Huntley High School senior sparks a movement against sexual harassment
HUNTLEY – By now, locals have probably heard about the staged student walkout that occurred on Tuesday, Sep. 7 outside of the Huntley High School campus.
Approximately 50 students joined Huntley High School senior and walkout organizer Adi Anderson in the quest to highlight issues surrounding the topic of sexual harassment.
Anderson explained that she and a group of her friends have spoken previously to Huntley High School administrators about being sexually harassed while at school.
“The way that the school handled it and other stories that we’ve heard how the school handled other cases, we believe have been unreasonable,” Anderson told My Huntley News.
“Many other students have tried to do it directly talking to the school and [the school has] just pushed it under the rug, but it was something they can’t ignore,” Anderson said, explaining the reason why she organized a student walkout.
With the help of another fellow senior, Anderson was able to get the word out about the event to a larger audience using social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
Anderson has since had a meeting with Huntley High School Principal Marcus Belin, which she says went very well.
Huntley Community School District 158 (D158) Director of Communications and Public Relations Alex LeMoine said in a statement to My Huntley News that the district encourages students to exercise their rights and respects their desire to speak out on the issue of sexual harassment.
The statement outlined various measures the district has taken to not only increase the level of safety in D158 buildings but to ensure that the administration can “respond swiftly and appropriately to any instance of sexual misconduct.”
“We are lucky enough to have a wide range of supports in our buildings, including teachers, counselors, social workers, deans, and administrators that work with our student population to discuss sensitive topics such as these, and we encourage those students who may be impacted by sexual harassment or assault, or any topic of concern to them, to approach a trusted adult for support,” LeMoine’s statement read. “In Huntley 158, we consistently strive to act with our students’ best interests in mind. We also recognize that there is always room for improvement, and we are committed to continuing to find ways in which we can improve these systems of support.”
Anderson expressed that she has been in a situation where she found it hard to speak up and feels the district needs to have more open channels of communication to process student concerns for change to occur.
“You go through it once and you’re told to speak up and then nothing really happens. So, if it happens again, you’re like ‘What’s the point. I already know how this is going to end,’ and until people, specifically authority figures, take it seriously and show that it is not okay [then] the school [will not be] a safe space,” said Anderson.
While Anderson says she has gotten a lot of positive feedback from other students, there have been some instances of negative comments from individuals on social media. Anderson made it a point to explain that sexual harassment can impact anyone regardless of gender and feels better education on the topic is needed to bring more awareness to the issue.
“I think a lot of people see it as something taboo, but we are taught from elementary school about bullying and we’ve seen an increase in the school actually knowing how to handle that, and bullying [hasn’t] stopped, it’s never going to stop, but [slowed] down and I know a lot of people don’t want their elementary schoolers learning about sexual assault because it’s a very heavy topic so maybe not that, but throughout middle school I think it’s a very important thing to learn about,” said Anderson. “That consent is the most important thing when it comes to that and continuing to drill that into everyone’s head that it is not an okay thing and how horribly it can affect others.
When asked if she will continue her efforts to spread more awareness on the issue, Anderson responded with, “I’ve been in contact with counselors. They’ve already been planning to do sort of a safe space for people who are suicidal or anything with mental health problems or victims and I’ve kind of become the spokesperson, they said, which is very unexpected, but I just want the school to be a safer place so that people can actually learn.”
In a video Belin recorded back in April, he emphasizes the importance of speaking up against sexual assault.
“If you know someone who has been affected by sexual assault or abuse or you have been affected by sexual assault or abuse, we have people, we have resources to be able to connect you to. To be able to help you work through that and work through those challenges,” Belin said.
