The protests of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ speech at Harvard got strange
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Protesters filled the streets as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) of Government’s Institute of Politics late last week. But what were they saying?

Many of the signs in the crowd were quite simple. “Public Funds 4 Public Schools,” was a popular slogan. However, some of the signs in the crowd were more critical, such as those calling her a “Christian Fascist.” One creative sign was written as an open-letter to DeVos, stating that the author(s) (signed as 25 percent of all women) of the sign hope DeVos is never sexually assaulted — a criticism of Secretary DeVos’ position on Title IX.

Various organizations, such as It’s On Us, Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, Save Our Public Schools, and the NAACP New England Area Conference were represented.

Unlike Antifa, the individuals protesting DeVos were peaceful, only talking amongst themselves, holding signs, and listening to the speakers at the protest. What was shocking was their talking points.

The speakers at the protest echoed the rhetoric in the protest signs, focusing on Title IX, special education, racial disparities, and charter schools/school choice.

Some of these speakers were Alexizendria (Zena) Link, a teacher in the Worcester public school system, Juan Cofield, President of the NAACP New England; Mike Robinson, Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Tourette Association of America, Ameilia Goldberg, a student at Harvard University, Barbara Madeloni, President of Massachusetts Teachers Association, Zac Bears, Executive Director of Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM), and others.

Harvard University student, Amelia Goldberg spoke out against Secretary Devos’ position on Title IX, stating, “It’s not justice when an unreasonably high standard of evidence deters survivors of sexual violence from coming forward.”

She went on to say schools should not favor perpetrators in appealing to cases. Goldberg has advocated against DeVos’ stance on Title IX in articles of Harvard University’s newspaper, the Crimson.

Mike Robinson voiced his concerns of how charter schools would negatively impact students with disabilities. He cited how students with Tourette’s syndrome were treated poorly at a publicly funded charter school, and said that some teachers purposely ostracized these students from other students, by taping a circle around their desk or moving their desks far away from other students’ desks.

In terms of charter schools, Barbara Madeloni zealously spoke out against the charter school policies of not only Secretary DeVos, but also of Paul Sagan, the chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Zena Link followed-up on Ms. Madeolini’s remarks by stating that charter school policies are “separating schools, segregating the most vulnerable, and having a second-class of citizens.”

Additionally, Link stated that privatization of schools causes a “racial dynamic” in schools, and funds to be provided to charter schools “at the expense of public schools.”

When DeVos was done speaking, many of the protesters stayed outside of 79 JFK Street, hoping to confront the Secretary of Education face-to-face. When it became clear she was not coming by the protest, they repeated chants of “Public Funds for Public Schools” so that she could hear, whenever and wherever she exited HKS’ building.

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Source: Red Alert Politics