By Isaiah Heinz, Delia Aguilar, Taliyah Cooper and Elena Paces-Wiles
Freshman Brandon Goodson wants his math teacher back.
Goodson and approximately 30 other students walked out of class this morning at 9:30 to protest math teacher Kayla Thompson’s absence.
“It’s not fair,” Goodson said. “We’re standing for her because she can’t do it by herself.”
On Sunday, March 17, Thompson was named Pirate Hero of the Month. Riverside posted a photo of her posing with the award in front of a Palestinian flag on Facebook and Instagram. In the days that followed, dozens of commenters, many of whom are not affiliated with Riverside, criticized the flag.
“This kind of propaganda should not be allowed in the classroom,” one commenter who lives in Raleigh wrote. “She certainly isn’t creating a safe environment for her Jewish students.”
“Why does she have a Palestinian flag in her classroom? That is highly inappropriate and awful for her Jewish students to have to deal with in the classroom,” wrote another.
Thompson’s students, however, thought differently.
“I didn’t view it as anti-semitic,” said junior Tiam Famet, Thompson’s second period teaching assistant. “Ms. Thompson saw that people in Palestine were hurting and she wanted to voice her support, and she did that by hanging up the flag.”
“She had the flag up for a really long time,” said freshman Kyla Bannerman, a student in Thompson’s first period class.
The social media posts were deleted, and on Tuesday during first period RHS administrators asked Thompson to remove the flag. She took the flag down, then left campus and has not returned.
Later that day, Thompson’s third period students recreated the flag with dry erase markers on the board.
Assistant principal Greg Goble declined to comment about the week’s events. Thompson also declined an interview with The Pirates’ Hook, but said she hopes to speak about the incident soon.
During the protest, several students held signs saying “Free Palestine,” “Is This Scary DPS?” and “End The Occupation.”
A parent dropping off her child at school began arguing with students about a particular sign. The woman walked toward the protesters and began yelling, stating that they were “promoting suicide bombers.”
In response, students chanted “Free Palestine!”
Student Resource Officers (SROs) and administrators asked her to leave campus.
Thompson’s students protested again during A-Lunch.
“[Administration] just brushed it to the side,” Goodson said. “That’s why we stood up for the class. We were her voice.”
Banner photo by Alex West
