On Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, the Berkeley Unified School District School Board met to discuss key district matters, including litigation and student expulsion considerations, budget and union negotiations, and equity and student support initiatives. The meeting featured public comments from students, teachers, and community members. A key point brought up was the incident in which a Berkeley High School student was inappropriately touched by an adult in Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park.
During the first public comment of the meeting, a group of students came up and spoke about their experiences with the homeless encampments at the Civic Center Park, along with their reactions to the sexual assault that occured on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. “As I walked by, someone shouted two deeply offensive catcalls … On my way back, I chose to take a different route,” Isabel Eknoian, a BHS senior and student representative on the Gender Equity and Sexual Harassment Advisory Committee (GESHAC), said, “I realized my incident was not isolated. This is not just a pervasive matter that affects female students, it affects everyone.” The students who spoke urged the school board to listen to their concerns of the safety of BHS students from adults from nearby encampments, and to work on improving it to protect the BHS community and beyond.
A parent of a BHS senior and eighth grader at King Middle School, Stacey Zolt-Hara shared how she has seen this issue for a long time and believes the district has not done enough to protect the students from the adults at the encampment. “This encampment is a known risk,” Zolt-Hara said, “It is an actual live fire for which the city is holding a fire extinguisher and just doesn’t want to squeeze the handle to put it out.” Zolt-Hara said that other parents have also expressed their concerns on this issue, and that the city must do something about it to protect the safety of students, especially that of young women.
Another one of the most discussed topics was the renovation of Longfellow Middle School, which is currently located at what used to be the Berkeley Adult School (BAS). Several speakers addressed its impact on the school community. Students shared their opinions on how the BAS campus is not fit for being a middle school campus, as there is no area for Physical Education unless the students walk 10 minutes to James Kenny Park, and how there aren’t resources every student should have at their school such as recess equipment. Many parents voiced their frustration towards BUSD with the lack of transparency from the district about the planned housing project on the BAS campus and their concerns about whether the loud and disruptive machinery will negatively affect their children’s learning. This is what students experienced last year at Longfellow when the school underwent construction during the school year.
Four Longfellow students participated in public comment and repeated this idea. They wanted a “real school.” The students felt that the BAS campus is not an environment in which they can learn and thrive. Sports players expressed how they have no place to practice and how it is unfair that they are not given the same resources Willard and King students are.
The recent BUSD School Board meeting brought attention to significant concerns from students, parents, and educators regarding safety at Civic Center Park and the conditions at Longfellow’s temporary campus. Students and parents urged the district to take action to address safety risks near BHS, citing incidents of assault and inadequate measures to protect students.
Meanwhile, Longfellow students and families emphasized the difficulties of learning at the Berkeley Adult School campus, pointing to the lack of proper facilities for physical education and recreational activities. As the BUSD school district moves forward with discussions on these challenging issues, community members continue to push for solutions that prioritize student well-being and equitable access to resources.