Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
Over the past two weeks, Westminster High School in Carroll County, Maryland, has been at the center of a contentious debate over political expression in schools and the kind of values educators and public school systems should be promoting.
On Feb. 16, Carroll County Public Schools ordered several Westminster High School teachers to remove a series of “We the People” posters, artwork by Shepard Fairey (the creator of the iconic “Hope” poster for then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign). Fairey’s posters included images of a woman in a hijab, an African-American woman and a Hispanic woman, complete with phrases such as “We the people are greater than fear.”
The school system’s decision to remove the posters came after a number of complaints that the posters were in opposition to President Trump, and teachers were taking a political stance in putting up the artwork.
In response, alumni and students organized a crowd-funding campaign to provide T-shirts with the “We the People” artwork on them for a demonstration Wednesday. The school system’s decision and the Westminster High School community’s response have made headlines in national publications such as The Washington Post and The Huffington Post.
Wednesday’s demonstration saw about 600 students wearing “We the People” shirts, while others wore shirts and hats with “Make America Great Again” and “Don’t Tread on Me” logos. A bomb threat called into the school at about 12:40 and forced an evacuation.
As a Westminster High School graduate and lifelong resident of Carroll County, it’s surprising to have my small-town high school in the national news. Westminster will be the first of countless communities that will have to negotiate the intersection between schooling and today’s politics, which is seemingly pervasive to every aspect of our daily lives.
At the heart of this debate are two questions: What statement is the posters and the teachers who put them up making? And is that statement political in nature?
The most obvious and the only message the “We the People” artwork expresses is that of pro-diversity. Take a look at the posters. It’s hard to claim that there’s much else. The posters contain only images of minority women with the American flag and colors of the flag, along with statements that include “We the People protect each other.”
We can and should agree with CCPS’ assertion that teachers should not express political views in the classroom. But diversity is not a political viewpoint. Supporting minority students in public schools isn’t partisan. Diversity in a school means only that students with different backgrounds are accepted as part of the community.
In this sense, how could diversity possibly be construed as a political value? And if it were political, what would be the opposing viewpoint? Does that viewpoint deserve to be expressed in schools? CCPS was wrong to have these posters removed, but in doing so, the school system started an important discussion on the value of diversity in our schools and community.
Carroll County is full of good people, some of whom voted for Trump, and others for Clinton. Is it possible we could leave the November election behind and move forward? Not everything in our community has to be a political issue. Accepting and supporting Carroll County residents of all backgrounds can be something we all agree on. Kudos to the students, faculty and staff of Westminster High School for taking a stand for all members of our community.
Sam Wallace is a public policy graduate student. He can be reached at samhwallace@gmail.com.
