Thirty-seven minutes into the September 20 meeting of the Forest Hills, Ohio, school board, board member Dr. Leslie Rasmussen turned to Superintendent Larry Hook.
Hook had just finished highlighting the notable academic achievements of local area students in the Cincinnati-area district, and the agenda was set to turn to comments from members of the public.
Before the public took to the microphone, however, Rasmussen had one more thing to say.
“Larry,” Rasmussen said. “You made a lot of wonderful comments about the awesome work our students are doing. But I want to take a moment to make sure you see all these students in the audience.”
“I see them,” Hook said, without turning his head toward the audience.
“They deserve acknowledgement,” Rasmussen said.
“I see them,” Hook repeated, not even glancing at the audience.
The audience raucously applauded Rasmussen’s comments.
Dozens of students and their parents had shown up at the meeting to voice their opposition to Hook’s decision to destroy an LGBTQ+-inclusive mural at Nagel Middle School.
Students had painted the mural years ago: three hands of different races surrounded by hearts symbolizing different sexual orientations and faiths, as well as neuro-atypical identity.
When students returned to school for this academic year, they found the mural covered up by a vinyl banner promoting the Culture Blueprint, the school district’s approach to embracing diversity.
A student was angry that the mural had been covered up, so she vandalized the banner.
At Superintendent Hook’s direction, the school responded by painting over the mural completely.
Hook said most people wanted to see the mural gone.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people who were very upset that it was there,” Hook told 91.7 WVXU News. “So, it’s kind of created this battle that shouldn’t even be in schools. We need to focus on our education. We need to focus on what’s important. That doesn’t mean we marginalize anybody.”
‘Painted by students, for students, and you erased it’
Speaker after speaker at the September board meeting spoke out against the destruction of the inclusive mural.
Ava Morsch, a senior at Turpin High School, was one of the five students who originally painted the mural.
“We spent 45 minutes every day for three months painting that mural and now you have [painted over it],” Morsch said. “I hope you know that people loved this mural, and we will fight for it.”
Parent Melissa Walters said that walking by the mural every day gave her daughter an important emotional boost.
“My daughter used to fist-bump that mural to give her the strength to get past the bullies in the hallway and get to her next class,” Walters said.
Turpin High School student Ursula Cherry echoed those sentiments. She shared with the school board that, as an LGBTQ+ student, she has encountered homophobia from fellow students and felt “crushed and despaired” as a result. Cherry said the mural helped her.
“I was in 8th grade when I first saw the mural. I walked into the staircase, I saw it and I cried. Not tears of comfort. But tears of relief. I felt seen. With the removal of the mural, kids are deprived of that feeling of acceptance,” Cherry said.
A small handful of adults expressed support for Hook. One attendee, who stood opposed to speakers supporting the mural,was escorted out of the auditorium by law enforcement after physically shoving another audience member.
Political motivation
Ohio Rep. Rachel Baker was also present at the meeting. She shared with the board that she has reached out to every community and school board within her district to request time on their agenda to talk about funding opportunities. She said the Forest Hills School District was the only board to deny her requests, and that Hook told her that Board President Linda Hausfeld would not allow Baker on the agenda because she is an elected Democrat.
“I am shocked by the political games being played by this Board,” Baker said. “I want to bring resources to our teachers, staff and students, but I can’t do that without being allowed in the room.”
During her closing remarks, Hausfeld called Baker’s comments “a lie.” Baker posted corroboration of her meeting requests on her Facebook page after the meeting.
Regarding the mural, Baker told The Buckeye Flame that middle school students are in a “really hard stage of life” when they are learning about their identity, learning to have empathy towards others and learning to navigate a diverse world.
“These middle schoolers used a creative outlet, art, to express their community, and their mural was beautiful. The school leadership responded by covering the mural with a banner and then ultimately permanently painting over it. Strong leaders respond with empathy. This didn’t happen. Instead, the adults decided to literally destroy art created by students,” Baker said.
Superintendent Hook has not responded to The Buckeye Flame’s request to describe what happens next with regards to the destroyed mural. 🔥
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