How the School’s hesitance to discuss the discovery left students feeling unsafe
On Saturday, September 24, residents notified the police of a mannequin dressed in Ku Klux Klan regalia near Route 5, only about a mile away from Choate’s campus. The mannequin has since been removed, and investigations to discover the identity of the perpetrator are still ongoing. On campus, many students felt upset about the lack of response from the school regarding such a disturbing event. In a time of heightened racial tension within the United States, it was incredibly disappointing that Choate’s pro-diversity administration thought it best to avoid discussing such a serious matter with the student body, especially with the recent hiring of Dr. Keith Hinderlie as the new Director of Equity and Inclusion. Even worse, many parents are still woefully unaware of the situation with the KKK mannequin as well as the broader range of issues Choate students face with Wallingford residents every day.
American history has been a narrative of racism and xenophobia, and the history of Wallingford, Connecticut has been no different. Just fifteen years ago, roughly 80 supporters gathered outside the Wallingfor Public Libray on March 10 to hear speaker Matt Hale, “Pontifex Maximus” of the racist and anti-Semitic World Church of the Creator (WCOTC). This past event, coupled with what is happening now, illustrate that maybe Wallingford isn’t as safe as one once thought it to be.
When students attend a school, regardless of where it is, they expect a certain welcoming environment in which they are free and comfortable to learn. Coupled with the fact that Choate is a boarding school, students reserve the right to feel safe in what is, for many, their home away from home. Unfortunately, there have been too many incidents in which some students of color have not felt safe at Choate, such as when I saw several trucks drive through campus with a confederate flag flying high during fall term last year. While this may seem harmless to many Choate students and faculty, for some students of color it sends a message that they do not belong here. Some students of color have also allegedly been on the receiving end of racial slurs yelled from moving vehicles passing through campus. The KKK mannequin has brought these problems, which in the past have been ignored or silenced, to the forefront of conversations at Choate.
Simply put, many of the interactions Choate students have with Wallingford citizens have left students suspicious of the safety of the campus and the surrounding town. Some young women and students of color alike have been made to be afraid of this environment. Simple activities, such as walking into town for something to eat, now strike fear into some people. The student body therefore deserved to know about the KKK mannequin much earlier, as it truly affected how students thought about “going to town.”
There are many changes the school can adopt to make its student body feel safer. A larger, more visible community safety presence is needed on and around campus. A dialogue with the Wallingford police department and mayor’s office to voice concerns with the safety of the town may be necessary as well. Hopefully, the school will learn from recent events and take steps to ameliorate the relationship between Choate students and Wallingford residents.
