BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
INDEPENDENCE -- Someone painted a misspelled racial slur on the school parking lot at Simon Kenton High School on Feb. 28.
This followed similar incidents a few days earlier, when misspelled graffiti were found in two other places outside the school building. The problem and subsequent publicity led to an oral confrontation during a class change. Racial slurs were exchanged between white and black students.
Adults picketed the school; parents were meeting with administrators; and the Independence Police Department was investigating.
But the real story, likely to have the biggest long-term impact on the school, was going on behind the scenes. Black and white students decided not to wait for adult guidance and took action to improve their situation.
"If you go around Northern Kentucky, they think Simon Kenton is racist," said Ben Nevels, a junior from Florence. "But there really is a lot of good stuff going on."
On the same day protesters were outside the school, students were meeting with school psychologist Michael Laughlin and with special education teacher Larry Scott, the only African-American teacher in the building.
They asked the school's two top administrators to help them work together and talk out differences. Principal Michael Tolliver and Assistant Principal Barbara Guengling responded.
"(Students) were relying on us to take care of it," Mr. Tolliver said. "That showed me the kids trusted that we would do what we said we would do."
Backed by students' and parents' demands, Mr. Tolliver pushed to change the way things are done at his school, where the minority population is 1.3 percent -- 15 minorities among 1,150 students. The week after Simon Kenton made the news because of its racial problems, Mr. Tolliver and Ms. Guengling went to every class to assure students they were safe and to tell them that rumors about guns in the school were untrue.
Then Mr. Tolliver stood in front of all the students and discussed the school's no-tolerance policy for all forms of racial and sexual harassment, weapons and drugs.
"It was real hard for me to get up there and talk about racism," Mr. Tolliver said. "I had to swallow a few times. I mean, I'm a white administrator. What do I know about racism?"
After the assembly, some students told their principal he needed to try again. "They felt I should address racism totally," Mr. Tolliver said. "They said I didn't focus enough on racism."
So Mr. Tolliver spoke again, reiterating that administrators and teachers were very concerned.
He said he is impressed that students were so diligent about holding him to task.
"That might have been a circus out there," said Theodore Siffel, a junior from Walton, noting the picketing and television cameras. "But we needed it. That got the ball rolling."
Meetings grow
Meetings that started with six students grew to 20.
With the help of Ms. Guengling, Mr. Laughlin and health and physical education teacher Dan Mullins, the students are learning about themselves and each other.
The group went on a retreat to Camp Joy in Clarksville, Ohio, where students practiced trust-building exercises and conflict resolution.
They were invited by the Kentucky Department of Education to attend a program on student cultural diversity in Lexington.
Karen Simms, the department's multicultural opportunities branch manager, said she invited Simon Kenton to the program after learning of the February incident.
Ms. Simms was at Simon Kenton much earlier, in January 1997, after some racial tensions erupted. At that time, her branch suggested the school create a student organization and start some peer activities. The school was given a grant to work on an equity plan.
"They had been moving very slowly on this," Ms. Simms said. "Now they realize they need to get this started."
In the short time since a handful of Simon Kenton students started sharing experiences and really listening to the thoughts of peers they once were wary of, the group has noticed big changes.
"This has really brought about some differences," Fort Mitchell freshman Evonne Maddox said. "Before, if I walked down the halls and said "Hi' to Mark or Brandon (two white students), they might nod -- but they wouldn't say "Hi' back. Now we say "Hi' back, and we talk. We're friends."
Brenden Stowers, a junior from Covington, said he doesn't worry that he'll get beaten up after school if a white student yells out his name during class change.
Brooke McKinley, a junior from Walton, talks to whomever she wants between classes. She's not fearful anymore of what other students might say.
Ben, the Florence junior, feels relaxed when he walks down the halls. He can keep both eyes forward and not worry about watching his back. (Ben, like some of the other students who were interviewed, lives elsewhere in Northern Kentucky but pays extra tuition to attend Simon Kenton).
And Mr. Mullins said he is able to help advance the topic outside his classroom, after 12 years of discussing race relations in health. He now goes from class to class, telling those at Simon Kenton how a group of black and white students are trying to break down racial barriers and cultural misunderstandings.
"This is a deep issue in the building," Mr. Mullins said. "Teachers are walking on eggshells. They're afraid of doing something wrong. They don't know what to do now.
"But what these students want to do will improve student relationships with each other, with teachers and between teachers."
Ms. Guengling said the school is working to make changes. A notice went out to all parents, seeking their participation in a meeting next month to discuss their concerns about race relations.
And teachers are helping students tackle the tensions they encounter every day.
"Racism has always been a concern and an important issue at Simon Kenton," Ms. Guengling said. "With this, it became an urgent issue."
