* Denotes a name change for a student who wished to remain anonymous

On Monday Nov. 7, student affinity groups led a sit-in during 4th period, protesting a perceived lack of accountability over offensive acts toward members of the Jones community. 

The sit-in, titled Admin Always Covers Up (AACU) was organized in response to an incident on Halloween, when a student dressed in an East German soldier costume and goose stepped across the costume contest stage. According to organizers, the purpose of the protest was to address greater issues within Jones.

“We need to change the way the admin handles certain instances of racism and other hate crimes in the school,” said student walkout organizer, Kyron Harrison ‘23.

Harrison believes the protest was a valuable experience for members of the Jones student body. 

“It’s teaching us how to give our thoughts and our feelings a voice,” said Harrison. “It’s teaching us how to push for what we want in life instead of just sitting back and accepting the bare minimum when it comes to things like this.”

Prior to the protest, students and staff expressed concern about a lack of clarity on the purpose of the sit-in and seemingly rushed organization. 

“There’s a bit of confusion because some people think it’s specifically about the Halloween incident,” said Sabrina Olivieri-Martinez ‘24. “Other people think that it’s more broad than that and about the deeper issue of admin and then there’s confusion about whether it’s a ‘sit-in’ or a ‘walkout’.”

Overall, however, there is general positive sentiment towards the sit-in, as well as pride for the students advocating for change that needs to be made higher up in the school.

“I’m proud of the students for organizing and going about the whole thing in such an organized fashion and…for speaking up for what they believe in,” said an anonymous teacher at Jones.

Community members didn’t perceive the lack of punishment for the Halloween incident as a shock to most of the community, believing these issues have been pervasive at Jones for years. 

“I can tell you that a lot of my colleagues think like I do…that the removal of Powers for reasons of not acting on things and sweeping a lot of things under the rug over the years…has been a long time coming and should have happened a long time ago,” said the teacher.

Some students believe that the administration’s response to these issues have lacked accountability. 

“They send out these emails, and they always have typos in stupid places,” said Madeleine Smith.* “It’s like [admin] doesn’t care at all. It’s a joke.”

The school community is now wondering what will happen in the coming weeks.

“In recent days, as a result of what happened on Halloween, there’s a sense of confusion, fear and anger in the building,” said Feeley. “The sense of unpredictability about the near future is just unsettling.”