Concord Academy is built on the ideals that we share– common trust being the most reiterated, ridiculed, and respected one of all. The administration's recent lack of transparency directly opposes this ideal. The unsatisfying assemblies and general lack of communication this year are not the only mis-handled situations. Boston’s Poet Laureate, Porsha Olayiwola, was announced as this year's commencement speaker. She had expressed anti-Israel views on the Israel-Palestine conflict on social media, and was replaced by alum Alexandra Berzon ‘97 less than a month after the original announcement. Before CA had issued an explanation, the Boston Globe had written an article about it. There has been a lack of communication on topics of conflict and on the administration's decisions this year, and a concerning pattern is arising. The administration has sacrificed transparency with its students to avoid difficult situations, and this lack of honesty has shaken my trust in them.
The multiple assemblies on the Israel-Palestine conflict have not directly addressed the issue—instead focusing on pacifying and unopposable morals such as “empathy”, while bubbling its students into their respective discussions based on their affiliations. The administration has tried to shield itself by evading conflict, and with the removal of Porsha Olayiwola, this pattern of unclear communication has breached the closed doors of Concord Academy. In Henry Fairfax’s email to the school regarding his and Olayiwola’s conversation about the speaker change, he expressed his surprise “that Porsha had come away from [their] meeting with a different understanding.” Olayiwola on the other hand tells a very different story, releasing a statement on her Instagram outlining how she “left [the meeting] feeling unclear and excited at a possible proposal to come.” The conversation with Porsha should have been a clear expression of the administration's decision to remove her, and the fact that she came away with a different understanding is alarming. With the Israel-Palestine conflict, an honest conversation is going to be difficult. With removing someone as speaker, it would be mildly unpleasant. We have gone from evading large and political conflicts to lacking transparency in something as simple as an uncomfortable meeting. This is a pattern that is growing more and more apparent, and I am wary of the direction we are going.
In Centipede writer Jasper Perlis’s article Commencement Speaker Change: How and Why, we gained an insight into Henry Fairfax’s decision to remove Porsha. On various social media platforms, Olayiwola had expressed anti-Israel views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. According to Fairfax, parents and committee members had approached him with their concerns about having someone with strong political views on this topic as speaker. Before this article, there had been no clear reason expressed by the administration about why Porsha was removed. Nearly a month after her removal, Perlis’s article should not have been where that reasoning was communicated. It should have been in the email we received after the Boston Globe publication, or at the school-wide community meeting we were called to. The administration continues to withhold information from its students, and the Israel-Palestine conflict has shone an unfortunate light on this pattern of evasion and dishonesty.
Common trust is a beautiful and defining ideal, but the lack of transparency this year has created a mistrust between the students and the administration. CA needs to communicate more clearly and honestly with who they work with–students, faculty, and speakers alike. As we reflect on the year behind us, I hope that CA will extend honesty towards its students, so that we can begin to find that ideal of “common trust” again.