Community vigil and town hall meeting regarding protests to take place

In+response+to+the+protests+in+the+Bay+Area%2C+Harkers+administration+and+Diversity+Committee+are+hosting+a+virtual+community+vigil+and+town+hall+meeting+for+students+and+faculty+in+the+upcoming+week.

Aditya Singhvi

In response to the protests in the Bay Area, Harker’s administration and Diversity Committee are hosting a virtual community vigil and town hall meeting for students and faculty in the upcoming week.

by Lucy Ge, Winged Post News Editor

In response to civil unrest breaking out across America and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors calling for reform of the police system, Harker administration and the Harker Diversity Committee is hosting a virtual community vigil and town hall meeting for students and faculty to process the current situation and to support members of the African American community.

The community vigil, set to take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow over Zoom, will include music performances and a sharing of experiences, according to a Google form sent out by the Harker Diversity Committee via email for students to answer by today at 5 p.m.

The town hall meeting will be held during the week of June 8 and will give attendees the opportunity to understand issues behind the protests more deeply and learn ways to support one another. Its exact time and date yet to be determined.

Earlier in the week, a separate incident prompted head of school Brian Yager to send out an email to the Harker community on Sunday. The incident involved an Instagram account with “harker” in its handle that contained racist language. Yager condemned the account, saying that it was an exact of “overt racism” still present in America today.

He also emphasized the importance of “maintaining a safe environment” for the school community and for members of the community to try “to find a peaceful and hopeful attitude in light of these realities.”

Rising junior Kai Due, who is part of the African American community, is planning on going to the protests once finals are over. He encourages others who want to help to sign petitions online for the BLM cause and to confront their own racial prejudices. 

“The oppression which we have experienced over the course of a very long time and the lack of change, and especially with everyone being at home and not having much better to do besides soak up the media, it’s really bottled up how we felt,” Kai said. “Now that we have no other outlet to turn to, we have something which has gained momentum. I feel like this movement’s been a long time coming.”