The Prom Musical Canceled at Hampshire High School Due to “Safety Concerns”

Nestled simply past Chicago’s far western suburbs of Huntley, Algonquin, and the Dundees is the group of Hampshire. Its a small city on the sting of extra rural communities however Hampshire itself isn’t particularly rural–it sits alongside Interstate 90, has a inhabitants of just about 8,000–up virtually 170% since 2000–and its highschool serves shut to 2,000 college students between ninth and twelfth grade.

Hampshire High School is a part of Illinois’s District 300, which is the sixth largest district within the state. Its demographics will not be dissimilar to different exurban/far outer-ring suburbs within the space: 57% white, 4% Black, 28% Hispanic, 7% Asian, and 44% of two or extra races (Native and Pacific Islander heritage mixed is .15%). Nearly one-quarter of the scholars are low revenue, whereas 11% have disabilities, and seven% are “English learners.” It takes about 90 minutes to get to downtown Chicago by automobile.

Since the start of the varsity yr, college students concerned within the annual spring musical have been working exhausting behind the scenes to decide what they might need to carry out. This includes not solely selecting the play however buying the rights to produce the present. They have been excited to select The Prom.

The Prom is a narrative of 4 Broadway actors who’re reminiscing about their well-known lives as they’re en route to the small, conservative city of Edgewater, Indiana. They’ve been introduced to the group as a result of they’re coming to assist a lesbian lady who has been banned from bringing her girlfriend to city. The Prom is predicated on an actual state of affairs that unfolded in Fulton, Mississippi, in 2010, whereby the district was sued by the ACLU for violating scholar First Amendment Rights (the group’s contingent of bigoted dad and mom held their very own personal promenade to protest the choice). It isn’t a story of tragedy, neither is it a story of homosexual ache. The Prom is humorous, whereas additionally centering queerness and the complexities of being queer in a world that may–and is–hostile to those that are inside that group.

The play opened in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2016 and loved a stretch on Broadway in 2018. It started a nationwide touring present simply earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2019, then continued its tour in 2021. A movie adaptation of the present was produced by Ryan Murphy and landed on Netflix in 2020, and YA creator Saundra Mitchell joined playwriters Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin, and Matthew Sklar to publish a guide for teenagers primarily based on the play, additionally referred to as The Prom.

By this level within the story, anybody who has even half paid consideration to the fervor of censorship because it started to dig in full power in early 2021 is aware of the place this may go.

On October 20, throughout a gathering held between college administration, the Hampshire High School theater division, and the coed physique, District 300 superintendent Dr. Susan Harkin and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Adrian Harries, knowledgeable everybody that the district wouldn’t be permitting the manufacturing to occur. The dialog started a month earlier, as there have been rumblings throughout the theater division that directors have been nervous in regards to the present, and college students responded by writing letters, hoping to set the administration at ease.

The directors weren’t even initially planning to speak with the scholars in regards to the play’s cancelation. The resolution occurred on Wednesday, between district directors and college workers. It was not made by anybody within the Hampshire High School facility, nor anybody on the District 300 School Board.

District directors weren’t ready for the Friday assembly with the scholars. For over two hours, the children spoke out, sharing private tales with conviction and poise. The resolution remained in place, and District 300 administration didn’t put up something to the varsity web site about it till college students, dad and mom, and different group members started to share what occurred on social media.

“The initial decision to postpone the musical was unrelated to Hampshire High School students or their desire to demonstrate their school’s progress toward supporting the LGBTQ+ community,” defined the district in a press launch posted to their web site a number of days after the choice was made. “Instead, the postponement reflected a concern held by our administrative team that the larger District 300 community may not be prepared to fully support this performance without risking potential harassment, bullying, and violence targeting our LGBTQ+ students, performers, staff, or community members.”

In different phrases, as a result of the district administration perceived potential backlash in regards to the efficiency of an LGBT+ play, they elected to cancel the manufacturing. It can also be an fascinating shift from the play being canceled to being “postponed.” This is the form of intelligent crafting of language doable when the knowledge doesn’t get shared with a group till days after the choice is rendered. But extra, it dodges the questions raised by HHS workers about what they may do to make sure that everybody would really feel secure performing and attending the manufacturing come spring. District directors as an alternative leaned into stale stereotypes of what small communities would possibly understand of such a efficiency, regardless of the very fact Hampshire and its surrounding communities intently mirror common America.

“At the meeting, HHS students came prepared and many spoke passionately and respectfully in effort to educate Harkin and Harries about the massive repercussions of their decision to prohibit HHS’ performance of ‘The Prom,’ explained on student via email, who because of her age, will remain anonymous. “Harkin and Harries made the decision based solely on the possibility of violent backlash from the community, and reiterated several times throughout the meeting that they “are afraid they wouldn’t be able to keep their students safe” from concentrating on by group members because of the musical.”

She continued, “Harries and Harkin insisted that it wasn’t the content of the musical they were concerned about, but went on to say that the “nature of the performance” is the explanation the group of Hampshire “isn’t ready to receive a performance like The Prom.” Harkin described the opposition as “vicious” and that “Hampshire has a lot of work to do,” however the pair prevented immediately answering questions from college students like “What does the administration think should be done (in regards to controlling backlash)?”

This identical sentiment is woven all through the District’s press launch: “Unfortunately, there has been a rise in harassment, bullying, threats, and violence directed toward the LGBTQ+ community, locally and nationally. In District 300, we have experienced community members seeking to “out” college students concerned in our Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). We have acquired quite a few hate-filled emails concerning the district’s Day of Silence. Last month, the district acquired threats and inappropriate feedback from group members associated to our LGBTQ+ Learning Space assembly held at a District 300 college. Additionally, we’ve seen harassment concentrating on the LGBTQ+ populations in our communities. “

The district administration claims the choice to “postpone” the play is to defend its LGBTQ+ group, nevertheless it not solely has the other impact, it raises much more questions than might be answered. The enhance in violence and harassment of younger LGBTQ+ individuals has been occurring for years, and it has been particularly within the forefront of discussions of guide banning. Hampshire isn’t an island. Indeed, the group is inside spitting distance of a number of of essentially the most risky college boards in Illinois when it comes to partisan politics, introduced forth by hate teams like Moms For Liberty, No Left Turn in Education, and its native manifestations in Awake Illinois. Huntley School District, simply 17 miles north of Hampshire, has a board refusing to embody a coverage throughout the district to finish guide bans so as to entry grant cash by the state as a part of the state’s Anti Book Ban Bill; Barrington School District, lower than 30 miles north of Hampshire, handled a spate of guide challenges to LGBTQ+ books simply final yr at the fingers of a neighborhood Moms group; and a Lake within the Hills bakery shut down following ongoing harassment and a hate crime perpetuated by anti-LGBTQ+ teams and people. Lake within the Hills is 16 miles from Hampshire and is a part of District 300. In 2021, it was Downers Grove, Illinois–45 miles away from Hampshire, to be honest–coping with nonstop antagonism from right-wing unhealthy actors trying to get Gender Queer banned.

Why is it that no coverage was in place or needed to defend college students till it was college students looking for to produce and carry out a play that furthers the dialog for LGBTQ+ rights to be protected? If this was really a difficulty of wanting to guarantee security for the children as a result of “District 300 community may not be prepared to fully support this performance without risking potential harassment, bullying, and violence targeting our LGBTQ+ students, performers, staff, or community members,” that looks as if a a lot greater downside.

But it’s the children–queer youngsters and their straight allies–who proceed to be punished for the dearth of proactive motion by the district administration. And the DEI coordinator, no much less.

Even if the district administration modifications their resolution and implements a complete security plan, it’s far too little too late. The college students already know the reality.

“[i]t was made obvious to the community of Hampshire and beyond that D300 higher administration is tolerant of the bigotry and hate of a minority group in Hampshire and our district as a whole. Their reasoning has shown us that they believe the underrepresented lives and stories of LGBTQ+ students are not worth telling, and certainly not worth the effort of protecting,” mentioned a scholar. “Instead of using the performance of The Prom to provide visibility for queer students in our community, showcase the reality of living as a queer high school student, and start to change the stereotype of the town of Hampshire, Dr. Susan Harkin and Mr. Adrian Harries made it abundantly clear that they would rather rely on harmful hypotheticals to appease hate and hide behind their performative activism.”

District 300 holds their subsequent college board assembly tonight at 6 pm, at 2550 Harnish Drive, in Algonquin. The assembly begins with a closed session and opens again at 6:30 pm to open session (that is regular). Locals are inspired to attend and converse through the public remark session; to get on the roster, you want to enroll prior to 6:30 and you are able to do it whenever you arrive. The assembly shall be dwell streamed right here.

If you aren’t native and/or can not attend the assembly, contemplate writing a letter to the board. The board had no involvement on this resolution, and a number of other of their members have posted on social media of their disapproval of district administration’s resolution. Their contact info is as follows:

• District Superintendent Dr. Susan Harkin: susan.harkin@d300.org

• Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Adrian Harries: adrian.harries@d300.org.

• Board members: Emmanuel.Thomas@d300.org, Tola.Makinde@d300.org, Randi.Gauthier@d300.org, Nancy.Zettler1@d300.org, Christine.Birkett@d300.org, and Steve.Fiorentino@d300.org (board president)

There can also be a change.org petition to reinstate the present at the varsity. One Hampshire High School workers member additionally prompt that a method to proceed exhibiting help for these teenagers is to embrace these inside your individual group. Remind them that bigotry doesn’t have a spot anytime or wherever–and in the present day’s teenagers are certainly those persevering with to say this.

“[S]tudents, parents, and community members have been relentless on social media advocating for our right to perform The Prom,” mentioned a scholar who reached out. “We have caught the attention of cast members and the author of The Prom on social media and do not want to stop there. We need your help!”

Perhaps it’s a reminder to “Love Thy Neighbor.”

One-quarter of in the present day’s teenagers determine as LGBTQ+ — and that’s the 25% who overtly determine that manner. District 300 administration simply made clear they not solely have no idea their very own group, however they don’t care about it, both. If LGBTQ+ scholar security have been a priority, then an anti-harassment coverage would have been drafted years in the past and, if it have been the board dragging its ft over the problem, then it might have been drafted within the earlier yr, as a number of newcomers to the district’s governing physique campaigned on problems with scholar rights and have spoken up in regards to the resolution.

But additionally, why would the district want to handle this instantly when it’d imply that district superintendent Dr. Harkin won’t have a straightforward yr earlier than retirement?

These youngsters simply skilled censorship and have been daring in calling it out. Now, it’s time to step up and defend those self same youngsters from these taking part in the position of bully beneath the guise of “protecting them.”