Frederick County State Senator Wants Copies Of Speeches From Student Walkout At Tuscarora High School

The students attended a rally regarding the war between Israel and Hamas.State Senator Bill Folden                Board of Education President Karen YohoFrederick, Md (KM)   What happened during a student walkout at Tuscarora High School last year regarding the war between Israel and Hamas was brought up on Friday during the Frederick County Legislative Delegation meeting.State Senator Bill Folden asked Board of Education President Karen Yoho for copies of the speeches delivered by students during that rally.  “It was presented as an Israel-Hamas cease fire but it encouraged  everyone on the flier that it was pro-Palestine, and to wear pro-Palestinian colors.  And the School Board allowed this to  happen.  I have a big problem with that, and I have yet to get those speeches,” he said.Yoho responded by saying the rally took place on school property. “They  were in the cafeteria and the cafeteria is adjacent to the track so that the students were never our of where it was safe for them and for others,” she said. “I’m not sure if those speeches were written down. If they were, I will see what I can do to get you copies.”Also, Yoho said the students did not express anti-Semitism. “From what we heard from a Jewish staff member was that it was all about cease fire and human rights. There was nothing in the speeches that separated pro-Palestinian and anti-Jewish,” she said.But Senator Folden was still not happy with what happened. “”I haven’t heard anything between {Superintendent} Dr. {Cheryl}  Dyson and the principal. I haven’t heard any accountability measures that were put in place that once they saw these fliers going out that was pro-Palestinian, to wear Palestinian colors that School Board failed to shut it down and they still allowed it to go forward,” he said. “That is actually the very definition that we’re not supposed to be allowing in our schools.”State Senator Karen Lewis Young, who is Jewish, had this comment. “It is a topic that is very personal to me. So believe me.   If there was anything anti-Semitic about this, I would be jumping up an down even louder that Senator Folden, if that’s possible,” she said.Senator Young said these students have the right to free speech under the 1st Amendment.Delegation Chairman Jesse Pippy asked that any materials, such as speeches by students,  also be submitted to members of the Delegation.By Kevin McManus