Thank you -- all 200 of you -- for signing this petition! This morning, the first day of the school year, the petition and list of signatures has been shared with the St. Joseph Hill Academy High School and Elementary School principals by email. I am sharing a copy of the email below.
Additionally, I'd like to share that we published a letter to the editor in the Advance over the weekend, highlighting the appeals in the petition and calling upon the school and local officials to take action. If anyone is interested in publishing a letter to the editor and wants help with drafting, I am more than happy to support -- please reach out to me. The more voices, the better!
Finally, please don't stop sharing and signing this petition -- with the new developments reported today in the Advance of a vigilante group circling the school property, our appeals are all the more urgent.
We will continue to share updates on the situation as they arise.
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Dear Principal Campbell and Principal Hansen,
I write on behalf of nearly 200 alums of St. Joseph Hill Academy and fellow community members -- signatures enclosed -- who have signed a petition expressing our solidarity with migrants and asylum seekers being housed at the vacant former St. John Villa Academy. We are calling upon the school to revisit its values of service and leadership; welcome the migrants & asylum seekers being housed at Villa, as the Bible instructs us to care for our poor and vulnerable neighbors; and denounce the racist anti-migrant protests and protect students from extremist sympathizers touting these views. Our petition also calls on local officials and the archdiocese to cooperate with the school to ensure student safety and address any reasonable safety concerns within the community.
Just this morning, the Staten Island Advance reported that two men in tactical vests have been approaching SJHA students as they enter campus on the first day of school today. These men claim to be part of a "volunteer group" patrolling the area surrounding the school with the goal of "protecting our children." This is precisely what we feared might arise from the vehement anti-migrant discourse surrounding the shelter and related protests, as referenced in our petition. Grown men circling the property and approaching minors as they enter the school grounds is evidently a real danger to Hill students -- not the few dozen women and adult families staying at the former St. John Villa while they merely build a new life for themselves and their families after fleeing violence and poverty. Furthermore, we don't know if this "volunteer group" that appears to be wearing tactical clothing is carrying any weapons or has future plans to do so, in which case this situation is all the more dangerous and urgent.
This new development in the situation poses an immediate risk to student safety as well as a reputational risk to the institution. We are now pleading with the school to take urgent action to protect students from the threat imposed by such extremists and the violent, racist worldview they may endorse, which is directly counter to the values our alma mater instilled in us of compassionate leadership, community stewardship, and care. It is equally urgent that the school revisit its commitments and values and explore ways to help the migrants and asylum seekers -- our new neighbors -- as Hill students have done for many years through volunteer action as "Hill's Angels."
Thank you for your consideration of this appeal. We ask that you confirm receipt of this email and request a formal response addressing the quickly-devolving situation by Monday, September 11, 2023. I am available to discuss this matter further at a mutually convenient time.
Sincerely,
Meredith Forsyth
SJHA High School Class of 2015