Students Walk Out In Support Of Sexual Assault Survivors

by Laura Glesby

Sound School sophomore Savannah Nash: “How many women have been assaulted and had to say nothing? How many wouldn’t have been believed?”

“It happened to me multiple times,” said one high school student.

“She said it was my fault when I reported it,” said another teen.

“I have been assaulted several times,” said a third, before pausing to take a breath.

A circle of about 50 students walked out of school on Thursday afternoon, convening on the New Haven Green to decry sexual violence.

They offered personal stories of sexual assault and heard words of support reverberating back from their peers: “It’s OK… You’re good… You’re good…”

Most of the students were New Haven and Hamden high schoolers, joined by Yale students and activists with the New Haven Socialist Alternative.

Over the course of the protest, accounts of sexual assault filled the air. Some of the teens spontaneously accepted the bullhorn, telling their stories to the entire group off the cuff. Others murmured accounts to the people beside them. They listened intently, took one another seriously, and lambasted adults who had failed to do the same.

“Say it loud, say it clear!” they chanted. “We believe survivors here!”

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. You can reach the National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 800.656.HOPE (4673), visiting RAINN.org/hotline, or texting “HOPE” to 64673.

Over and over again, the student protesters invoked the “Cornell Seven”— a group of Cornell University fraternity members accused of gang raping a fellow student, in an assault that one man advertised as “free pussy” in a text message to 57 other fraternity members.

Students also had on their minds the recent arrests of Hillhouse Assistant Principal Daniel Bonet for allegedly raping a student , as well as a 40-year-old Sound School teacher for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Skylar, a Hillhouse student, said that she doesn’t feel adequately supported by her school in processing the arrest of the former assistant principal. “We’re not even allowed to talk about it,” she said, adding that in her experience, when students bring up the incident, adults at the school try to end the conversation.

Two of Skylar’s friends, who asked not to be named, agreed.

“I have personal experience with sexual assault,” one of them said.

Separately, Sound School sophomore Ava Leigh echoed the perception of a silence around the allegations against the school’s teacher. “I feel like our school didn’t want to talk about it at all,” said Leigh.

“Which, I get it, maybe that was to protect our student,” added fellow Sound School sophomore Margie Burnham, “but also, we don’t want to protect him.”

“Being in that classroom,” even with a new teacher, “it’s just so off,” said Burnham.

“They don’t like the concept of talking about sexual violence because they think it’s a very uncomfortable topic that a lot of people don’t want to get much into,” said fellow Sound School sophomore Fern Banick.

“But I think that’s exactly the problem with what’s happening,” Banick said. “It gets normalized. And it gets excused.”

The students also criticized the district’s decision to wait until the teacher was arrested to communicate to school community members. They also called for more thorough background checks of teachers.

Asked about these comments, New Haven Public Schools spokesperson Justin Harmon said, “Their voices are important and it’s good for them to be heard.”

Harmon said that he can’t speak to students’ individual experiences in specific classrooms, but that “when an incident like this happens, we do send special staff to the school — folks who are experienced with counseling and student support — to try to encourage conversations.”

“We can’t talk about individual employees’ disciplinary records,” Harmon said. “We can talk about how students feel. We can talk about how students are experiencing what’s going on. And we try to encourage those kinds of conversations.”

“I appreciate the sentiment and I think it’s an important one,” he added, “and I think all we can do is encourage our students to raise their questions, because how they’re experiencing all of this is important to the entire school community.”

 “No more delay, justice today!” chanted the crowd. “Hey, hey, ho, ho, sexual assault has got to go!”

According to a trio of Hamden High School students, students were threatened with disciplinary action for participating in the walkout. (Hamden Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment in time for the publication of this story.)

“Our school tried to stop us from coming,” said Hamden High student Mimi. “They were trying to get us back in the school. They were giving out suspensions.”

“That’s our First Amendment right!” said her friend Denniva.

Like many of the students who attended, the protest was personal for Denniva. “I have been sexually assaulted,” she said.

She recalled that it took time for her to feel comfortable enough to tell her story. “It’s OK to feel a little pressure on yourself,” especially if “no one is listening,” she said. At the same time, she said, “it’s OK to let your voice be heard and tell your truth.”

Denniva attended the protest in part, she said, because “I wouldn’t want someone to feel like how I felt.”

Hillhouse students criticize a cultural silence around sexual assault, including in their own school.

Meanwhile, students advocated for a more robust health education curriculum in New Haven Public Schools that devotes more attention to sexual misconduct and the meaning of consent.

“You can’t pressure someone until they don’t say no,” said Banick, emphasizing that consent should be “enthusiastic.”

Students also criticized a tendency to teach potential victims to try to avoid being assaulted, rather than teaching potential predators not to violate others.

“Kids grow up told to cover themselves,” said a Hillhouse student who asked not to be named. “They shouldn’t have to do that.”

Many students said that Thursday’s walkout was their first-ever protest. Some marveled at their own voices as the crowd of students dispersed.

Bennick, the Sound School sophomore, had helped emcee the event. As she put down her bullhorn, she said, “I’ve never been this loud.”