Why I Think We Should Remove SROs

I have a very clear memory of the first day I walked into my public school building. It was February of my freshman year, and I had just spent 6 months at an elite private boarding school in New Hampshire, with a beautiful, sprawling campus decorated with large, collegiate style buildings, lakes, trees, and not a single police officer in sight. However, that day, I walked up to the main entrance of my new school building and hit the buzzer at the front door. The secretary came out and told me I needed to walk around and enter from the gym. I was confused as to why she couldn’t have just let me in from the main entrance since it was my first day, but as I approached the gym doors, I understood why. There was a line of students in front, each one putting their bags on the white folding tables to be searched, walking through a metal detector, and every few of them being individually searched with a wand. Once it was my turn, I no longer felt I was entering a school, but rather a government building, or even a prison.

Over time, I started to realize that the individual Student Resource Officers (SROs) were not bad people themselves; I began greeting them when I walked in the building while they searched me, or even talking about my weekend. This is not usually the case for most SROs; I was lucky to attend a school that had ones who did what they could to make me feel more like a human than an inmate, despite their job being designed to do the opposite. However, I noticed that they never seemed to apply as much scrutiny to searching my bags versus other students. It was almost as if they glanced up and saw a transfer student from a boarding school wearing a sweater over a button-down shirt and figured it wasn’t worth the effort to check every pocket like they usually would.

It wasn’t difficult for me to understand why my new school had SROs and my old school did not. My new school had about 4 white students in my grade and the rest were Black and/or Latino. My old school had the same proportions, but reversed. Over time, the media has vilified people of color and portrayed them as criminals, so it only made sense to have SROs stationed at the schools they predominantly attended. Studies have proven that there is not only a direct correlation with the overall socioeconomic status of a school and the presence of SROs, but also with race. A Vox article on this topic states, “there is a correlation among all public schools between students’ race and the presence of an SRO or security guard. The more nonwhite students a school has, the more likely it is to have a full-time SRO or private security guard on campus.”

Although I never personally witnessed it, there are many instances across the country of SROs disproportionately targeting students of color and often using unnecessary physical force with them. The mere presence of these officers, no matter how nice they are, immediately detracts from fostering a healthy and educational environment. The root of this issue lies with society’s negative attitude towards people of color, and using punitive (and often violent) methods of dealing with any problems that come up. The reality of the American police state and its desire to criminalize poor people and people of color is intentionally perpetuated in schools like mine to remind the students that our justice system is rigged against them, even before they become adults.

Modern Caricatures

We need to discuss the modern caricatures of Black women and the bodies of Black femme-presenting people. This imagery is prevalent throughout the media and, most recently, on TikTok. As TikTok has become a dominant social media platform, many of us have personally witnessed multiple examples of people, of all races, including Black men, making fun of Black women’s bodies, mannerisms, and just Black women in general. One big example of how Black femme-presenting people are mocked is by exaggerating one’s hips and enlarging the breasts and butt to an unusual, and even unrealistic, size. These content creators do this to appear sassy and ghetto, which are basic stereotypes about Black women. These exaggerated features are being made fun of at the expense of Black women, just for non-Black people, and people who aren’t Black women to have a good laugh before going back to their daily scroll on TikTok.

I think the bigger issue and thing that really grinds my gears is the fact that people will go out of their way to defend the people that are mocking Black women’s bodies. They gaslight Black women to the end of time, in order to lessen their guilt. People will be in comments of TikToks calling out this behavior of mocking and mimicking Black women, gaslighting us, and talking about how “y’all complain about everything” or “all they’re doing is playing around, they aren’t mocking Black women!” We are not being dramatic when we say this mimicking of our bodies is wrong and horrible.

The fact of the matter is, this behavior of being obsessed with the Black women’s bodies while, at the same time, demonizing us for having big butts, big hips, and breasts is historic and stems from times way before social media! Many of us were never taught about a woman by the name of Sarah Baartman. Baartman was born in South Africa and, in short, was unwillingly taken to Europe and put on display because of her body and her big butt. They even renamed her “Hottentot Venus”. People labeled her as having something called, “steatopygia” which is essentially having this large butt. Due to her having this body that is so common in Black women and people being so fascinated with it, she was put in a London circus freak show- yes, a freak show. A place that was supposed to be filled with crazy acts and animals who performed had a Black woman as a showcase, because of her body. People touched her body, paid for demonstrations of her in their homes, and so much more horrible things. She wasn’t taken off display until 1974, 159 years after her death. Sara is a classic example of how the Black woman’s body has always been this thing that people praise, and also make fun of and shame. Her experience proves so many points, but in this case, it specifically shows how Black women’s features and our bodies have always been a harmful joke and something to laugh at for people, but is never actually funny to us.

Along with the mocking of Black women’s bodies, there has also been a recent surge in videos mocking young Black women specifically. All over Tik Tok, I’ve been seeing more and more videos making fun of young Black women for protective styles, wigs, makeup, nails, and the way young Black women speak. The term “Ghetto Girls” or “Hot Cheeto Girls” are the stereotypes often depicted by people who are not Black women. In these videos mocking Black women, people have fake long acrylic nails, wigs, or slick buns with edges, “messy” makeup, they overuse AAVE (using the words, “besfrand”, or “period”) to make fun of Black girls in middle school and high school. In the videos, people act sassy and have certain mannerisms pertaining to the stereotype of Black women. This behavior is also seen through microaggressions and microaggressive behavior that wouldn’t really be seen as racist or offensive. I’ve seen so many profile pictures all over the internet with long acrylic nails and a “sassy” face being used by people who are not Black women. Obviously, it’s not clear it is a Black woman, which many will argue, but through the nails and the facial expressions in certain profile pictures, it’s clear who is being mimicked and mocked.

Along with these videos, as I’ve mentioned before, gaslighting has been a huge part of it. There have been several people across the internet using the excuse that “not every Black woman is that way, so what’s so offensive?” when really, it is so much more than that. The things people are doing in these videos are active stereotypes being pushed about Black women and on to Black women. Though they may not be perceived as something that is meant to cause harm, videos mocking young Black women can cause a lot of self-esteem issues. I know for me, I had a hard time finding my identity, and still do, because of these videos. I know many other Black girls also feel the same way about making sure not to fit into this basic sassy and independent Black woman stereotype. Or maybe some of us do fit into it and are having self-esteem issues and issues with defining self-worth.

This whole idea of mocking Black women is the epitome of misogynoir. Though misogynoir is such a big topic, this unique experience of being a Black woman, or a Black person who is affected by misogyny, is shown through these constant trends of mocking Black women and what we do. No matter what we do or say, Black women will always be the butt of the joke, and this is clearly shown through the videos and trends all across the internet, centered around the sole fact that Black women are living their lives. Through it all, these videos show that Black women have no one but ourselves for support.

The Meaning of Lack of Support (A Personal Account)

As a young Black woman, I’ve dealt with a lot of problems, especially within the school system. In my opinion, there isn’t enough support for people like me. For 4 years I went through high school without all the necessary support I feel as though I should’ve had. I dealt with bullying, I’ve witnessed fights, I’ve even experienced just how unprofessionally the administration dealt with situations. Their way of handling a lot of problems at [my school*] was mediation. During mediation the students involved are supposed to sit in a room with the principal, social worker, and parents, they are then forced to apologize to each other and told to put the problem “behind them.”

Due to my school’s conflict resolution method, I was attacked in a school bathroom by 6 girls my junior year of high school, one of the main attackers was the same girl I had a meditation with. After being cornered in a bathroom and having to act in self-defense, almost 10 minutes had gone by without sight of security. [My school*] at the time housed 2 disciplinary handlers, 2 security guards, and 1 on duty resource officer, yet after 10 minutes, only 1 security guard showed up to break up a fight involving 7 students. After I sat around just to be told that the principal wasn’t even there. Even after explaining that I was acting in self-defense, and showing a video that proved I was solely acting in self-defense, I was still suspended for 3 days, only one out of the 6 other girls received any consequences.

Upon returning, I continued to be bullied and bothered by the other girls. Even after seeking out administration help, I was told to go back to class. The problem continued and followed me into my senior year, making it difficult to focus on my studies. I went to a teacher and told her what was going on and why my attendance was becoming flaky. I was then told that she was not a licensed therapist and she sarcastically asked me what I expected her to do and what I wanted her to say. The bullying continued and got so bad, I stopped attending school. I watched as my grades dropped, and my attendance fell even lower.

I missed out on senior year because of a school system that failed to do their job appropriately. I wasn’t assisted in the way I should’ve been. I’m sure a lot of students are dealing with situations like this daily. Justice not being served, help not being provided, and problems not being truly solved, just swept under the rug, ignored, and disregarded. For 4 years I felt invisible, unheard, and misunderstood. I felt neglected, and left to fend for myself. Now that I’ve graduated, I am left with the thoughts of how unsupported I was and how unprepared I am for what’s to come in life, and it’s sad to think that there are others being treated the same way.

*The school name was removed to protect the student’s privacy

How Dress Codes Target Certain Students

The following is an anonymous account sent to SEJ from a member, regarding how the clothes/outfits worn by students of certain genders and body types are regulated more than others:

One day, I had on a sweatsuit, with a crop top under the jacket. It was hot in my school so I took the jacket off during class. Later, I was heading to lunch when I was stopped by a security officer. She asked if I had a jacket to cover my crop top, and I replied that I did and that it was in the classroom, which was a few steps away. She made me turn over my phone to her and gave it back when I returned with my jacket on. I didn’t understand it at all. And that, of course, was not the first time I was forced to “cover up”, as I’ve had a cami on with a button-down shirt many times and every single time I was told to put the shirt on to cover my skin.

I’ve seen girls and guys at my school wearing stuff that was far more revealing/inappropriate than a simple cut-off shirt or tank top and security let them walk in the school without batting an eyelash. So that experience showed me that dress code regulations in schools can not only be demeaning to women because it promotes overly policing and sexualizing our bodies because it’s “inappropriate” in the eyes of a male, but they can also discriminate against certain women/people depending on who is supposed to be “enforcing” said regulations.

The Dues We Pay: Inside the Class of 2020

Pictured above: Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School sent a message explaining to students that they will not be receiving any refunds of their senior dues.

Excuse my language ahead of time.

Hell yeah I have concerns, questions, problems, and a whole lot of opinion. THIS RIGHT HERE IS NOT FAIR! and I cannot, nor will, I sit back and not be heard. This right here is the breaking point for me. For 4 years at co-op I have been told multiple times to make sure I pay my class dues so I can get my cap and gown, so they can give us a prom, so we can afford a senior breakfast, so we can afford to go on our senior trip. Contributed to bake sales and fundraisers around co-op to what? RECEIVE A FULL SENIOR EXPERIENCE not some half ass experience. The classes before us got to have the experience and so will the classes after us.

I find it absolutely fucking ridiculous. Senior year is supposed to be a special year for us. The last time to show who you are and leave knowing you shined as bright as you could, leaving your mark. IF I’M NOT BEING GIVEN THE FULL FUCKING EXPERIENCE I SHOULD AT LEAST GET SOME OF MY DAMN MONEY BACK. I could use that money to put towards paying my $350 college deposit. I live with my grandmother she don’t work and is my main provider WE LIVE OFF THE STATE,MONEY ISN’T AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE! So sitting here and telling me that I won’t be refunded is absolutely insane. YOU ARE INSANE IF YOU THINK IM GONNA JUST ACCEPT WHAT I’VE BEEN GIVEN. I WILL BE HEARD! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS AND UNFAIR.

I know there are people saying “hEy aT LeASt YoU gEt tO WaLk aNd gRaduAte.” That means nothing without the full experience. My money didn’t just go towards what’s listed above and you can’t tell me otherwise because if I ask any class before us, they would prove my point. My hard earned cash went towards prom, a senior trip, a senior breakfast, and more senior activities! SO DON’T SIT HERE AND BULLSHIT ME ABOUT WHAT DUES COVER! WE DESERVE SOME OF THAT SHIT BACK, PERIOD! How are you gonna still provide the items listed to the students who didn’t pay their dues, huh? Does that sound fair?? The students who paid and did what they were supposed to our money helps the irresponsible students who just refused to pay get rewarded! You can’t tell me that there isn’t anything you can do. I’m tired hearing we have to wait for further instruction.

The future depends on us so GET THE FUCK UP AND SUPPORT WHAT YOU CLEARLY SEE IS WRONG. HELP OUR VOICES BE HEARD, SPEAK UP AND FIGHT FOR THE CLASS OF 2020!