To the Editor and the People of Lyme and Old Lyme:
The racist and degrading behavior by Lyme-Old Lyme High School at last Tuesday night’s basketball game with Hartford Public students as reported in the March 8 Hartford Courant is a disgrace to our community. According to witnesses and video taken at the game, a small group of students were calling Hartford Public boys basketball players the “N-word” and making monkey noises and gestures at the Hartford Public cheerleaders during their Division V second-round game.
My understanding is that Emily Bjornberg—a parent and LOLHS graduate—tried to stop this behavior and I am thankful to her. Where were the other adults and students? Why didn’t others stand up to stop a group of our students from displaying outrageously racist behavior at a very public event?
The students involved need to be suspended immediately and required to perform appropriate community service. The School Board and Superintendent need to immediately institute programs to educate students about the damage they do to themselves and others by engaging in racist and other forms of hateful behavior. All of us need to recognize that staying silent while others cause this kind of injury makes our entire community complicit.
Sincerely,
Karen Conniff,
Lyme, CT.