East Brunswick High Edited Speeches, Confiscated Signs In Walkout

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Just minutes before Wednesday's walkout, East Brunswick High School administrators severely censored speeches students planned to give, and told them they weren't allowed to hold signs that directly called for gun control, a 17-year-old student organizer told Patch on Friday.

One student was reduced to tears when he was given back his speech, with lines of text crossed out, just moments before the kids filed onto the football field.

"We were not allowed to hold specific signs," said Hema Kohli, a senior at East Brunswick High who helped organize the walkout. "We were given specific instructions to not discuss anything political whatsoever. Many students were to afraid to speak out or create signs with any political content. Signs such as 'Gun reform now' or 'Children’s lives are worth more than your guns' were not permitted."

At least three signs were confiscated by the administration the morning of the walkout, she said, including the one pictured below that Kohli said she made.

"Speeches were censored as well," Kohli said. "The process of the day was to bring in posters and speeches to our administrator's office in order for them to sign off on them. The administrators held onto them and we were told we’d receive them back when we met up on the football field during the walkout ... As I was given my speech back, nothing on mine was edited, but I saw other students arguing with administrators because whole paragraphs and sections of their speeches were entirely crossed out. One student was so upset he began to cry."

The East Brunswick superintendent of schools, Victor Valeski, did not get back to Patch Friday afternoon when asked about this. But he did say this to MyCentralJersey:

“We cautioned students to give a balanced view,” Valeski said. “That gun control is a legislative issue and as a school district, we can’t really advocate for gun control.”

It was partly because the teens who organized the walkout had previously agreed with administration that the event would not take a political bent. Therefore, the students agreed they would not overtly call for tighter gun laws.

Kohli said that when she first brought up plans for the walkout to high school administrators, they told her the walkouts could not be political. She said when the school district learned, through social media, of the students' plans to walk out, the East Brunswick high school principal, Dr. Michael Vinella, intervened and a set of rules was established for the March 14 walkout:

- No disruption of the "learning environment"
- No political discussion (essentially)
- No media on school grounds
- No leaving school grounds
- Must follow the school's code of conduct while walking out
- Follow instructions/directions given by officers outside

Even though she ultimately agreed to the rules, Kohli seemed disappointed by the acquiescence.

"Although students feel our cause (common sense gun reform) is not a political issue, the administration believed so," said Kohli. "The students and administration had originally disputed what the focus of the walkout should be, (but) the students eventually came to the consensus that the focus could not be political."

“The school is allowed to let us protest without taking a side. Students' signs and quotes are their own independent expressions and should not be censored," said East Brunswick senior Rae Hochwald. "(The posters) did not condone violence or break school policies."

About 450 students out of 2,100 enrolled at East Brunswick High walked out of class on Wednesday. They will not be punished for their actions. Nearby South Plainfield and Sayreville both suspended students who walked out.

March 14, 2018 is over. But for Kohli, and hundreds of students like her, their work is not done.

"I and a few other students have taken it upon ourselves to continue the political conversation outside of school," she said. They've already organized and attended a Town Hall meeting with the area's Congresswoman, Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, have reached out to other legislators and are planning to attend the March for Our Lives in D.C. March 24.

Kohli said:

"As far as our political agenda, we believe that this epidemic requires a multi-faceted solution and we are looking for the following changes to be made: Common sense gun reform, this entails banning of assault type rifles such as AR-15 style weapons, banning of bump stocks, age restrictions on buying firearms, waiting period between purchasing and receiving firearms, restrictions on large-capacity magazines, and restrictions on types of bullets."

"As students, we have grown up in an unsafe world caused by gun violence," said East Brunswick High sophomore Jolie Harmon, one of the students who walked out on Wednesday. "Between active shooter drills and airport security, we've always known how to adapt to our best capability. However, we shouldn't have to. We understand the simple solution: Banning of all military-style weapons as well as stricter background checks and permits. Gun reform should not be a political issue; but money from the NRA is dividing the nation and posing a huge threat to everyone's safety."

Photos from March 14 provided by Kohli.