happy and grabbed a book from the library to show me titled “Thailand”. I know she didn’t mean any harm, but this kind of ignorance was scarring. Every time I walked outside, I was always mistaken for an international student or foreigner in my own hometown, so I hated the question “Where are you from?”

My mom drilled it in me at a young age that it didn't matter how “American” I felt, I will always have an “Asian Face”. So she made sure we spoke Chinese at home, go to

Chinese school every Sunday, celebrate Chinese holidays, but we were not from “China”...Can you see how confusing this is, especially when a child doesn’t know anything about Chinese history or politics? My family celebrated Christmas as an adopted American holiday, but we are not Christians. I pledged allegiance to the American flag everyday and never questioned God. My family taught me to be an ambassador for my culture to help others understand us, so Asians don’t seem like a threat. I do believe promoting our culture in our school and around the community at multicultural events has helped, but just presenting stereotypical cultural things does not fully encompass the depth of my culture and identity. I’ve been labeled Asian/Chinese my entire life, but when I go to Asia, they would see me as the “American” kid. In grad school, a classmate from China once said "Chinese Americans are not Chinese!" and I’ve never felt so offended before. This is what I mean by an “identity struggle”. This is why it’s so important for kids to learn about their intersectional “hybrid” identity at a young age. They need to learn how migration and environment play a role in identity formation. I personally needed to learn more than the one sentence that we glossed over in Social Studies that said “The Chinese dug gold mines and built the railroads.” This intersectional identity

training will help all students build their self-confidence and direct them into a brighter future.

Not until 2016 when I started Grad School in Baltimore, MD, did my world flip upside down. It was a culture shock, because I’ve never seen so many black people in my life. I questioned, “Why were the descendants suffering from the aftermath of slavery when it happened such a long time ago?” Since it was painted as a myth in my history lessons, it took time for me to comprehend their personal experiences. Living there for 3 years, I learned so much valuable knowledge from the Black community. I also had the opportunity to listen to a Native American speaker, which made me rethink..."Why I enjoyed learning about Native American culture as a child, but there were no Native American people around me?" The historical research of these professionals prompted me to research my own heritage. I found out the inequalities Asians have suffered in this country was horrific until the narrative was changed to the “model minority”, which explains why I’ve never had a problem with the police, but the issues with this stereotype live on.

I’ve spent my entire life trying to figure out what it means to be Asian in America, what is my relation to Asians from Asia, and did you know that Chinese have their roots in Indiana from as early as the 1900s? This is why the school’s faculty and curriculum must reflect the diversity of its students. History and politics can’t only focus on the west. Teachers need to be educated on all of these issues and the whole community needs to

continue having critical discussions. Each country is so complex; each culture is so diverse and rich; each human being needs to be valued and respected. So, allow the students to learn from each other’s diverse backgrounds and have those tough conversations to help them think critically from different people’s perspectives.

Yes, my Chinese ancestors gave me my DNA and my family traditions, but it does not define all of who I am. As, I am writing to you today and sharing with you my past experiences, I’m reminded how American I am and I’m sincerely grateful for the foundational education you have given me. Learning is a life long process, so let’s continue to learn together, create a safe space for dialogue, and build a harmonious community. I truly hope that future students don't need to struggle as much as I did. They can receive emotional support and practical tools at West Side that will help them develop into wholesome adults.

Anonymous

As a white woman, I want to bear witness as best I can. West Lafayette School Corporation is predominately white, I believe we can all agree on that. I would however like to testify that it is the microaggressions that are the major problem in our schools and community. Please don't use ignorance as an excuse. I saw many students try and touch Black girls' hair because it is curly and bouncy. I heard parents at basketball games make comments that the Black athletes were better as basketball, and while disguised as a compliment, is not appropriate. We have the opportunity and requirement to reflect on our own actions and take accountability for the wrongdoings. Microaggressions are "small", but they are not insignificant. In fact, they are what I have seen weigh the most heavily on our POC brothers and sisters. They are not making this up. I regret not knowing how to when to step in when I was a student. But I will hold their hand now, as I have born witness to their testimonies too.

Anonymous

As the offspring of a Mexican-immigrant and a Caucasian American, I could often pass as white and nobody would mention anything. Whenever I would bring up my heritage and familial background, though, I’d receive a lot of confusion and commentary about it. For example, people would respond “Really? You don’t look like it” or would jump on the claim and say “Oh so you’re all about tacos and mariachi, right?”. My worst experience was after President Trump’s claims about Mexican immigrants, as I walked the halls and received stares from others. I could tell most gazes were filled with sympathy, some with anger, and few with disgust, but the fact that such a division was exploited made me feel isolated. I realize these occasions aren’t as harmful or damaging

as other alum have gone through, and I will continue to help and fight for the cause in any way possible, but this is my story of experience and impact.

Anonymous, Class of 2017

I remember my senior year I was applying to universities and my guidance counselor was extremely unhelpful throughout this process. I told her what schools I was applying to (all of them big name or state schools) and she told me she’d never heard of them and wouldn’t help me research them. My family was also living near the poverty line at this time since my dad has just lost his job, and it was getting expensive to pay all the application fees. I explained my situation to my counselor and asked her to write me a fee waiver, since some of the schools I was applying to just wanted a letter stating financial hardship from a counselor, and she told me to “just apply to less schools”. This was really frustrating and disheartening to hear, and it was clear to me that my guidance counselor didn’t support me and never had.

Anonymous, Class of 2001

I learned quickly not to talk about my family's Hindu traditions, food, or anything cultural lest I face bullying by my peers, which ranged from verbal mockery to outright physical assault. Many teachers throughout my education with WLCSC made sarcastic race-based comments as well as "jokes" at my expense. One time a former classmate was mocking my sister, mispronouncing her name, and I asked him what his issue was with my sister. He replied that she "smells like Oriental shit."

Anonymous

As a person of color who graduated less than ten years ago, I’m scared to share my experiences and perspective. I’ve experienced racism in the past, but even that pales to the fear that I face today.

In school, I was never popular but did alright for myself. I had friends who were supportive. My teachers encouraged me in my academics and pushed me to challenge myself. It is because of how they treated me that I am where I am today. I’m thankful for that.

All in all, as a person of color I had a wonderful experience at WLCSC. I felt safe. I felt supported. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. There were people who didn’t like me. I’m not sure if it was because of the color of my skin or my upbringing. But that didn’t minimize my gratitude towards the school and my time there.

What scares me is that I no longer feel safe. I no longer feel supported. My experiences are now minimized. It seems like I’m part of the minority, a minority that doesn’t have a voice. But I know that’s not the case. Many of my friends also thrived, regardless of their ethnicity or skin color.

Racism is real. I’ve experienced it. But I do not agree with the solutions that are presented in this endeavor. My life does not fit the narrative that people want to pressure me into. I’m concerned about the direction of this group and this movement. I’m afraid it won’t bring the change that is needed. I’m concerned it will only cause more pain to my community.

It’s sad to think my opinions and experiences no longer matter. They are not valid to people who want me to answer a certain way. And that scares me. I prefer to remain anonymous because I’ve been slandered and attacked already for sharing my experiences. I know I’m not alone, and I know I’m not the only one scared to share how I really feel. I just hope you think of us too.

Anonymous

I was class of 2020. When I was a freshman I got to school in the morning with my boyfriend at the time. This is when I was also a boy and I was dating a senior at the time. One morning he wanted to pick me up early to go to school. I said ok. After he picked me up we drove into campus. I asked why we were driving to campus and he told me to shut up. He then pulled me into a parking garage and proceeded to violate me sexually. As a gay POC I felt discriminated against. I have told No one of this story because I am to afraid to speak out.

Anonymous

I give a parent’s observation of prejudice in WLCSC. I was an active volunteer in the school. This particular incident happened while I volunteered grading students’ assignments and creating the Friday take home folders for my daughter’s 4th grade class.

This was a time when it was an urban legend that black “folks” from Gary were given a one way ticket to come to Greater Lafayette to take advantage of the generous social services available in our area. The school principal at that time had personally told me so.

There was this lovely bright African - American (the only one in the grade - who we will call Sabrina), assigned to this particularly tough 4th grade teacher. As I sat grading the

assignments in class, I noticed that the teacher, an elderly white women was always excessively harsh to Sabrina. Not picking her when she raised her hand time and time again - Friday after Friday. Admonishing her for minute transgressions which the others got away with.

Sabrina was bright - I knew that because I graded her assignments. She had a dad who was super involved in her school work - so involved that he came by every Friday to pick her up and her Friday folder, and chatted with the teacher about how she could improve. But the teacher continued to be harsh with cool politeness.

I had told my daughter to invite Sabrina over to our home for a play date. My daughter was excited to make a new friend. But that was not to happen. My daughter found out that Sabrina had transferred out. We were very sad and I was disappointed with myself. As an adult observing this discrimination I was not able to find a way to stop it without repercussions to Sabrina or my daughter. Remember the school principal was the one who had told me about the “bus load of folks from Gary”.

Also, the fact that WLCSC lost a bright student and my daughter - a friend.

Emma McClure, Class of 2007

After graduating from West Side, my only reference point for sexual violence was: Did he hit you, yes/no? And so, in college and afterwards, I went through a string of abusive relationships without knowing what was happening to me or why I felt increasingly lost and suicidal. I didn’t even have the tools to recognize sexual assault when it happened, since again, he didn’t hit me and I thought it couldn’t have been abuse.

I hope sexual education at West Side has started to teach students how to recognize abusive techniques like gaslighting and manipulative jealousy. I particularly hope that sexual assault is fully defined and discussed. And more than that, I hope students learn what good, supportive relationships look like and what good, pleasurable sex looks like—for all gender identities and sexualities.

The following stories were not sent to the administration in the initial addendum but have been shared on our social media

Class of 2020
In general, my elementary teachers were very nice. But I remember a teacher asking my mom where we are from. She said Taiwan, and the teacher was so happy and grabbed a book from the library to show me titled “Thailand.” We speak Chinese at home, go to Chinese school every Sunday, celebrate Chinese holidays, but we are not from “China.” My family celebrates Christmas as an adopted American holiday, but we are not Christians. I was taught to be an ambassador for my culture to help others accept us, so Asians don’t seem like a threat. It has helped but other people’s ignorance continues to be scarring, and I continue to educate. I’ve been labeled Asian or Chinese my entire life, but in Asia they would see me as the “American” kid. In grad school, a classmate from China said Chinese Americans were not Chinese and I’ve never felt so offended before. This is what I mean by an identity struggle.

Class of 2017
This isn’t a story per se, but my sister (white and straight as far as I know) recently made the choice to switch from in-person to e-learning. I asked her why. Apart from the anxiety of being in-person during the pandemic, she mentioned, “I can’t stand most of my classmates.” When I asked her why again, she cited racism, sexism, misogyny, and homophobia. The way she said this made it seem like these attitudes are quite prevalent and go beyond a few “bad apples.” This made me sad, as this is the current state of affairs rather than a reflection of the past. West Side obviously needs to do better.

Anonymous
This was back in my seventh grade year I think? All I remember was he was a social studies teacher for the junior high and later “quit.” Basically what happened was this: We had this one kid in class. I don’t remember what we were discussing that day but I remember the teacher’s words clearly. He asks the student who was of Asian descent, “Oh do you guys eat white rice and Panda Express every day?” along with a few other things. This made everyone uncomfortable and we all got called down to report on it. After the incident, the teacher stayed for a bit and wasn’t fired. Instead of firing him for a remark like that, the school “advised him to quit” so he could still apply to teaching positions at other places.

Class of 2011
When I was a sophomore at West Side, I became good friends with a student who had just transferred to WLHS. We spent a lot of time studying together at lunch. She happened to be Black. One day, we were working on homework together in the library, and I was sitting at the computer to show her how to use some software she wasn't familiar with. One of the school librarians stormed over and accused her of cheating, incorrectly saying that I was doing her homework for her. To my friend she said, "I know how you people are. I've got my eye on you." To me, a white student, she didn't levy any accusations, despite the fact that she was accusing my friend of cheating off of me. 

I immediately understood the subtext of the librarian's accusations, and I was shocked and horrified. Sadly, my friend was upset but not particularly surprised because she was used to this sort of thing happening to her. That was in the fall of 2008, just a couple of months before Obama was elected. There was a national conversation about a "post-racial America," a topic which always made me think back to that day in the library. When I spoke to other white people about the incident, what I found particularly insidious was how many of them couldn't imagine something like that happening at WLHS because "Obama is president," "it's so diverse," or "the school seems so inclusive and multicultural." Several suggested I had misinterpreted the situation. This is a crystal clear example of how easy it is to be blinded by the progressive, academic climate at West Side (and in many other spheres) and of why having these conversations is so important.

Class of 2006
I was pregnant when I came to WL and lived in Section 8 apartments on Yeager Road. As soon as I turned 16, the Vice-Principal and guidance counselor called me into the office to let me know that I was now old enough to drop out and that getting my GED would be so much easier for me. Mind you, I was a straight A student and had always been in gifted classes UNTIL I came to WL. Thankfully I am stubborn and knew that a GED was NOT the same as a diploma, despite what they said. I decided to graduate to spite them. They ALSO didn't explain to me how to apply to colleges or how scholarships and the like worked, though they did have me fill out a FAFSA. I was also kicked out of four classes during sophomore year for being late (I struggled with undiagnosed ADHD; literally the bell rang when I walked through the door and I was kicked out of the class) bringing my 4.0 GPA to a 1.0 because you get an automatic F. I was 0.5 off of a full-ride scholarship because of my overall 3.0 GPA. Now I am a neuroscience and psychology double major and a minor in philosophy in an honors college, but it took 10 years after graduating to start. That was definitely due to the lack of guidance and outright oppression of the school administrators. Not because of my race, maybe even not my socioeconomic status, but because I had a child and they didn't want a teen mom graduating from their school.

Class of 2008
In junior high, we all had to take a typing course. The usual teacher who taught the class was on leave. That year, she was replaced by another teacher who seemed to have limited experience with computers.

It was test day, and the teacher was handing papers out to everyone. When she came to me, she said, “If you need any help with the language, just let me know.”

I remember being so genuinely thrown off by this comment that it left me dumbfounded. This caused the teacher to repeat herself again, a bit louder and a bit slower. It finally dawned on me what she meant and I managed to mumble, “Oh… I’m… fine.” 

The teacher immediately reacted with embarrassment and gave me a fumbled apology, stating that she just thought, because, y’know, you never spoke in class…

I hadn’t spoken because none of my friends were in class with me, but she interpreted that as “oh, she must not speak the language.” I distinctly remember this moment as the first notable time that someone assumed I didn’t speak English. I was born and raised in West Lafayette and had grown up with my classmates since kindergarten. Even though my parents were immigrants from Korea, my father spoke English so fluently that I even spoke it at home. I had been in a blissfully unaware bubble that was suddenly burst by a simple assumption. 

While I understood the teacher had good intentions when she made that assumption, the shock was real. In hindsight, that moment felt like an example of prejudice and privilege: I was debased to a stereotype, but I was still seen as worthy of being helped. Despite moments like these, my overall experience at West Side was positive. I believe a significant factor was due to my privilege as a light-skinned, middle class Northeast Asian woman whose access to education was never questioned.

That same teacher went on to regularly confuse me with the only other Asian girl in our history class a few years later, so I was glad to know that she must have forgotten about that embarrassing experience in junior high typing class.

Class of 2021
In all of my years of high school, I have been stalked twice. They were both in sophomore year. The first time it happened, he tried to make me sneak out in the early hours of the morning. The second time it happened, it was a different person but it was way worse. When I told him to leave me alone, he told me that he knew where I lived and he knew my every move. He also told me that if I didn’t want to do anything sexual with him that he would force me to do it. I almost had to call the police on him. I never told anybody about the second time because when I told people the first time, nobody believed me. This is the first time I’ve ever told this story because of it.

Class of 1975

I am from the Class of 1975. I was told I wasn’t smart enough. I was told I needed to be on a track where I took “special geometry and algebra,” and I was not allowed to take chemistry or physics. I liked math but struggled with it. When I wanted more algebra, the advanced course was all that was available. The teacher who taught that course told me I was just banging my head against a brick wall. Although my grades in math were poor, I did well enough in other classes to receive an academic and monetary Hoosier State scholarship. I attended Purdue, where with the encouragement of counselors there I studied Electrical Engineering Technology. I got straight A’s in calculus at Purdue, and a B+ in physics. I ran into my high school algebra teacher some time later and told him. He replied that I must not have tried hard enough in high school. They always have an excuse for their failures. I would also like to add that the guidance counselor at West Side told my sister that she was not college material. My sister got a BS from Purdue and Masters from IUPUI. 

Something needs to be done to change the failing of the West Lafayette schools. Nothing has changed in 45 years.

Anonymous
This isn’t really a single situation, but I felt like I should share anyway. I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t eat meat. Basically, people always ask me if I “worship cows” since I don’t eat them. Even some teachers. Just don’t say things like that. It can be hurtful in ways you couldn’t imagine.

Class of 2016

I fell for a boy in my freshman year. We really hit it off, it was both of our first relationships and we both felt a little like outcasts. For the first few months it was fine.

But around month four, he started to get angry when I didn’t text him ALL day EVERY day. I remember putting my phone down once to watch a movie with family. By the time I checked it he had almost convinced his parents to drive to my house to see if I was OK. 

The next month he started to read my texts with friends. The month after that he started to insist I fall asleep on Skype so he could watch me. By the time my young mind understood the danger I was facing, he had begun to threaten me. 

I was sexually and verbally assaulted, I developed severe anxiety around men, I weighed myself five times a day, and I became a shell of a person. But eventually I found a way to leave.

Once I left, I found the courage to tell people. Mostly classmates and teachers I trusted. But he was well liked enough that no one cared, or at the very least they didn’t want to be on his bad side. I was called a liar. I don’t expect teenagers to know how to address such a heavy topic, but no one believed me.

As disappointing as it is for those people who seek justice, I don’t feel obligated to share my trauma anymore. If this wasn’t anonymous, I probably wouldn’t. I’m proud to be a survivor, but I won’t exhaust myself to prove it. That’s my reality, and there are many more where I come from.