A decision not permitting the distribution of stickers around International Holocaust Remembrance Day at New Trier High School has drawn some criticism and the school administration now focusing on ways to battle anti-Semitism.
The debate was an outgrowth on the school’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27. For the last few years and including this year, New Trier has had bulletin board presentations and public address announcements acknowledging the day.
This year, a group of students and staff members proposed a new initiative to distribute stickers with the #WeRemember hashtag on it in adviser rooms.
However, the administration only learned of the proposed initiative very shortly before it would have occurred, according to New Trier Superintendent Paul Sally, noting it was his decision alone.
“Proper planning was essential and there was not enough time to do so,” Sally said at the Feb. 20 school board meeting.
“With 160 different advisers and adviser rooms, it was not the important commemoration of the victims and honoring of the survivors of the Holocaust that was the issue, but current events that are adjacent in many of our students’ minds,” he said. “We know that teens will often tell us what is on their mind and we would have wanted advisers to think about how to handle non-Holocaust Remembrance Day related discussion that could have arisen.”
Sally said he did not understand level of enthusiasm the students had for the project and they felt “deep disappointment” afterward.
“For them, it was a very positive way to be seen more fully at New Trier and represent a way they could put their imprint on the day,” he said.
After Sally spoke, many attendees praised how the administration has handled the situation, but others raised concerns.
“To the Jewish community, abruptly halting this initiative felt like an anti-Semitic action especially in light of the war and most especially in light of the constant barrages of anti-Semitic lies our students and faculty face daily since October 7,” said Tracy Wolfe, a parent of one student.
“Going forward all I ask is that New Trier uphold its stated commitment to preserve the heritage of its students regardless of the current issues,” added Beau McBride, a New Trier senior.
Sally noted he has been in touch with the Jewish faculty and students in light of the rise of anti-Semitism across the nation.
“We are listening and we are taking steps to honor our Jewish students, families and staff in the fullness of their humanity and their Jewish identity as they define themselves,” Sally said.
Moreover, Sally he has contacted members of the local Jewish community as well as the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago to discuss the situation.
JUF Assistant Vice President Jane Charney said her organization has started working with the school on understanding the situation and serve as a mediator between families and New Trier.
“We also helped the administration to understand where the Jewish community was coming from,” she said.
Charney added the administration has a commitment to training staff and students on recognizing anti-Semitism.
“They are working to correct whatever may have gone wrong and they are committed to moving forward in an intentional manner,” she said.
There will be a short update on the situation at the March 18 School Board meeting, according to a school spokeswoman.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.