Our Demands To Demand Accountability

Dear Members of the Administration and Board of Trustees,

Demanding Accountability exists to make Latin an inclusive and supportive environment for faculty/staff, students, and parents. Demanding Accountability wants to ensure the perpetrators of discriminatory behavior face consequences regardless of privilege. We promote and insist on the reconstruction of the system that is Latin, and the establishment of an equitable and unbiased experience for all. To enforce anti-bigotry towards any identity and to create a system that eradicates ignorance.

Below you will see our demands. Please recognize that this list is not “finalized,” but an ongoing list of changes we want to see in our school. Demand Accountability looks forward to working with you in the future to make sure the change we are asking for is made.

Sincerely,

Demanding Accountability Members

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE

WE DEMAND: Timely investigations, discipline, accountability, and education. This means the faculty/administration must address instances of discrimination and injustice as soon as they are aware of misconduct. A lack of timeliness allows injuries to fester and creates room for further discrimination and harm. If a claim does arise, there should be no statute of limitations. Every complaint must be investigated. This applies to previous incidents where there are allegations of mishandling or whitewashing. It’s never too late to fix something that was mishandled or not handled. Students with proven and egregious acts, or repeated acts, of discrimination, violence, or verbal bigotry must have the incident documented on their record. 

WE DEMAND: Vigilant and fulsome investigation of all claims, past or present, of oppressive or hateful misconduct or covering up of the same, including claims from: 

Victims
Parents
Second-hand accounts from students
Anonymous tips
Teacher or administrator concerns 

WE DEMAND: Absolute transparency between the administration and student body. This would mean the faculty would addresses instances of discrimination and injustice when they occur, as opposed to waiting until students reach out privately. A lack of transparency only creates confusion, rumors, and falsehoods surrounding particular incidents. A lack of transparency protects perpetrators.  

WE DEMAND: All perpetrators of discrimination, violence, or verbal bigotry be held accountable by the administration. This includes legitimate investigations of all claims of discrimination and bias. Students with proven or repeated acts or claims of discrimination, violence, or verbal bigotry must have the incident documented on their record. 

WE DEMAND: That the administration and faculty not punish or judge those who speak out against prejudice, discrimination, misconduct, bigotry, violence, assault, and harassment. The identities of the students that bring these acts to the attention of faculty or the administration must remain anonymous unless specified otherwise.  

WE DEMAND: That class, race, sexuality, gender, ability, etc. is NOT what determines innocence in the eyes of the administration; incidents brought to the attention of the administration must be weighed in an unbiased manner. 

WE DEMAND: That the administration puts substantial effort into making systemic change by actively supporting students’ voices instead of siding with (an) oppressor(s) or an oppressive system. This means the administration must strive to be allies and participate in events such as workshops aimed at doing so.

WE DEMAND: that Latin creates a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board Committee, as this is not a one-person mission. This board will aid in decisions regarding inclusivity and diversity within the school and how the school could better fund and implement diversity initiatives. 

WE DEMAND: Adopting a policy that character matters as much as academics. Latin must introduce and execute an impeachment process for student government, a revocation policy for athletic awards, a removal policy from Latin club offices or honor societies, and an athletics suspension policy when students with proven acts of hateful misconduct are proven guilty. Representing Latin at outward facing conferences or events such as Model UN, athletics, or in offices on the school newspaper, yearbook, or student government, is a privilege and honor that should be reserved for students of good character and in good standing with the school. 

 

WE DEMAND: A written apology to the student body and a course relating to the act of discrimination the student committed should be the necessary steps taken before said student returns to after-school activities (math team, play rehearsals, sports practice, etc.)

WE DEMAND: That incidents that happen at off-campus events, such as sporting events, be treated as if they happened in Latin. There must not be an artificial line between off-campus and on-campus events. 

WE DEMAND:  No punishment, judgement, or retaliation will be tolerated of those who speak out against prejudice, discrimination, misconduct, bigotry, violence, assault, and harassment. The identities of the students that bring these acts to the attention of faculty or the administration must remain anonymous unless specified otherwise. In the event a victim or an upstander’s identity cannot be shielded, additional support and protection must be afforded to that individual.

 

CONSEQUENCES FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF

WE DEMAND: That Admin and Faculty hold each other accountable as well as their students.

The administration and faculty must hold each other accountable for inappropriate and hurtful behavior. They must also hold their students accountable. If they witness something, overhear something, or see a potential for something to happen, they must be required to do something about it. 

WE DEMAND: That Faculty be held accountable for their actions, misconduct, harassment, etc. towards each other and their students. The faculty must not be excluded from being held accountable. We must hold the faculty to the same, if not higher, standard than we do students. We must stop making excuses for teachers to be acting inappropriately. Latin is a progressive school with a progressive mission, teachers must have the same mission. 

WE DEMAND: Coaches and staff brought into the Latin Community for temporary periods of time be held to the same standards as if they were full-time Latin faculty. Sports coaches, hired faculty to help with theater, dance, etc., must be held to the same standards. If an incident is reported, they must be investigated. If they witness something, they must report it. 

CURRICULUM 

WE DEMAND: Latin’s curricula be changed to show a diverse depiction of minority identities, as well as to create mandatory courses based around identity. There should be more support for victims and education of the community be prioritized over the protection of perpetrators.

 Whether it be Science, English, Art, or History, the school must do more to educate students about marginalized identities. In coursework:

Authors should be diverse, with at least 50% of represented authors in a course belonging to a marginalized identity
Characters should be diverse, having different races, genders, sexualities, etc.
White Savior stories—stories that elevate white individuals for working with racial minorities—should be dropped unless the concept of the White Savior is taught in conjunction
History, especially American History, should broach more than just cisgender and heterosexual figures
Sexuality and Gender Spectrum become a course and not a 10 day unit in Affective Ed, This should include going over Sexuality, Gender, Gender expression, Sexes(Male-Female-Intersex) and their variaties, Romantic Attraction, and Pronouns. 

WE DEMAND: A reinstatement of the Honor Council. This new version should be elected by students and should be focused on curating discourse around ethics, identity, and integrity within curricula.

WE DEMAND: A restructuring of the Affective Ed. curriculum. In designing coursework, the Honor Council should be consulted to curate conversations around identity, integrity, and ethics. 9th graders should be required to learn consent, and the discussion of identity in the 9th grade Affective Ed. curriculum should go beyond a mere mentioning of the “Big 8” identities and should also include discussions about the differences and similarities among them. The 10th grade Affective Ed. curriculum should focus less on the Whole Foods simulation and place more emphasis on how gentrification is affecting our city, delving into such topics as segregation, access to healthcare, food deserts, and why gentrification is affecting minority communities more than white communities. 

WE DEMAND: More BIPOC faculty members and counselors be hired (see statistics for further detail).

WE DEMAND: Students and faculty be required to attend at least one SDEC and one LIFE workshop per semester. 

WE DEMAND: For Faculty members to become more aware of student sensitivity and boundaries, and to stop making students feel unsafe.

This can be achieved by:

Instating trauma workshops mandatory for staff
Instating identity workshops mandatory for staff
Instating Power dynamic workshops mandatory for staff
Instating teacher evaluation not just for teaching environment but behavior and treatment evaluations 

WE DEMAND: Smaller, more specific affinity groups to allow every student at Latin to feel comfortable in an affinity space. Latin’s affinity groups are broad, leaving gaps for students of certain affinities feeling like they don’t have an affinity space. Affinity spaces are extremely important to share experiences and feel at home with a community that you identify with. Big affinity groups should have smaller, more specific affinities within them. For example, ASA should be split up by region. Asia is a huge continent and every country and region has different cultures and struggles. They should not be grouped together. BSU, ASA, and LASO should have smaller affinity groups within it. There should be a new affinity group made including Middle Eastern students, or Middle Eastern and South Asian students. Young Women of Color should be officially recognized as an affinity as well. Any group that faces systemic oppression in Latin and the greater society should be eligible to be an affinity. By making these changes, we are making Latin a safer place for POC. 

 

SCHOOL STATISTICS AND MONEY

WE DEMAND: The faculty of color retention rate be disclosed. 

WE DEMAND: Statistics of the diversity of the staff to be disclosed. 

WE DEMAND: Statistics of disciplinary actions to be disclosed. 

WE DEMAND: To know where money is going. Students want to see the breakdown of how money is distributed to certain parts of the school. Whether that money is from tuition or donating, students want to see what the money the school receives is going to. 

WE DEMAND: All donations to the school be anonymous from the beginning. No names should be attached to any money going to the school, no administration or students should know who donated what. We demand the names of the donors in the Learning Commons and the wall in the Pit be taken down. We demand the money given to the school is for the school, and not for families to have ownership and power. 

WE DEMAND: Data on all genders and sexes to be recorded but optional for students to mark. (possible by including an “Intersex” “Non-binary”  “other:(specify):” and “prefer not to say” options). 

 

SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY

WE DEMAND: That students are granted comprehensive self-defense training, in addition to consent education, in the event of an attempted sexual assault. This should happen Freshman or Sophomore year by an outside group, a good one is IMPACT Chicago.  

WE DEMAND: That students are granted comprehensive consent education as an underclassman, that includes exploring topics such as:

LGBTQ+ Relationships and Consent
Toxic Masculinity
Survivor Support + Resources
Any other topic that provides a more inclusive and comprehensive consent education 

WE DEMAND: The administration adds a “teacher to student” section in the policy for sexual assault claims. 

WE DEMAND: That the counselors or faculty, when disclosed with information about a sexual assault, must NOT disclose that information with any parent or guardian of the student without his/her/their permission. This will allow more trust between a counselor and a student when revealing something as sensitive as a sexual assault story. 

WE DEMAND: The administration must investigate any directly given claim of sexual assault, including claims from: 

Victims
Parents
Second-hand accounts from students
Anonymous tips
Teacher or administrator concerns