Students at a school in the Halifax area began their weekend earlier than most on Friday, as a walkout was staged in response to growing instances of violence allegedly happening on school grounds.
Signs that read messages like “School is supposed to be safe”, “Listen to what we’re saying”, and “We want safe schools” were held high as hundreds of students from Astral Drive Junior High in Cole Harbour, N.S. took to the streets.
Ava Merrick, a Grade 9 student, said a lot of students no longer feel safe entering their school’s washroom as a result of an alleged assault that recently occurred outside a classroom setting.
“The best they (school staff) could really do is say ‘Maybe you could go to the bathrooms in pairs’,” she said to Global News on Friday.
“Last year, there was 13 fights in our school and not much was done about it. Recently, there was a fight that ended up with a girl having a black eye and (being) in crutches. We just don’t feel safe. We never know what’s going to happen because that girl got beat up for no reason.”
As a result of these alleged altercations that led to some students sustaining serious injuries, Merrick said the individuals responsible only received temporary suspensions before returning to school property.
“It’s about how the school’s not acting on it and making us feel safe because we have to go there every day. And if we’re feeling unsafe it’s really hard to focus on our education,” she said.
Merrick said she hopes the school’s administration will address the concerns being expressed by students on Friday.
“I think the more people talk about it, the more the school will have to act on it,” she said.
In a statement, Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) said that Astral Drive Junior High was placed in a brief hold and secure on Tuesday following an act of physical violence that occurred on school property.
“Safety of students and staff is our highest priority, and all incidents are taken seriously. Violent behaviour is never tolerated,” said Lindsey Bunin, HRCE spokesperson.
“We recognize that it is frustrating when schools are unable to provide details due to privacy, but we can assure the community that this was a serious incident, and serious and immediate consequences are in place in accordance with the Provincial School Code of Conduct Policy.”
Bunin said that HRCE staff will visit the junior high on Monday to speak with school leaders and hear from students directly to determine what is needed to increase safety on school grounds.
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